ethnicity and degree attainment:

Ethnicity and Degree Attainment:

• Why the higher education sector can

no longer ignore the attainment gap

• Winston Morgan PhD• Principal lecturer; School of HSB

The presentation will cover:• An overview of the attainment gap

• The relevance of the gap

• BAME attainment nationally and at mission groups with large BAME student populations (Million+ and Russell group)

• Provide some explanations for the attainment gap

• Offer some strategies to narrow the gap

Sources of information (1999-2013)

• Equality Challenge Unit (www.ecu.ac.uk/ )

• HESA (www.hesa.ac.uk/ )

• HEIDI (www.heidi.ac.uk)

• UCAS (www.ucas.com)

• UEL (MIS)

• Publications by HEA, Hefce

• Conferences

• Interviews with BAME students at UEL

Warning!!!

• This presentation contains a lot data and statements on attainment that some may find uncomfortable.

Context of the presentation

• Many in academia are familiar with the general causes of the attainment gap.

• Qualifications, age, socio-economic ,

• Few have a deeper understanding of why these factor impact on attainment and what to do. So the attainment gap remains.

• Fewer in academia have an understanding of other more difficult to understand factors which also determine attainment.

• Practices and policies.

• The interaction between Identity, a student perception of self and the messages sent by the institution.

• The prospectus says” come to our shiny university have a great experience and leave with a degree that will set you up for life”

• It does not say in the small print that it will only occur if you fit a certain profile

What is the attainment gap?

• For some time in the HE sector there has been significant differences in attainment (good degrees) between BAME students and their white counterparts.

• the “attainment gap”

• Good degree: 2:1(upper second) or first

• BAME: Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic

Relevance?

• Over 20% of students in HE are BAME (some institutions >50%)

• A high proportion of international students are BAME (growth areas)

• Interaction with our stakeholders

• League tables

University league tables categories

Student satisfaction

Research quality

Entry standards

Student-staff ratio

Services & facilities spend

Completion

Good honours

Graduate prospects

Half the criteria for University League Tables are directly impacted on by BAME student attainment.

• Fees

• Legal obligation ?

The attainment gap in practice

• A black student with “AAA” at A level

studying at Russell group university has less chance of gaining a good degree than a white student with “CCD” studying at a post-92 university.

• For post-92 and Russell group institutions with a large or majority BAME student population, narrowing the attainment gap should be a priority.

• The “success” of such institution is directly dependent on the performance of BAME students.

• Worryingly the gap has not significantly changed since 2003.

• Clear evidence of an attainment gap.

• Two initial questions

• Is the gap unique to UEL?

• What determines the attainment gap?

• A more detailed examination of BAME attainment:

• Nationally

• At mission groups with large BAME student populations (Million+ and

Russell group)

The picture nationally

• Nationally BAME students make up 17-22% of the HE population, mainly concentrated in post-92 institutions and inner city Russell group universities.

• BAME make up about 9% (12-14%) of the population (pre 2011 census)

Breakdown of graduating UK students White Bl Carib Bl Afr As Ind As Pak As Bang Chin Mix BAME

% HE Pop 80 1.4 3.7 3.5 2.2 0.9 0.9 3.9 20

% Million+ 15 33 34 18 25 30 8 19 20

% Russell 24 7 9 24 13 14 33 24 16

% Pop Eng 86 1.1 1.8 2.5 2.0 0.8 0.7 1.7 10.6

HE pop/Gen Pop -7 27 105 40 9 13 29 130

89

Attainment UK 2011/12

White Bl Carib Bl Afr As Ind As Pak As Bang Chin Mix BAME

% Ist 19 5 6 13 9 9 15 14 11

GD 71 45 42 60 50 51 64 64 54

Gap 26 29 11 22 20 8 8 17

AttainmentRussell Group White Bl Carib Bl Afr As Ind As Pak As Bang Chin Mix BAME

1st 23 4 9 18 13 12 20 20 17

GD 83 63 58 76 67 64 74 79 72

Gap 20 24 6 15 18 9 4 11

AttainmentMillion+ White Bl Carib Bl Afr As Ind As Pak As Bang Chin Mix BAME

%1st 17 5 6 10 8 8 25 5 8

% GD 64 41 38 47 45 51 49 47 43

Gap 23 27 18 19 14 15 18 22

% Russ 24 7 9 24 13 14 33 24 16

AttainmentRussell London White Bl Carib Bl Afr As Ind As Pak

As Bang Chin Mix BAME

%1st 30 5 13 23 13 12 17 30 20%GD 88 58 68 78 70 67 71 74 73Att Gap 30 20 10 18 21 16 13 15

