Exploring approaches to addressing the ethnicity degree awarding gap

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On Monday 12 June we’ll be hosting an online webinar to launch the findings from our recently commissioned project exploring approaches aimed at addressing the ethnicity degree awarding gap in higher education (HE). The project aimed to produce a typology of approaches designed to address this gap, along with a narrative exploring wider issues such as implementation and evaluation.

This gap refers to the notable difference in the proportion of students from marginalised ethnicity backgrounds being awarded a first or upper-second class degree when compared to White students.

What did we do?

We commissioned Staffordshire University to carry out the project, which involved three distinct phases:

• A review of Access and Participation Plans (APPs) to produce the initial typology of approaches.
• Interviews with a range of sector stakeholders to gain further understanding of institutional infrastructure, attitudes, barriers, and enablers.
• Recruitment of an Expert Reference Group to support the development of the final outputs.

What will the event involve:

• A summary of the methodology, findings and key recommendations presented by the Staffordshire University project team
• A panel discussion with a range of speakers
• Audience Q&A

Who should attend?

The event is open to anyone interested, however, is particularly relevant to:

• Policy makers and practitioners within HE providers who are responsible for implementing interventions and securing effective strategic change in regard to the ethnicity degree awarding gap.
• Researchers, who will be interested in the data presented within an interactive dashboard for further exploration.

This project has followed on from previous work on the topic evaluating curriculum reform interventions. Findings from this work indicated limited success of these approaches, but also that the interventions were implemented inconsistently. Based on these findings, TASO commissioned this research to map and better understand the different approaches being undertaken by the sector to close the degree awarding gap.

Speaker list:

• Dr Omar Khan, TASO CEO (Chair)
• Dr Sally Andrews, Project Lead at Staffordshire University
• Dr Arinola Adefila, Project Team at Staffordshire University
• Jameelia Stephenson, Student at Staffordshire University and Project RA
• Dr Ada Adeghe, Associate Dean for Inclusivity at University of Wolverhampton