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Case Study: Enhancing the Learning Experiences of BAME Students at a University: The University Role

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2021

Hyun-Joo Lim
Hyun-Joo Lim*
Affiliation:
Department of Social Sciences and Social Work, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, UK E-mail: hlim@bournemouth.ac.uk
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Abstract

This case study examines the role of a university and academics in improving the learning experiences of BAME students, drawing on student-led participatory action research with Social Sciences BAME students at Bournemouth University (BU henceforth) between 2018-2020. The paper seeks to illuminate the critical role of the university by focusing on three inter-related facets at macro, meso and micro levels (Bronfenbrenner, 1979): financial and temporal/spatial support for students; collaboration between academic staff at departmental and faculty levels to address any issues that arose from student meetings; and its consequential impact on student wellbeing, self-worth and their overall engagement in their learning. I argue that to achieve the utmost improvement in BAME students’ learning experiences, these different levels of the support system need to work together. I further argue that maximising the potentiality of ‘ethnic capital’ (Modood, 2004) could be a powerful resource that could bring significant changes to the experiences of BAME students and subsequent outcomes of their learning during and after university.

Keywords

BAME studentsethnic capitalinstitutional supportparticipatory action research
Type
Article
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 21 , Issue 1: Themed Issue: ’Race’, Learning and Teaching in Social Policy , January 2022 , pp. 134 - 141
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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