AttainmentMillion+

London White Bl Carib Bl Afr As Ind As PakAs Bang Chin Mix BAME

%1st 22 5 6 10 8 8 12 16%GD 71 41 38 48 41 48 46 36 44Att Gap 29 33 23 29 23 25 35 27

• Ethnicity profiles of UK-domiciled first degree leavers by academic year (Equality challenge unit 2011)

Academic year

Ethnic marker

Classification of first degree

First and upper second (%)

Lower second, third and pass (%)

2003/04

White 63.1 36.9

BME 45.9 54.1

Gap 17.2 -17.2

2009/10

White 67.9 32.1

BME 49.3 50.7

Gap 18.6 -18.6

Factors which determine the gap

• Over the last 20 years, many studies undertaken

• Most come to the same conclusions

• Key studies

The 2007 DfES study (Broecke and Nichols, 2007)

Connor et al. 2004, Leslie 2005, Richardson 2008,

Richardson 2009.

Hefce 2010

http://www.ecu.ac.uk/publications/files/improving-degree-attainment-bme.doc

Entrants profile which may explain the gap

• Poor attainment is linked to an intersection of key factors

• qualifications on entry,

• age

• socio-economic background,

• subject,

• institution

• ethnicity

Ethnicity and Degree AttainmentStijn Broecke and Tom Nicholls 2007

Attainment Gaps, students gaining good degrees % all institutions

Students by ethnicity All Qualifiers “Controlled”Probabilities

White UK & Irish 65 68

Asian Other 51 62

Bangladeshi 42 63

Chinese 49 54

Indian 48 61

Pakistani 41 62

Black Caribbean 39 55

Black African 35 54

Unknown/Refused 45 63

HEFCE study 2010

• Profile and progression of entrants to full-time, first degree study

• Modelling to account for student profile

student

characteristics

course characteristics institution-related

characteristics

— domicile

— age of student

on entry

— specific ethnic

group

— sex

— disability

— background of

students

— entry

qualifications

— subject group

— placement or study abroad

— first-year

accommodation

— region of institution

— entry profile of

institutions

— distribution of

students by

institution.

Actual and expected rates of high classification for young UK finalists

Ethnic group Actual Benchmark Difference

White 62% 61% 1%

Black 37% 49% -11%

Pakistani & Bangladeshi 42% 50% -8%

Chinese 52% 60% -7%

Indian & other Asian 49% 55% -6%

Mixed & other 56% 58% -2%

Table B4 note: Corresponds to Figure 8 of main report.

Difference between actual and benchmarked high classification rates for mature

UK finalists


White 61% 57% 4%

Black 25% 46% -21%


Chinese 40% 50% -10%



• Implication from previous studies?

• There must be more difficult to quantify factors also impacting on the attainment of BAME students.

Both my data and previous studies implicate two factors as having the greatest impact:

• Qualifications on entry

• Student age profile

A closer look at age and qualifications:

• At contrasting mission groups

• Ethnicity

Qualifications on entry

• What we know

• Entry qualifications are the most accurate predictors of performance at university,

• Most universities do not add relative value to their students (Cambridge, 2012).

• Institutions at the top of the university league tables have the highest entry points.

• The attainment gap is narrowest for students with the best A-levels such as those at the Russell Group?.

Tariff % > 300 % No Tariff Points

Ethnic groupAsian 36 29Black 13 60Mixed 36 36White 43 30

• Most post-92 institutions have a widening participation history

• Significance?

• the qualification profile of post-92 institutions is very diverse

• this has a big impact on the student experience and attainment.

What is the key qualification

• A-levels remain the best preparation and predictor for degree success ( HEFCE 2010, Cambridge 2012,).

• Nationally fewer Black (young) students (81%) enter with A-levels compared to white and Asian (90%) students.

• Asian students even in post-92 institutions are still the most likely to have A-levels.

• Mature students are the least likely to have A-levels

• At Million+ institutions white students are performing at the national level for good degrees although they enter with average tariff points over 100 less than the 320 national average.

