The "Quality" of Black Caribbean students in the UK

"A beautiful picture of resilience, strength, ability, and determination is presented when I look at black students. I see their smiles, their laughs, their 'concentration faces. I see my daughter in the next decade."

https://www.vogue.co.uk/arts-and-lifestyle/article/black-british-university

I'll preface this blog debunking the myth that a student can be of poorer quality than another.

1. There is standard no definition of a "good quality student" that will stand in any educational arena.

2. If a student is in your HE classroom, then it’s because they have met the criteria for acceptance like every other student.

3. Measuring the "quality" of a student is akin to measuring the "quality" of a person, and this ideology perpetuates racism and oppression, and does not foster learning.

In the UK, Black Caribbean students have been monitored for success at completion of their degree since 2003, and there has been little to no progress on reducing the awarding gap according to Advance HE (2021). It's been further found that the awarding gap in institutions with the most diverse student body (when it pertains to ethnicity) have the largest attainment gaps.

Despite this dismal picture, we still see high retention rates for Black students (Black students don't drop out at alarming rates). This means that Black students are persisting despite the odds against them and choosing to stay in university. We are seeing that Black students are still completing their degrees. A recent study I co-published speaks to the fact that economically, Black people have to work twice as hard to achieve half as much. I'd hypothesise that this is also the case with educational attainment in UK Higher Education. A beautiful picture of resilience, strength, ability, and determination is presented when I look at Black students. I see their smiles, their laughs, their concentration faces. I see my daughter in the next decade.

Many days I ask what is the point of it all, particularly when I see that after 13 years there is still so much to be done. Then I see my students, and those colleagues that chose to consistently show up. The quality of a Black student in the UK is immeasurable. Yes, they bring academic "value" to the organisation, but they also bring so much more that if we were able to showcase and celebrate would change the face of Higher Education.