BME Success Project Reducing the BME attainment gap

BME Success Project; Reducing the BME attainment gap Dr Helen Barefoot h. barefoot@herts. ac. uk @helenbarefoot

UK and UH demographics UK- domicile students by country and ethnicity (Blandford et al. , 2011)

National picture regarding BME student performance and UH context 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Overall White Mixed Asian Black Chinese Percentage of good degrees awarded according to ethnicity (Data includes both Home/EU and Overseas students) (UH 2009 -2010) UK-domiciled first degree undergraduate qualifiers obtaining a good degree by academic year and ethnicity (Blandford et al. , 2011)

Employment

Building understanding of the BME attainment gap to inform the Equality Objectives

Student Challenges

Equality Objectives • Objective 1 – Further improve equality guidance for, and the support and treatment of, staff and students • Objective 2 – Further enhance engagement and communication with staff and students on equality • Objective 3 – Reduce the differential in academic attainment between White and Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students by 10 percentage points by 2014/15 • Objective 4 – To identify and remove barriers hindering the recruitment and progression of staff of protected characteristics • Objective 5 - Extend the collection and improve the use of equality monitoring data to meet the Equality Duty

Top Tips to support BME student success • Learn student names • Invite participation from all students • Manage student groups to move students beyond friendship groups • Assess your own racial or cultural biases • Consider opportunities for students to be inspired by BME role models (e. g. guest lecturers, video clips or interviews) • Whenever possible, use anonymous marking

Toolkit Development http: //tinyurl. com/7 gmmmnu

Inclusive group work 4 3 5 2 1 1 2 2 4 3 5 3 1 2 1 3 5 4 4 5 5 4 3 1 2 Tutor’s desk • Set first task in pairs e. g. checking understanding of previous seminars • Set next task in 3 s and give people roles in the group

Developing the Graduate Attributes Employability Social responsibility Respect for others

Useful resources • University of Hertfordshire Curriculum Design Toolkit Inclusive Culture project work • Guidance on teaching in racially diverse classrooms on Harvard’s website (The Derek Bok Centre for Teaching and Learning): TEACHING IN RACIALLY DIVERSE COLLEGE CLASSROOMS • Guidance on many aspects associated with inclusive teaching from Sheffield University's Centre for Excellence in Inclusive Teaching (including case studies plus hints and tips) http: //www. shef. ac. uk/lets/projects/inclusivelandt • The Open University's guidance on Inclusive teaching http: //www. open. ac. uk/inclusiveteaching/index. php • The Higher Education Academy's weblinks to Inclusive Teaching http: //www. heacademy. ac. uk/resources/detail/subjects/psychology/Teaching_practice _issues_Accessibility_and_Inclusive_Practice • National Union of Students’ Race for Equality report http: //www. nus. org. uk/en/campaigns/blackstudents/race-for-equality/