• These institutions are capable of adding value but only to white students

The impact of age on attainment

• Attainment is complicated by age and ethnicity

• Age negatively correlates with attainment

in HE for BAME.

• Million+ institutions have a high proportion of mature BAME students.

Difference between actual and benchmarked high classification rates for mature

UK finalists


White 61% 57% 4%

Black 25% 46% -21%


Chinese 40% 50% -10%



Graduates at mission groups

White Black Asian Mixed

Young (21-24yrs)

71 48 55 64

Young Russell 79 63 60 74Young Million+ 62 38 48 53Russell – Million+

17 25 12 21

The proportion of young students in HE by ethnicity and mission group

Young (21-24yrs)

White Black Asian Mixed

All young (Gap) 73 49 (-24)

57 (-16) 67 (-6)

Young Russell (Gap)

84 66 (-18)

73 (-11) 81 (-3)

Young Million+ (Gap)

63 38 (-25)

47 (-16) 53 (-10)

Russell- Million+(Gap)

21 28 26 28

The proportion of students with Level 3 qualifications by ethnicity and mission group

Russell with level 3 qualifications

White Black Asian

% Young 79 67 80

% Total students with Level 3

93 89 94

% young only Level 3

98 98 98

% Mature Level 3

75 71 80

% young all groups

87

The proportion of students with Level 3 qualifications by ethnicity and mission groupMillion+ with level 3 qualifications

White Black Asian

% Young 64 40 73

% Total students Level 3

67 56 75

% young only Level 3

83 80 85

% Mature Level 3

39 41 46

% young all groups

58

• At million+ and post-92 universities mature white students perform better than all groups.

• This has a big impact on the gap at UEL.

Million+

% Good Degree

Mature % good degree

Mature% 1st

White 65 70 25Mixed 47 44 10Black 38 38 6Asian 44 40 8Chinese 48 31 11

RussellGroup

% Good Degree

Mature % good degree

Mature% 1st

White 83 68 23Mixed 76 48 8Black 57 34 0Asian 75 54 0Chinese 72 50 0

The impact of age on student performance at Million+ and Russell group

Some possible explanation for the impact of age

• Successful mature students have at least one of the following characteristics;

• Previous experience and success at university,

• Previous professional or management experience,

• Traditional university entry qualifications

• Confidence and secure in the university environment.

Unsuccessful mature students:

• Previously struggled at school.

• Have unresolved issues relating to learning and teaching and possibly behaviour.

• Have A-level equivalents (Access) .

• Not confident and secure in the university environment.

Other drivers of the attainment gap

Impact of University Policies and Practices

• A disproportionate number of BAME (Black, International) students are involved in assessment offences

Important questions about policies

• Are BAME students more likely to be found guilty of breaching the policies and practices of the HE institutions they attend?

• Are BAME students more likely to receive negative outcomes from disciplinary and other panels?

• What the data does not reveal is the level of offence committed by in each group only those caught and reported.

• Apart from dishonesty many other factors drive students to commit assessment offences including:

• fear of failure • lack of understanding of the

system

Two questions from the assessment offence data.

• Do BAME students feel they are more likely to fail?

• Is the system inadvertently designed to identity BAME students who have committed assessment offences.

• A study at UEL (by Dr Chris Pawson) indicates that BAME students quickly go from high to low academic confidence once they start at university.

• A lack academic confidence could increase the likelihood of students committing assessment offences.

University practices can lead to different outcomes for students

• White students are more likely to complete the programmes they entered and on time.

• BAME students take longer (PT) and attain lower class.

• 31% (20%) of mature Black students quit after 1st year

The loss of a good degree culture in post-92 institutions

• Why is this important?

• A good degree culture will permeate through the institution through the student body from level to level.

• A good degree culture also comes from the academic to students.

• As the student body becomes more diverse more barriers appear between students and between student and academics

What could be the more difficult to quantify factors which also impact on the attainment of BAME students?

Identity as a driver of the attainment gap

• From “identity gap” to the “attainment gap”

The identity gap?• There may be an identity gap between

university staff (academic, management, services) and the BAME students.

• The racial identity gap

• Educational identity gap

• Cultural Identity gap

• The identity gap may be reinforcing the attainment gap.

The racial identity gap How to close the racial identity gap

The racial identity gap is reduced by the presence of BAME tutors in the faculty.

Tutors must see themselves in the students they teach.

