Event box

Understanding the university experience of Black Students: a case for decolonising Online

It is well established that there is an awarding gap between students of colour and their White counterparts in HE. Therefore, the aim of the study was to understand what Black students perceive as reasons for the awarding gap. As identified by the National Union of Students (2019), it is important to understand the student perspective, if the gap is to be meaningfully addressed. To achieve this, the authors conducted 2 focus groups with 16 students who identified as Black, and were enrolled on undergraduate Psychology programmes. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted to analyse the focus group transcripts. The main theme that emerged from the data was ‘signals of and responses to unbelonging’. This was characterised by a sense of unbelonging, with students discussing their experiences of being subject to negative racial stereotypes & microaggressions, having non-Black tutors they found it difficult to relate to, having unrelatable extra-curricular activities and feeling frustrations around Black history month. In response to these markers of unbelonging, students reported having to conform to perceived White norms, feeling pressure to overcome racial barriers, and reported mindsets that could act as either barriers to positive engagement, or as a source of resilience. These findings will be discussed within the context of the literature on the experiences of students of colour in HE, and will contextualise and reinforce the need for decolonisation efforts. 

Date:
Tuesday, 6th December 2022
Time:
12:00 - 13:00
Time Zone:
UK, Ireland, Lisbon Time (change)
Online:
This is an online event. Event URL will be sent via registration email.
Audience:
  Academic staff & PhD students     Staff Session     Student Session  
Categories:
  Decolonising DMU  
Registration has closed.
Browse/Search for more events

Event Organizer

No Profile image
Kaye Towlson