‘… They're talking to you as if they're kind of dumbing it down’: A thematic analysis of Black students' perceived reasons for the university awarding gap

Abstract

It is widely acknowledged that there is an awarding gap in higher education, with proportionally more White students achieving a good honours degree compared to their minoritized ethnic counterparts. Furthermore, the gap is largest between Black and White students, hence necessitating initiatives to understand the perspectives of Black students on perceived reasons for the awarding gap. Thus, the present study aimed to explore the perspectives of Black undergraduate Psychology students through the use of qualitative methodology. Sixteen participants took part in two focus groups, which were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was employed to analyse the data. Self‐determination theory provided a framework for contextualising the findings. Three main themes emerged, with participants describing being exposed to signals of unbelonging such as negative racial stereotypes and microaggressions. Within this theme, they discussed their responses to these signals of unbelonging, such as conforming to perceived White norms in an effort to belong and feel ‘normal’. Participants also highlighted the role played by parental influence and relationships on their academic experience. They also discussed experiences with university tutors that were deemed unfavourable. Together, the racialised experiences identified threatened the fulfilment of their needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness. It is thus imperative that higher education institutions actively engage their Black and minoritized ethnic students in order to understand their experiences and foster a sense of belonging at university. Furthermore, the findings regarding parental influence provide an opportunity for structural redress through widening participation efforts and adequate pastoral support.