Experiences of black and minority ethnic (BME) students in higher education: applying self-determination theory to understand the BME attainment gap

“SDT has broadened our understanding of the experiences of BME students in higher education, and is of significance for academics and institutions whose aim is to support students’ natural tendency for intrinsic motivation (Ryan and Deci 2000).”

“[12] and Ryan and Deci [13], SDT is a theory usually considered for the education setting.”

“Usually, this framework is used in educational settings (Bunce et al., 2019; Ryan & Deci, 2020).”

“There is a strong theme throughout the research that the sense of isolation, lack of relatedness to both students and staff and the differences in culture all impact BAME student participation and learning (Bunce et al. 2021).”

“…a significant degree awarding gap between white students and students of colour in the UK, with a 23% point awarding gap between white students and Black African and Black Caribbean students specifically (Bunce et al., 2019; Smith, 2017; Universities UK & National Union of Student [NUS], 2019).”

“experienced by ethnic minorities, especially within UK higher education (Arday and Mirza 2018; Bunce et al. 2019; Mahmud and Gagnon 2020).”

“…cultural context from the USA, which is structured by the legacy of plantation slavery and Jim Crow; nonetheless, work by Arday (2018), Akel (2019), Bunce et al (2019) and others identify the commonplace nature of racial abuse, both overt and implicit, experienced by racialized minority students…”

“Increasing attention is being paid to the burden of high fees for international students (Brooks & Waters, 2021), and inadequate guidance when transitioning to British universities (Bunce et al., 2019; NUS, 2011).”

“Recent research studies in UK Higher Education (Akel, 2019; Bunce et al., 2021; NUS, 2011; Osbourne et al., 2023) and UK sport (Burdsey, 2004, 2011; Cleland, 2014; Cleland & Cashmore, 2016; UK sport, 2022) report the common phenomenon of being ‘ othered ’ and the subject of racist abuse.”

“…tradition of research that explores the role of “race” and racism in the educational experiences of ethnic minority students (Alexander & Arday, 2015; Bunce et al., 2021; George Mwangi et al., 2019; Harper, 2012; Steventon et al., 2016), and it presents evidence that the pervasive attainment gap…”

“The notion that the UK social work curriculum is white-centric and contributes to the negative learning experiences and poor academic outcomes of black, Asian and minority ethnic students (Tedam, 2012; Bunce et al., 2019) reflects the evidence that black, Asian and minority ethnic clients are over-represented in socia…”

“autonomy; thus possibly undermining their desire to achieve their full learning potential in some cases (Bunce et al. 2019).”

“…c experiences for students of colour within HE, their overall journey is shaped by factors high-lighted by studies conducted by researchers such as Bunce et al. (2021) and Bernard et al. (2014), who describe issues such as feeling they do not belong, a teaching curriculum that omits a diverse…”

“Furthermore, lower academic attainment is commonly observed among ethnic minority groups discussed in Richardson (2008) and more recently in Bunce et al. (2021). The major reason is that ethnic minority groups face some barriers due to cultural differences. Bunce et al. (2021) argue that there may also exist societal…”

“…noted in the literature such as how higher education acts to diminish the self-determination of Black students through their relatedness to and fulfilment from university, 9,46 alongside the Whiteness of campus and teaching materials 47 and the diversity of, and access to, Black staff and peers.”

“…students under speci fi c ethnic or socio-cultural backgrounds fall under what is called ‘ the attainment gap ’ , something that sometimes can also be reinforced by unconscious bias or unacknowledged dynamics of white privilege and structural racism that may exist amongst sta ff (Bunce et al. 2021).”

“HEIs can create genuine anti-racist universities by building an inclusive community and atmosphere by setting the standards and expectations of student and staff behaviour (Bunce et al., 2021).”

“Our study revealed this sense of exclusion could be exacerbated by a lack of cultural representation in the curriculum too, similar to Bunce et al. (2021).”

“Evidence suggests that a relationship exists between HE outcomes and the quality of learning and assessment (Lenton 2015) and that experiences of teaching and assessment may vary between ethnic groups (Bunce et al. 2021).”

“As others have pointed out, most previous research on these issues, perhaps particularly on coping mechanisms, has been rather atheoretical and largely descriptive (Bunce et al. 2021).”

“…indicates that Black university students in the UK and elsewhere often face both overt and subtle forms of racism, feelings of alienation and exclusion, and racial disparities in retention and graduation rates compared to their White peers (Ahmet, 2020; Bunce et al., 2021; Chonaill & Dublin, 2021).”

“In their study, Marandure et al. (2024) unlike Taylor (2021), Bunce et al. (2021), and Bunce and King (2019), took a distinct approach by adopting an inductive coding and thematic analysis method.”

“Though personal challenge in higher education is a challenge for all students, BME international postgraduate students encounter added challenges triggered by racial, social and institutional racism and discrimination (Bunce et al., 2021; Rai, 2004).”

“26 Bunce et al. 27 explained that SDT has been widely used in the education setting to assess students ’ future intentions or pursuance intentions.”

“This is known to hinder academic success and ful fi lment in EM students and progression of EM faculty (Bunce et al., 2021; Regmi, 2023).”

“It should also be noted that students are more likely to seek extra support from others if they perceive a lack of it from their university (Arslan et al., 2013; Bunce et al., 2019).”

“As found, colonialism within HE can lead to the failure to include diverse perspectives, reduced representation, and negative beliefs surrounding assessment and feedback (Bunce et al., 2019; Joseph-Salisbury, 2019).”

“This is because there is a market premium on ‘good grades’ – firsts and 2:1s (Bunce et al., 2021).”

“16 Regarding inclusivity in the classroom, the quantitative data suggested this may not always be clear to students with only 40 % of students feeling they were taught about ethnically diverse patient groups.”

“Additionally, students may have feelings of being an outsider due to a lack of cultural representation in staff and/or students (Bunce et al., 2019; Evans et al., 2015; Jabbar et al., 2020; Lundberg & Schreiner, 2004).”

“Furthermore, those who are enrolled, typically face lower grades and rates of study progress, and more drop out, than their white middle class peers (e.g. Bunce et al., 2021).”

“Evidence from the UK supports this, showing that similar initiatives successfully mitigated feelings of isolation among Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students and fostered a stronger sense of community (Bunce et al. 2021).”

“…the recommendations for HE institutions and staff to improve the situation for GEM students are now also relatively well-established (Akel 2019; Bunce et al. 2021; Universities UK 2022; Universities UK and NUS 2019; Wong and Tiffany Chiu 2020; Wong, ElMorally, and Copsey-Blake 2021), although…”

“Regarding relationships with tutors, although some recounted good relationships with some tutors, other said: These extracts concur with the literature (Bunce et al., 2021; Meeuwisse et al., 2010; OfS, 2024) that Black students tend to have poorer relationships with tutors.”

“Exceptions include the work of Bunce et al. (2021), who conducted three focus groups with 17 minority ethnic students in health and social care subjects, and reported that a lack of fulfilment in relation to relatedness, self-confidence, and sense of self-identity was a key barrier preventing them…”

“In the literature, many studies have investigated the degree awarding gap across different contextual indicators and explored ways to reduce this gap in various subject majors [9,13–15 , 17 ].”

“Given our results and the qualitative results of Bunce et al. (2021), we believe that there is a significant need to address the unique needs of racialized students in post-secondary institutions.”

“Teaching, learning and assessment processes can further alienate BAME students and there is a consensus across the HE sector globally that curricula are Eurocentric and undermine personal and cultural experience (Bunce et al., 2019).”

“A significant barrier to attaining global application is the subtleties and cultural differences in expressing one's feelings [11].”