A Closer Look at Higher Education Minority Ethnic Students and ...

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survey. In total, 262 agreed to be contacted and gave details, andtelephone interviews were achieved with 103 of them one-yearlater, an unadjusted response of 39 per cent. Fifty-three of thesewere of minority ethnic origin. Interviews covered theirqualification details, activities since graduation, financialsituation, experiences of applying for jobs, reflections on theirundergraduate studies, and future plans.A further six in-depth interviews were also undertaken withrecent graduates. In addition, an analysis of 91 minority ethnicgraduates in Wave 3, the IES ‘Student Choice’ 1 survey, wasundertaken (with a sample of 1,300 graduates) to generateadditional data.1.3.6 Interviews with graduate recruitersThe employers interviewed included graduate recruitmentmanagers, HR managers and diversity/equality managers in asample of 20, mainly large, organisations. A great deal moreorganisations of varying sizes were contacted by telephone, butrefused to take part. Those who did gave details of therepresentation of minority ethnic groups in their graduate intakes,and their policies and practices relating to encouraging ethnicdiversity in graduate recruitment. In addition, a seminar wasorganised by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) in July2003 and a number of careers advisers, professional bodies andindividuals engaged in related activities were also interviewed.1.3.7 Interim reportAn interim report on the research was published in July 2003. 2This presented the results of the project at around the halfwaystage. It mainly presented an analysis of student data, whichshowed the participation patterns of minority ethnic students inHE and possible explanations from the existing research evidence,and also the full results of the student survey (see section 1.2.2above).In addition, five internal working papers have been producedduring the course of the project, presenting initial findings to theDfES from each of the fieldwork stages, and conference papersgiven to the DfES Research Conference in November 2002, theSociety of Research in Higher Education Annual Conference inDecember 2002 and a CRAC conference in November 2003.1 See Connor et al. (2001). In 2003, IES undertook a follow-up to the‘Making the Right Choice’ study, which was the third time theoriginal sample of 1998 university applicants had been surveyed; andmost had left university/college in 2001/02.2 See Connor et al. (2003) DfES Research Paper 448.Why the Difference? 7
1.4 This reportThis is the main final report on the project. It is a synthesis of allthe research findings, from all the stages of the project, and drawsconclusions and policy implications.This main report has nine chapters:Chapters 2 and 3 explore entry into HE, highlighting the differententry routes taken, and the various factors which can effect entrypatterns. Chapter 4 presents a statistical picture of the distributionof different ethnic groups in undergraduate study, and the factorswhich shape this.Chapters 5 and 6 focus on the progress and experiences, withinHE, of minority ethnic and White students, and discuss the rangeof factors influencing outcome and attainment.Chapters 7 and 8 then look at output — at the flows out from HEto the labour market; Chapter 7 presents the transition stage fromthe student perspective while Chapter 8 gives an employer andemployment perspective.Finally, Chapter 9 presents our conclusions.Appendix A includes some additional tables and Appendix Bprovides further details of the research methodology and othertechnical issues. The set of questionnaires used in the variousstages are available electronically, on request to IES.1.5 Background and contextBefore presenting the research findings in more detail, a fewintroductory points are made here, to help set the research incontext and interpret the research results.1.5.1 Minority ethnic population trendsAlthough Britain has always been populated with groups whichhave different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, today’s minorityethnic population (as referred to generally) is largely a result ofwaves of immigration during the 1950s and 1960s, from the ‘NewCommonwealth’ (Indian subcontinent, South East Asia, Caribbeanand Africa). In addition, more recent flows of immigrants havecontinued to come from there and from other parts of the world(but in smaller numbers, mainly Chinese, Black Africans, andAsian Others), as well as, even more recently, asylum seekers andrefugees predominantly from the Middle East, Africa and easternEurope.Thus, different migrant groups have entered the UK at differentperiods of time. They settled in different locations, and although8Why the Difference?
