What Do We Know About Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME) Participation in UK Higher Education?

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Here, we offer a synthesis of recent evidence and new developments in relation to three broad aspects of Black and minority ethnic (BAME) students’ participation in UK higher education (HE). First, we examine recent trends in ethnic group differences in rates of access to, success within, and positive destinations beyond HE. Secondly, we examine the nature of UK universities as exclusionary spaces which marginalise BAME students in a myriad of ways, not least through curricula that centre Whiteness. Finally, we consider the impact of the marginalisation of BAME students on mental health. We argue that progress towards race equality in each domain has been hampered by white-centric discourses which continue to identify BAME students and staff as ‘other’. We highlight the important roles that academic communities and HE policy-makers have to play in advancing ethnic equality in UK universities.

Related collections

Most cited references 72

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Toward a Unifying Theoretical and Practical Perspective on Well-Being and Psychosocial Adjustment.

Robert W. Lent (2004)

0 comments Cited 167 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses

Chandra Talpade Mohanty (1988)

0 comments Cited 165 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among black and minority ethnic (BME) communities: a qualitative study in Southeast England

Anjum Memon, Katie Rutledge-Taylor, Lisa Mohebati … (2016)

Objective In most developed countries, substantial disparities exist in access to mental health services for black and minority ethnic (BME) populations. We sought to determine perceived barriers to accessing mental health services among people from these backgrounds to inform the development of effective and culturally acceptable services to improve equity in healthcare. Design and setting Qualitative study in Southeast England. Participants 26 adults from BME backgrounds (13 men, 13 women; aged >18 years) were recruited to 2 focus groups. Participants were identified through the registers of the Black and Minority Ethnic Community Partnership centre and by visits to local community gatherings and were invited to take part by community development workers. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify key themes about perceived barriers to accessing mental health services. Results Participants identified 2 broad themes that influenced access to mental health services. First, personal and environmental factors included inability to recognise and accept mental health problems, positive impact of social networks, reluctance to discuss psychological distress and seek help among men, cultural identity, negative perception of and social stigma against mental health and financial factors. Second, factors affecting the relationship between service user and healthcare provider included the impact of long waiting times for initial assessment, language barriers, poor communication between service users and providers, inadequate recognition or response to mental health needs, imbalance of power and authority between service users and providers, cultural naivety, insensitivity and discrimination towards the needs of BME service users and lack of awareness of different services among service users and providers. Conclusions People from BME backgrounds require considerable mental health literacy and practical support to raise awareness of mental health conditions and combat stigma. There is a need for improving information about services and access pathways. Healthcare providers need relevant training and support in developing effective communication strategies to deliver individually tailored and culturally sensitive care. Improved engagement with people from BME backgrounds in the development and delivery of culturally appropriate mental health services could facilitate better understanding of mental health conditions and improve access.

0 comments Cited 135 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Title: Social Policy and Society

Abbreviated Title: Social Policy and Society

Publisher: Cambridge University Press (CUP)

ISSN (Print): 1474-7464

ISSN (Electronic): 1475-3073

Publication date Created: January 2022

Publication date (Electronic): October 04 2021

Publication date (Print): January 2022

Volume: 21

Issue: 1

Pages: 12-25

Article

DOI: 10.1017/S1474746421000579

SO-VID: 244224bf-52bb-4726-af6f-1dde6b9fb9d0

License:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms

History

Data availability:

Comments

Comment on this article

scite_

Smart Citations

Citing PublicationsSupportingMentioningContrasting

View Citations

See how this article has been cited at scite.ai

scite shows how a scientific paper has been cited by providing the context of the citation, a classification describing whether it supports, mentions, or contrasts the cited claim, and a label indicating in which section the citation was made.