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

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Table 2.1: Main reasons students (now in Year 13) gave for staying in education at age 16, byethnic group (mean scores) 1Wanted higher levelqualificationsBlackAfricanBlackCaribbean/BlackOtherPakistani/BangladeshiIndianChinese/AsianOtherAllminoritygroupsWhite4.7 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.5 4.7 4.5To go to university 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.7 4.1To get better job or career 4.6 4.7 4.4 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.5To study specific subjects 4.2 4.3 4.2 4.2 3.9 4.2 4.1Base number 86 58 117 160 62 534 2081 Mean scores range between 1 = ‘Not important’ and 5 = ‘Very important’, with 3 being a mid-point score. Otherreasons (not shown), such as ‘to retake qualifications’, ‘friends staying-on’, ‘didn’t know what else to do’ had muchlower average scores (under 3.0). Only those who opted to stay on at age 16 were asked this question.Source: IES survey of potential entrants to higher education, 2002/3students to go on to further education or sixth form college at 16,than stay on at school.Various explanations have been put forward in the researchliterature for this higher staying on pattern for most minorityethnic groups. They include: higher motivations to continue ineducation and gain higher qualifications than enter relatively lowlower-skilled jobs or work-related training (expressed often as agreater ‘drive for qualification’ 1 or ‘higher aspirations’ among theminority ethnic population); taking re-sits to improveperformance; and linked to both of these, the expectation thatbetter qualifications will reduce the effect of possible future racialdiscrimination in the labour market. 2Our survey of potential HE students (ie with a sample of Year 13students likely to be qualified to enter HE the following year) putsmore emphasis on the positive factors: a stronger drive forqualifications was evident among minority ethnic than Whitestudents. When the sample of potential HE students (in Year 13)were asked their reasons for staying in formal education beyondcompulsory leaving age (age 16), four reasons were given muchgreater significance by both minority ethnic and White students:to get higher level qualifications, to go to university, to get a betterjob/career and to study specific subjects. But minority ethnicstudents gave more importance to ‘to go to university’ than Whitestudents did. It was seen as slightly more important for Indiansthan for most other minority ethnic groups, but less important forBlack Caribbean/Black Other (Table 2.1).1 See Modood et al. (1997), Ethnic Minorities in Britain, Diversity andDisadvantage.2 See further discussion of staying-on at 16 and choices in Payne (2003),Choice at the end of compulsory schooling: A research review.Why the Difference? 15
2.3 Different post-16 education choicesMinority ethnic students disproportionately leave school to attendFE colleges, even to study subjects that are available at school.Black Caribbean students, in particular, are more likely to studyfor their HE entry qualification within a non-school environmentand may drop out of school at age 16, picking up study at a laterdate. 1 A likely related issue is that Black Caribbean pupils,particularly young men, are up to four times more likely to bepermanently excluded from school. However, the reasons whyindividuals opt for school or college study post-16 are varied andcomplex. For some minority ethnic pupils, it may relate to moredifficult relationships with schoolteachers (for instance, some tendto see Black young men as ‘less able’ and ‘more threatening’ thanAsians). 2 Other issues include the development of a ‘street’, oranti-school subculture amongst young Black men, in which beingpopular and academically successful are seen as mutuallyexclusive. 3 More general issues affecting post-16 education choicesrelating to attainment, subject preferences in post-16qualifications, and also geography may come in to play. Theprofile of courses taken by students in schools and sixth formcolleges is largely similar, but FE colleges have a higherproportion of students on vocational courses; and Year 12students at FE colleges have poorer GCSE results than those inschools and sixth form colleges (Payne J, 2003 op. cit.). The patternof post-16 provision differs across the country, as does the choiceof subjects. In some localities, especially in inner Londonboroughs, there is no school sixth form option available. Overall,FE colleges draw half of their intake at age 16 or 17, from schoolswithout sixth forms.Choice of post-16 educational route is important in relation to HEentry, for a number of reasons. Firstly, as already highlighted,education provision varies between the school and college sectors.Likely opportunities and educational experiences for youngpeople also vary, in particular those that build personalconfidence. 4 Secondly, there is a difference in careers guidanceprovision available to young people. Thirdly, there are widelydiffering outcomes of students going into colleges at 16 thanstaying in the school sector, with much higher drop-out rates incolleges (and wide variations between colleges also). Fourthly, thequalification, age and social class profiles of HE entrants from1 Evidence presented by Modood, ‘Ethnic Differentials in EducationalPerformance’ (Chapter 4, Mason, 2003).2 Evidence presented in Payne J (2003), Choice at the end of compulsoryschooling: A research review.3 Evidence presented in Aymer and Okitikpi (2001), Young Black Menand the Connexions Service.4 See NAO (2002), Widening Participation in Higher Education in England.16Why 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 30 and 31: survey. In total, 262 agreed to be
Page 32 and 33: there has been some dispersion over
Page 34: average economic returns to HE good
Page 37: London. 1 Many minority ethnic pupi
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
Page 84 and 85: information on how these factors af
Page 86 and 87: (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
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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
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Positive images and marketingThere
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EvaluationWhile initiatives to wide
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• pre-recruitment activities in H
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ethnic students, there are some spe
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do so at the traditional 18/19 age,
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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
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Pollard E, Pearson R, Willison R, (
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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
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Table A13: Further study or trainin
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did not happen. In future, we recom
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B.2.1 Survey approachA quantitative
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ooster sample also included the ‘
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was generally well matched except f
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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
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Table B12: Occupation of parents, b
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having good coverage of all minorit
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Table B14: Sample profile by ethnic
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than the UCAS accepted applicant po
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they were tested for statistical si
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‘enablers’ and ‘inhibitors’
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