Phase I of Student Success ran from 2014 to 2017, with research conducted by Dr Alexander Hensby and Dr Lavinia Mitton. The first step was to conduct a literature review of theory and research on race and academic attainment in higher education, including research and practice conducted by other HEIs relating to closing the white-BAME attainment gap. From this exercise, the team identified the following themes that would inform our own research design and data collection:
- BAME students’ preparedness for university, including access to social and cultural capital that may benefit transition to higher education (Ozga and Sukhnandan, 1998; Shiner and Modood, 2002; Connor et al. 2004).
- Barriers to higher education for BAME students, including commuting, working part-time, and entry qualifications (Bhopal 2011; Singh, 2012).
- Dominant cultures on campus that may limit BAME belonging, including institutional constructions of the ‘normal’ student, monocultural support networks, microaggressions and discrimination (Reay et al, 2001; Read et al, 2003; Sims, 2007; Dhanda, 2010).
Over the course of Phase I, our research design would produce the following sources of data:
- 2014/5 Student Barometer dataset: featuring a suite of project-specific questions, merged with demographic and performance data from SDS (N=4504).
- 64 semi-structured interviews with home undergraduates, recruited via the 2014/5 Barometer survey.
- 2015/6 Student Barometer dataset: featuring a suite of project-specific questions (revised from previous year), merged with demographic and performance data from SDS (N=3313).
- 24 in-depth interviews with academic and professional services staff.
- Student focus groups in Phase I pilot schools.
- Collection of information on policies and practices in Phase I schools for comparative analysis.
Phase I qualitative research received ethical clearance from SSPSSR’s research ethics committee in February 2015, while survey research was designed and conducted with the approval of the University’s Information Compliance Unit. Findings were collected into ten reports, all of which can be accessed via our Student Success Moodle Hub:
- SSR1: Executive Summary
- SSR2: Literature Review
- SSR3: Race, ethnicity, and academic attainment
- SSR4: Academic advising
- SSR5: Assessment and feedback
- SSR6: BTEC entrants
- SSR7: Access to student support services
- SSR8: Student commuters
- SSR9: Student motivation
- SSR10: Student voices and representation (in association with Kent Union)
Throughout Phase I, Student Success research was presented at a number of different university forums, including Senate, Council, and an annual staff symposium. Our research was showcased at our ‘Closing the Gap’ national conference, held on the Canterbury campus in June 2016. Findings were also presented at the British Sociological Association (BSA) Annual Conference in 2015 and 2016, and the Society for Research into Higher Education (SRHE) Annual Conference in 2016.