Page 1 and 2: RESEARCHWhy the Difference?A Closer
Page 4: AcknowledgementsThe authors would l
Page 7: 5.3 Difficulties affecting academic
Page 13 and 14: • Black or Black British: Black C
Page 15 and 16: • A range of factors affect HE en
Page 17 and 18: These are generalisations, and ther
Page 19 and 20: However, one year on, some (and par
Page 21 and 22: ecommendations are made (see Chapte
Page 23: xxii
Page 26 and 27: and colleges (for their HESA studen
Page 28 and 29: • A follow-up survey of 103 gradu
Page 32 and 33: there has been some dispersion over
Page 34: average economic returns to HE good
Page 37 and 38: London. 1 Many minority ethnic pupi
Page 39 and 40: 2.3 Different post-16 education cho
Page 41 and 42: data for Black groups shown in the
Page 43 and 44: students are, on average, older tha
Page 46 and 47: • ‘A’ level route: Fewer mino
Page 48 and 49: 3. Influences on Decision Making an
Page 50 and 51: what to expect at HE (and the diffe
Page 52 and 53: In our discussions with potential e
Page 54 and 55: Figure 3.1: Likelihood of students
Page 56 and 57: identified as being the most debt a
Page 58 and 59: less well (Pakistani, Bangladeshi,
Page 60 and 61: this is likely to vary between mino
Page 62 and 63: • Understanding better the effect
Page 64 and 65: approximately 196,000 in 2001/02, w
Page 66 and 67: Table 4.2: Higher Education Initial
Page 68 and 69: • in terms of the percentage shar
Page 70 and 71: mostly due to the popularity of nur
Page 72 and 73: • While the highest male particip
Page 74 and 75: • Those currently on courses lead
Page 76 and 77: mixed area, and having family exper
Page 78 and 79: qualification. How they (and their
Page 80 and 81:
lower than the White figure (male a
Page 82 and 83:
5. Student Progress and Experiences
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information on how these factors af
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(48 per cent), and Black Caribbean
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performed during their studies, alt
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affected by the different socio-eco
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‘I probably haven’t done that w
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5.7 SummaryThis chapter has shown t
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6. Output and AttainmentHere we foc
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However, if only first class degree
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qualifications. It has also shown t
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available), study/IT facilities, wo
Page 105 and 106:
7. Transitions to the Labour Market
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confirmed by our potential student
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Figure 7.1: Student plans after com
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‘You get to the final year and yo
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Figure 7.2: Labour market success i
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male and female minority ethnic stu
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Figure 7.3: Unemployment rates (%)
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with most of the rest slightly or r
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output are recruited straight away
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7.6.2 Satisfaction with jobThe smal
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graduates opting to take these cour
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graduates. This may be mainly subje
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expanded graduate supply and growth
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A recent BIC survey was generally p
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obtained from them, therefore, refe
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It is also important to note, as ou
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marketing/publicity said they gave
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presenting an image of an organisat
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groups. One interviewee suggested t
Page 143 and 144:
Positive images and marketingThere
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EvaluationWhile initiatives to wide
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• pre-recruitment activities in H
Page 149 and 150:
ethnic students, there are some spe
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do so at the traditional 18/19 age,
Page 153 and 154:
Policy implicationsThere are a numb
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9.3 HE Participation and choicesMin
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with higher concentrations of minor
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A further recommendation relates to
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Issues of race relations and equal
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minority ethnic groups than White g
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there are some data reliability iss
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BibliographyAdia E, Roberts D, Alle
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Department for Education and Skills
Page 171 and 172:
Pollard E, Pearson R, Willison R, (
Page 173 and 174:
Table A1: Higher Education Initial
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Table A3: Undergraduate White and m
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Table A5: White and minority ethnic
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Table A7: Socio-economic class (NS-
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Table A9: Main problems or difficul
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160 Why the Difference?Table A11: U
Page 185 and 186:
Table A13: Further study or trainin
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did not happen. In future, we recom
Page 189 and 190:
B.2.1 Survey approachA quantitative
Page 191 and 192:
ooster sample also included the ‘
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was generally well matched except f
Page 195 and 196:
Table B4: Representative sample: ed
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174 Why the Difference?Table B6: Ed
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Two intra-survey mailings were unde
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Table B8: Graduate sample by main e
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Table B10: Ethnic origin of parents
Page 205 and 206:
Table B12: Occupation of parents, b
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having good coverage of all minorit
Page 209 and 210:
Table B14: Sample profile by ethnic
Page 211 and 212:
than the UCAS accepted applicant po
Page 213 and 214:
they were tested for statistical si
Page 215 and 216:
‘enablers’ and ‘inhibitors’
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