Fair Access to Higher Education

Mountford‐Zimdars, Anna; Post, David; Sabbagh, Daniel

doi:10.7208/chicago/9780226268903.001.0001

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Importance of relationships: exploring the relationships among students and their peers and among students and staff. This was particularly important as poor relationships affect the learning experience and lead to disengagement, lack of motivation and withdrawal 22…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Student perspectives on barriers to performance for black and minority ethnic graduate-entry medical students: a qualitative study in a West Midlands medical school

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectiveTo explore graduate-entry medical students experiences of undergraduate training in the context of academic underperformance of medical students from ethnic minority backgrounds.DesignQualitative study using semi-structured focus groups.SettingA West Midlands medical school.Participants24 graduate-entry MBChB students were recruited using volunteer and snowball sampling; all students self-identified as being from Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) backgrounds.ResultsBME students reported facing a range of difficulties, throughout their undergraduate medical training, that they felt impeded their learning and performance. Their relationships with staff and clinicians, though also identified as facilitators to learning, were also perceived to have hindered progress, as many students felt that a lack of BME representation and lack of understanding of cultural differences among staff impacted their experience. Students also reported a lack of trust in the institution’s ability to support BME students, with many not seeking support. Students’ narratives indicated that they had to mask their identity to fit in among their peers and to avoid negative stereotyping. Although rare, students faced overt racism from their peers and from patients. Many students reported feelings of isolation, reduced self-confidence and low self-esteem.ConclusionsBME students in this study reported experiencing relationship issues with other students, academic and clinical staff, lack of trust in the institution and some racist events. Although it is not clear from this small study of one institution whether these findings would be replicated in other institutions, they nevertheless highlight important issues to be considered by the institution concerned and other institutions. These findings suggest that all stakeholders of graduate-entry undergraduate medical education should reflect on the current institutional practices intended to improve student–peer and student–staff relationships. Reviewing current proposals intended to diversify student and staff populations as well as evaluating guidance on tackling racism is likely to be beneficial.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is the first to explore the experiences of BME graduate-entry medical students. It provides further insights into the causes of the differential attainment gap, building on previous research 2–4 9–12 22–24. The use of a qualitative design elicited in-depth and detailed narratives on participants’ experiences.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Student perspectives on barriers to performance for black and minority ethnic graduate-entry medical students: a qualitative study in a West Midlands medical school

2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our analysis was based on factors identified in an international study of HE24 reflecting that differential attainment is a widespread problem. Our study aimed to understand the issues in depth rather than to provide statistical generalisations; however, its theoretical foundations allow theoretical generalisability 28.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This shift is reflected in a recent Higher Education Funding Council England (HEFCE)-commissioned report into causes of ethnic differences in the UK HE 24. Four categories of explanatory factors were identified: (1) students' experiences of HE learning, teaching and assessment; (2) relationships that underpin students' experiences of HE; (3) psychosocial and identity factors; and (4) cultural and social capital factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived causes of differential attainment in UK postgraduate medical training: a national qualitative study

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectivesExplore trainee doctors’ experiences of postgraduate training and perceptions of fairness in relation to ethnicity and country of primary medical qualification.DesignQualitative semistructured focus group and interview study.SettingPostgraduate training in England (London, Yorkshire and Humber, Kent Surrey and Sussex) and Wales.Participants137 participants (96 trainees, 41 trainers) were purposively sampled from a framework comprising: doctors from all stages of training in general practice, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry, radiology, surgery or foundation, in 4 geographical areas, from white and black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, who qualified in the UK and abroad.ResultsMost trainees described difficult experiences, but BME UK graduates (UKGs) and international medical graduates (IMGs) could face additional difficulties that affected their learning and performance. Relationships with senior doctors were crucial to learning but bias was perceived to make these relationships more problematic for BME UKGs and IMGs. IMGs also had to deal with cultural differences and lack of trust from seniors, often looking to IMG peers for support instead. Workplace-based assessment and recruitment were considered vulnerable to bias whereas examinations were typically considered more rigorous. In a system where success in recruitment and assessments determines where in the country you can get a job, and where work–life balance is often poor, UK BME and international graduates in our sample were more likely to face separation from family and support outside of work, and reported more stress, anxiety or burnout that hindered their learning and performance. A culture in which difficulties are a sign of weakness made seeking support and additional training stigmatising.ConclusionsBME UKGs and IMGs can face additional difficulties in training which may impede learning and performance. Non-stigmatising interventions should focus on trainee–trainer relationships at work and organisational changes to improve trainees’ ability to seek social support outside work.

show abstract

“…HJ, AR, RV and KW read all transcripts, making notes. They met to jointly produce a first draft of the coding framework, which also referred to Mountford-Zimdars et al ’s analysis of similar data from UK higher education13 in that it categorised levels of change at the micro (individual), meso (local) and macro (national) levels. Using the draft framework, all four researchers coded one focus group transcript independently, and then met again to refine the framework.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organisational perspectives on addressing differential attainment in postgraduate medical education: a qualitative study in the UK

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ObjectivesTo explore how representatives from organisations with responsibility for doctors in training perceive risks to the educational progression of UK medical graduates from black and minority ethnic groups (BME UKGs), and graduates of non-UK medical schools (international medical graduates (IMGs)). To identify the barriers to and facilitators of change.DesignQualitative semistructured individual and group interview study.SettingPostgraduate medical education in the UK.ParticipantsIndividuals with roles in examinations and/or curriculum design from UK medical Royal Colleges. Employees of NHS Employers.ResultsRepresentatives from 11 medical Royal Colleges (n=29) and NHS Employers (n=2) took part (55% medically qualified, 61% male, 71% white British/Irish, 23% Asian/Asian British, 6% missing ethnicity). Risks were perceived as significant, although more so for IMGs than for BME UKGs. Participants based significance ratings on evidence obtained largely through personal experience. A lack of evidence led to downgrading of significance. Participants were pessimistic about effecting change, two main barriers being sensitivities around race and the isolation of interventions. Participants felt that organisations should acknowledge problems, but felt concerned about being transparent without a solution; and talking about race with trainees was felt to be difficult. Participants mentioned 63 schemes aiming to address differential attainment, but these were typically local or specialty-specific, were not aimed at BME UKGs and were largely unevaluated. Participants felt that national change was needed, but only felt empowered to effect change locally or within their specialty.ConclusionsRepresentatives from organisations responsible for training doctors perceived the risks faced by BME UKGs and IMGs as significant but difficult to change. Strategies to help organisations address these risks include: increased openness to discussing race (including ethnic differences in attainment among UKGs); better sharing of information and resources nationally to empower organisations to effect change locally and within specialties; and evaluation of evidence-based interventions.

show abstract

Fair Access to Higher Education

Cited by 7 publications

References 0 publications

Student perspectives on barriers to performance for black and minority ethnic graduate-entry medical students: a qualitative study in a West Midlands medical school

Student perspectives on barriers to performance for black and minority ethnic graduate-entry medical students: a qualitative study in a West Midlands medical school

Perceived causes of differential attainment in UK postgraduate medical training: a national qualitative study

Organisational perspectives on addressing differential attainment in postgraduate medical education: a qualitative study in the UK

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About