Widening Participation in Higher Education: Exploring the Factors that Impact on Black Asian and Minority Ethnic Students Attainment at a Post-1992 University in England

The awarding gap between black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and widening participation (WP) students in general, and white students has continued to be of interest amongst researchers in the quest for a coherent social justice-based policy and practice in the UK higher education (HE) system. Having greater access to HE has not meant greater attainment for BAME students. This study used an exploratory and qualitative approach to investigate the lived experiences of BAME students and staff with respect to what impacts on the awarding gap, focusing on the context of post-1992 universities and the academic, cultural and social aspects as units of analysis. This approach offers a departure from the mainly deficit approach which predominantly results in interventions that presuppose fixing or aligning the students to existing lowly prioritised structures of support. The evidence found support to an approach that prioritises strategic and deeper pedagogic reforms and support systems that recognise the cultural capital of the BAME students. The analysis also gave us the opportunity to conclude that if the stakes are high enough for higher education institutions, their strategic planning processes and operational systems would naturally pick up and develop effective social justice policies.