Routes through higher education: BME students and the development of a ‘specialisation of consciousness’

Abstract

With changing demographics and the advent of mass higher education, there has been a significant impact on graduate transitions which has led to greater inequalities in access to social support during the transitionary period between undergraduate study and entrance into the labour market. This article explores the experiences of students in their final year of undergraduate study by drawing on 43 interviews with Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students. Using Bourdieu, we argue that BME students preparing to enter the labour market display a 'specialisation of consciousness': a set of practices framed by their prior background and experience, choice of university and the support derived from attending university. 'Specialisation of consciousness' is an ongoing process in which BME students identify and understand racial inequalities in higher education and accept the limiting consequences these have on transitions into the labour market or further study.

‘University is a non‐Muslim experience, you know? The experience is as good as it can be’: Satisfied settling in Muslim students’ experiences and implications for Muslim student voice

“…Similarly, Bhopal et al (2020) describe a 'specialisation of consciousness' within BAME students which resonates highly with the concept of satisfied settling. Their paper discusses how BAME students recognise institutional legacies of discrimination, yet accept these as fixed realities.…”

Discrimination, competitiveness, and support in US graduate student mental health

“…Consistent with role strain theory, characteristics of disciplines, professions and relationships within them may constitute environmental risk factors that moderate or exacerbate individual-level vulnerabilities to depression and anxiety (Bowman, 2013). The academy was created by and for a mostly white, male population and its values implicitly privilege those groups (Bhopal et al, 2020;Ahmed, 2012). This privileging may more inherited than intentional, but graduate students of color often experience stress from the mismatch between values with which they have been raised and prevailing values in their departments, disciplines and academia more broadly (Gildersleeve et al, 2011;Antony and Taylor, 2000).…”

“…Institutionalized and everyday forms of racism mean that students from minoritized backgrounds face barriers in the transition to graduate study (Bhopal et al, 2020) and additional mental health threats once enrolled (Jochman et al, 2019). Gildersleeve et al (2011) summarized in a simple question -"Am I going crazy?!…”

“…Support has had a variety of conceptualizations since the inception of this literature in the 1970s (Cobb, 1976;Cassel, 1974), and within graduate education, students express needs for financial, academic, sociocultural and psychosocial supports (Posselt, 2018). Scholars have documented structural aspects of relationships and institutional affiliations (Bhopal et al, 2020) and the experience of feeling supported in key mentoring relationships (Posselt, 2018;Kessler et al, 1985;Litalien and Guay, 2015). The latter appears to provide a strong buffer against stress (Kessler et al, 1985), which leads to questions about differences in the sources and quality of support available to graduate students by race, gender and class (Arday, 2018).…”

Exploration of employability perceptions with blended multi-criteria decision-making methods

“…The development of such perceptions of employability, particularly in the context of previous individuals' experiences, is still under-researched (Rothwell et al , 2008; Wittekind et al , 2010; Turner, 2014; Bhopal et al , 2020; Grosemans and De Cuyper, 2021). One particular aspect important to tackle refers to the way academic staff, namely lecturers, perceive the development of such students' self-beliefs (Bhopal et al , 2020). Lecturers have a crucial role on the way students develop and perceive their skill improvements and achievements (Van Dinther et al , 2011; Ayllón et al , 2019; Perusso and Wagenaar, 2021).…”