Originally published here.

This case study examines the role of a university and academics in improving the learning experiences of BAME students, drawing on student-led participatory action research with Social Sciences BAME students at Bournemouth University (BU henceforth) between 2018-2020. The paper seeks to illuminate the critical role of the university by focusing on three inter-related facets at macro, meso and micro levels (Bronfenbrenner, 1979): financial and temporal/spatial support for students; collaboration between academic staff at departmental and faculty levels to address any issues that arose from student meetings; and its consequential impact on student wellbeing, self-worth and their overall engagement in their learning. I argue that to achieve the utmost improvement in BAME students’ learning experiences, these different levels of the support system need to work together. I further argue that maximising the potentiality of ‘ethnic capital’ (Modood, 2004) could be a powerful resource that could bring significant changes to the experiences of BAME students and subsequent outcomes of their learning during and after university.

The project described here examines the role of a university and academics in improving the learning experiences of BAME students, based on a student-led participatory project carried out between 2018-2020. Consistent with a UK-wide trend (Universities UK and National Union of Students, 2019), data drawn from Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) indicated gaps between the two groups at BU in 2017. This was also the case for those on Sociology programmes at BU between 2014-2017 with lower rates of achieving a 2:1 or first- class degree, compared to non-BAME students. Moreover, the National Student Survey (NSS)1 data in 2016/17 indicated less satisfaction among BAME students in the Social Sciences (SS) programmes, in line with the wider university. However, it was unclear what exactly caused such experiences for those students as the data neither revealed the deeper causes nor the overall picture of the problem. Whilst there already existed projects targeting BAME students at BU, we strongly felt there needed to be a more student-led project that provided a platform for them to take initiatives in identifying the underlying issues as well as ways in which their learning experiences could be improved.

Thus, I proposed a project based on the proactive role of BAME students in gaining positive experiences and enhanced results through action research. Taking a case study approach (AHRC, 2012), this paper aims to illuminate the vital role of the institution by focusing on three inter-related facets at macro, meso and micro levels (Bronfenbrenner, 1979): financial and temporal/spatial support for students; collaboration between academic staff at departmental and faculty levels to address any issues that arose from student meetings; and its consequential impact on student wellbeing, self-worth and their overall engagement in their learning. In order to achieve the maximum improvement in BAME students’ learning experiences, these different levels of the support system need to work together.

As demonstrated in this small project, the role of institutions is pivotal and has great potential to change the learning experiences and outcomes of BAME students. In this, universities can  be highly instrumental in encouraging BAME students to take a proactive role in addressing the existing lacunae and to take ownership of handling the issues directly facing them. As I suggested previously, universities should take a systemic approach in which macro, meso, and micro levels of support mechanisms work together to generate the best possible outcomes for BAME students. There should be structural support systems in place at institutional, faculty and departmental levels to make this work, as illustrated here. First, financial support for the project was crucial in encouraging students to attend the meetings in terms of offering free catering and payment for their participation. Secondly, institutional support was vital in allowing  the time available to the academic(s) to plan, organise and run the project. Thirdly, any issues that emerged from students’ discussions can only be addressed and tackled head-on with full institutional support. For instance, I was supported by the department and worked closely with the colleagues in the team.

Thus, if any teaching-related issues were raised by students that could be addressed immediately, I communicated directly with colleagues to deal with them and fed back to the students about how we as a team responded to their feedback. This was critical in building trust among students and for their continued participation in the project. Finally, students’ sense of being valued by the university and the department is important in their wellbeing, self-worth and consequent learning experiences. I further argue that maximising the potentiality of ethnicity as a form of social capital could be a powerful resource that could bring significant changes to the experiences of BAME students and subsequent outcomes of their learning during and after university. This is the potential that universities should tap into by providing a structural platform, built on a supportive and inclusive foundation that encourages the proactive participation of BAME students in their learning and beyond in collaboration with academic staff. This case study describes a small project whose findings, based largely on qualitative data, are necessarily limited. Whilst the project initially sought to also obtain quantitative data on their outcomes, it was not possible to draw any meaningful conclusion as such data was only available at a department level, which also included Social Work programmes and the separation of SS programmes was not possible due to the small number of BAME students.

Nonetheless, the case study is important in illuminating the positive experiences of BAME students which universities could build on to unearth and maximise their potential 

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