GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 1/26 - Understanding the lived experience of et…

Understanding the lived experience of ethnic minority students in postgraduate research

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 2/26 - We bring communities, organisations and …

We bring communities, organisations and policymakers together to shape a fairer future

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 3/26 - About GuildHE

About GuildHE

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 4/26 - Foreword

Foreword

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 5/26 - The peer research team

The peer research team

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 6/26 - Muhammad Sahabi Aliyu is a pharmacist cu…

Muhammad Sahabi Aliyu is a pharmacist currently undertaking a PhD programme in health studies at St Marys University, Twickenham. His research focuses on exploring the experience of weight cycling in South Asians with Type 2 Diabetes. Muhammads research interests are health inequalities, prevention and management of chronic diseases, adverse drug reactions, and herbal medicines.

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 7/26 - Executive summary

Executive summary

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 8/26 - Introduction

Introduction

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 9/26 - The wider context

The wider context

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 10/26 - minority students were more likely to us…

minority students were more likely to use the loan (66%) and without access to finance, ethnic minority students were more likely to agree (36%) that they would have had to change their career plans or aspirations without the loan compared with white students (28%) (Adams et al., 2019).

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 11/26 - education institutions can contribute to…

education institutions can contribute to a sense of belonging, particularly around interactions between students and members of staff (Cureton and Gravestock, 2019).

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 12/26 - The research

The research

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 13/26 - Figure 1 provides the ethnicity of parti…

Figure 1 provides the ethnicity of participants. Nonetheless, throughout this project, peer researchers and participants recognised that having an intersectional lens to understanding the experiences of ethnic minority PGRs was important. It was not deemed useful to simply categorise participants into groups based on a reductive set of characteristics such as gender or ethnicity. Consequently, in understanding experiences, peer researchers were cognisant of how the intersections of multiple characteristics shape participants lived experience of PGR education. Another strength of the co-analysis of the data was that the findings were not solely based on what students said, but also through in-depth discussions of how race and difference shape the experiences of what they said.

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 14/26 - Findings: the lived experience of ethnic…

Findings: the lived experience of ethnic minority PGR students

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 15/26 - Financial support

Financial support

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 16/26 - Personal support

Personal support

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 17/26 - contributing to a sense of isolation. Th…

contributing to a sense of isolation. This lack of representation also meant that students were less likely to seek support as they questioned whether staff would understand and sympathise with their needs, as many are white and middle class.

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 18/26 - Repeated instances of discrimination whe…

Repeated instances of discrimination when it comes to applying for opportunities, whether that be funding or placements for example, can lead to the development of a sense of fatalism.

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 19/26 - Students feel that more could be done to…

Students feel that more could be done to facilitate students ability to establish connections with academia and industry. To successfully transition into careers postPGR education, connecting ethnic minority PGRs to networks which understand the specific experiences of ethnic minorities in the labour market is deemed crucial.

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 20/26 - Conclusion

Conclusion

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 21/26 - Recommendations

Recommendations

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 22/26 - � Empirical evidence in the literature r…

� Empirical evidence in the literature review and from this study show that ethnic minority PGRs are more likely to self-fund their PGR education. Higher education institutions need to reflect on how best to financially support their ethnic minority PGRs. With the lack of financial support, provision of targeted funding for ethnic minority students that is also open to international students will facilitate their access to higher education. Financial pressures do not ease during PGR education so provision of small pots of money to help with living expenses will also be beneficial.

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 23/26 - References

References

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 24/26 - Higher Education in J. Arday and H. S. M…

Higher Education in J. Arday and H. S. Mirza (eds.), Dismantling Race in Higher Education. Palgrave MacMillan

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 25/26 - Appendix

Appendix

GuildHE-ICS Lived Experience of PGR.pdf - page 26/26 - 26