Students must feel they “own” the university and that they can reach the highest levels within it.

There has to be a critical mass of senior BAME academics/management in key decision making positions.

Educational identity gap

• There are big difference between the educational backgrounds of tutors and students.

• Most of academics have a “traditional” educational background.

• By contrast in some institutions only 40% of students have A-levels

• Academics and management have a limited understanding of the educational backgrounds of widening participation students

Cultural Identity gap;

• Despite many universities being located in the inner cities they remain isolated from the communities from which they take most of their students.

• The reality of going to university remains distant from the world from which many widening participation students come.

• Academics and management at post-92 universities have more in common with staff and students at Russell Group universities than with their students and community.

Evidence to support the role of identity and the identity gap

• Work by Jacqueline Stevenson (Leeds Metropolitan) on Russell group students

• Link between Minority Ethnic and White Students’ Degree Attainment and Views of Their Future ‘Possible Selves’

• Higher Education Studies; Vol. 2, No. 4; 2012

• The study is important as at Russell group universities differences in factors such qualifications and age are minimal.

• “The study found that although all students were confident about their ability and future aspirations”

• White students were significantly better at translating their confidence into actions that would enable them to gain a good degree.

• Able to put in practice academic and non academic help seeking strategies.

• Interactions with lecturers inside and outside class which benefitted them.

• They never questioned their ability to be in HE.

• They were vociferous in demanding support and feedback.

• Rarely missed lectures.

• This confidence of white students came from a sense of entitlement to HE and a good degree.

• By contrast BAME students lacked the confidence to utilise the resources of a university.

• BAME students were more likely to adopt behaviours which reduced the chances of gaining a good degree

• Clearly the messages the white students were receiving from the university at all levels reinforced this sense of entitlement.

• This message was not being received by even the best BAME students.

• Study by Chris Pawson (UEL)

• The study found white and BAME student started with different levels of Academic confidence

• But as the students spent more time at university (within 6 weeks) this reversed.

Study change Grade changes

• Again the message the university is sending does not translate into academic confidence by BAME students.

• Tara Walcott (UEL and University of Coventry)

• Study on the profile of successful BAME students.

• Strong internal motivation and external support.

• Able to ignore negative messages from the university.

• Behaviour similar to white students at Russell group study.

Internal External

• self-belief and focus• unwavering determination• a disciplined, organised and

strategic approach to studying

• Affinity with subject choice

• persistent parental and familial encouragement, support and reinforcement of the importance and value of education

• role models in the home environment

• peer support• religious affiliation from

which comfort, strength and reassurance of one’s potential can be drawn

• cultural and social capital

Two elephants in the room

• Intelligence (of BAME students)

• Racism (within universities)

The intelligence argument

• BAME students are not capable of gaining good degrees.

Racism

• BAME (culture) students do not value university education.

• A significant number of University staff are inherently racist.

• Universities are institutionally racist organisations.

• "The collective failure of an organisation to provide an appropriate service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin which amount to discrimination through unwitting prejudice and racist stereotyping which disadvantage minority ethnic people."

• The Macpherson report

Conclusions and Recommendations

• There is an attainment gap Nationally and at different mission groups.

• The gap is widest for Black students especially at post-92 institutions.

• The smallest gap is for Mixed race, Indian and Chinese students at Russell group universities.

• However the gap widens at both London Russell group and Million+ institutions with the largest BAME populations

• The gap is exacerbated by qualifications on entry and the age of students.

• Age is a negative factor for BAME students particularly at Russell group universities

• Age is a positive factor white students in post-92 institutions.

• Mature white students are best able to receive and implement help seeking strategies.

• Universities need to send out messages that are received by all students.

• Qualifications on entry is key at post-92 universities because of the diversity of qualifications

• Students with traditional A levels at post-92 institutions are at a distinct advantage in terms of progression and attainment

• Universities must put in place strategies to transition students with non traditional level 3 qualifications into HE.

• Some university practices may disproportionately affect BAME students

• Introduce a programme of change in student

behaviour or university practice (international students)

• A key contributing factor may be the “identity gap”

• Universities must actively take steps to reduce the “identity gap”

• Universities most create an environment where all student s have a sense of entitlement

• It is not all our fault

• The gap is also a reflection of how some BAME students are disadvantaged at secondary school

ethnicity and degree attainment:

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