Closing the awarding gap: listening to our Black students

There is an awarding gap between Black and White students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) at the Open University. The gap exists at qualification and module level, and for outcomes and rates of completion and progression.

Through an eSTEeM project, we are exploring how we reduce the awarding gap for the module S112, Science Concepts and Practice.

S112 is a first-year undergraduate, interdisciplinary science module that currently serves 24 qualification pathways. Data from five presentations indicates that pass rates for Black students are lower than White students, despite completion rates closer to the rest of the cohort.

Project team: Louise MacBrayne, Jennie Bellamy, Elaine McPherson and Angela Richards

​The project’s main aims are:

• To develop understanding of issues faced by Black students studying S112. 
• To raise awareness of these issues amongst STEM staff. 
• To consider module wide interventions (including module material modification) to support and improve Black student experience and success on S112.

In a preliminary stage of this project, we explored two overarching research questions:

1. What are the needs of Black students in S112 and barriers to their study?
2. What could be influencing their exam outcomes?

Findings from the preliminary research include key thematic outputs from online focus groups in which former S112 Black students were invited to informally share their own experiences of studying this module and whether they experienced any specific difficulties or barriers.

We have also undertaken an intersectional study to explore relationships between ethnicity and HEA descriptors such as gender, family experience of Higher Education, and socio-economic status with respect to module pass rate and analysis of TMA scores also by ethnicity and socio-economic status.

It is anticipated than longer-term outcomes could include: greater understanding of the needs of Black students amongst staff; increased representation of Black scientists in module content; and more inclusive tuition practice. This should help foster a greater sense of belonging for Black students, help Black students feel represented in module content, and remove some financial and logistical barriers to study.

Select Closing the awarding gap: listening to our Black students for more information about this project.