Overview

This open access book examines the structural and cultural factors that explain the persistence of an attainment gap between white and Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in UK universities. So-called ‘deficit’ approaches have long represented the orthodoxy in higher education strategy-making, yet they overlook the structural and institutional factors that reproduce attainment gaps. Whereas students already in possession of the right ‘academic capital’ are made to feel validated and empowered in their learning, BAME students – particularly those from working class backgrounds – may feel marginalised by dominant hierarchical cultures on campus. This book provides an important and unique contribution to the study of racial equity in higher education. Its chapters provide a breadth and depth of analyses which help explain the roots of the attainment gap, while offering reflections and commentaries on the necessary steps that universities must take in order to ensure equityfor students from all backgrounds. This book is available open access under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License via link.springer.com.

Full Product Details

Author:   Alexander Hensby ,  Barbara Adewumi
Publisher:   Springer International Publishing AG
Imprint:   Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN:  

9783031516191

ISBN 10:   3031516192
Pages:   279
Publication Date:   26 March 2026
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

1 Editors’ introduction: Race and the awarding gap.- 2 Race, class, and student choice: Negotiating competing rationalities.- 3 Becoming a higher education student: Managing expectations and adapting to independent learning.- 4 BAME students’ extracurricular belonging at university: building networks, representation, and capital.- 5 Bringing vocational qualifications into the inclusivity agenda: The case of the BTEC.- 6 The role of motivation in student engagement and attainment.- 7 Doing the work: Institutional policy, research, and practice for closing the white-BAME awarding gap.- 8 Academic Advising in the massified university: Facilitating meaningful staff-student interactions.- 9 Reflections on teaching and negotiating race in social work and sociology.- 10 Race equity and inclusive curriculum: Diversity Mark and making a lasting impression on the institution.- 11 Editors’ Conclusion

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Author Information

Alexander Hensby is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent, UK. Barbara Adewumi is Senior Research Fellow in Student Success at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at the University of Kent, UK.. 

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