Academic support and the BAME attainment gap: Using data to challenge assumptions

Lucy Panesar

Academic support and the BAME attainment gap: Using data to challenge assumptions

Lucy Panesar

Abstract

Within higher education, multiple factors are said to be causing a gap between Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) and White students. Whilst there is the will to close it, some underlying assumptions amongst university staff maintain the idea of a BAME student skills deficit that tends to point towards academic support as a form of salvation. This article explains how a data driven approach effectively challenged assumptions about BAME student engagement with academic support by discussing a quantitative study of students at London College of Fashion (UAL), and highlights issues connected with using institutional data to research ethnic inequalities.

Keywords

Academic Support; BAME; Attainment; Institutional Data; Monitoring Engagement; Ethnic Categorisation

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References

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