Overview
- Examines cultural factors that explain the persistence of an attainment gap
- Provides an important and unique contribution to the study of racial equity in higher education
- Presents a breadth and depth of analyses which help explain the roots of the attainment gap
Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Race, Inequality and Social Justice in Education (PSRISJE)
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Keywords
- race
- ethnicity
- widening participation
- inequality
- social justice
- equity in education
- higher education
- ethnicity in education
About this book
This book examines the structural and cultural factors that explain the persistence of an attainment gap between white and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in UK universities. So-called ‘deficit’ approaches have long represented the orthodoxy in higher education strategy-making, yet they overlook the structural and institutional factors that reproduce attainment gaps. Whereas students already in possession of the right ‘academic capital’ are made to feel validated and empowered in their learning, BAME students – particularly those from working class backgrounds – may feel marginalised by dominant hierarchical cultures on campus.
This book provides an important and unique contribution to the study of racial equity in higher education. Its chapters provide a breadth and depth of analyses which help explain the roots of the attainment gap, while offering reflections and commentaries on the necessary steps that universities must take in order to ensure equityfor students from all backgrounds.
Reviews
—Marcia Wilson, Professor, Pro Vice-Chancellor for Student Experience, London Metropolitan University, UK
“This important and compelling book is a much-needed challenge to disturbing racial differences in academic attainment in UK universities. Richly theorised and convincingly argued, it presents a lucid and insightful analysis of the current disquieting state of play in higher education, before clearly setting out the possibilitiesfor achieving racial equality. This book is a must-read for all those concerned about growing inequalities of race in British higher education and what we need to do about them.”
—Diane Reay, Professor, University of Cambridge, UK
“Alex Hensby and Barbara Adewumi bring together an important edited collection that sheds light on ‘race’ and institutional racism on the student experience in higher education institutions. The University of Kent’s work to improve the successful outcomes for Black, Asian and minoritised ethnic students underpins this critically informed work. Consequently, this empirically based book will strike a timely chord for scholars driven to transform race equality in UK higher education.”
—Kevin Hylton, Professor Emeritus, Leeds Beckett University, UK, Chair, Sheffield Race Equality Commission and Patron, Advance HE Race Equality Charter
“This book comprises a theoretically sophisticated and empirically informed reflection on one university's attempt to address the ethnic award gap and generally promote race equity. Acknowledgement of structural racism and institutional whiteness does not lead the authors to a fatalistic acceptance that little can be done. Far from it. Foregrounding the agency of BAME students, the book refreshingly demonstrates how concerted action over a period of time can make a difference. This is an invaluable resource for academics and practitioners in higher education.”
—Andrew Pilkington, Professor, Sociology, Centre for the Advancement of Racial Equality, University of Northampton, UK
Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Barbara Adewumi is Senior Research Fellow in Student Success at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Kent, UK..
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Race, Capital, and Equity in Higher Education
Book Subtitle: Challenging Differential Academic Attainment in UK Universities
Editors: Alexander Hensby, Barbara Adewumi
Series Title: Palgrave Studies in Race, Inequality and Social Justice in Education
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Education, Education (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-51616-0Due: 03 July 2024
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-51619-1Due: 03 July 2024
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-51617-7Due: 03 July 2024
Series ISSN: 2524-633X
Series E-ISSN: 2524-6348
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XX, 204
Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations