Universal Education

It is important to understand that while the attempt to reduce the ethnicity awarding gap in Higher Education is one that I support, it is a pointless effort without appropriate context.

Photo Cred: Valedictorian of CSS graduating class 2019, St. Kitts & Nevis Observer

The challenge that Black Caribbean students face begin long before they enter the 'halls' of our Universities. I've heard the assertion that once a student meets the entry criteria for University they have demonstrated that they are all equally capable at the start of their University learning journey. This often leads to a simplistic deduction that therefore something goes wrong at University as to why Black students consistently underperform. Therefore, the onus is on the University.

I do not agree with this theory.

Postcolonial Caribbean countries in their states of immediate independence went straight to the principles of Universal Education. During colonialism students achieving a primary school education was extremely rare, and education on the whole was seen as an elitist club that most citizens would never graduate from. Caribbean countries went straight to Universal education with an immediate focus on equity of access, and curriculum reform from Primary (and more recently early years) straight through to the end of secondary schooling. Postcolonial Universal education immediately began developing the self-concept and Caribbean identity of their students from Primary straight through to Tertiary Education.

Most Black Caribbean domicile students in the UK have not had this opportunity unless their parents took it upon themselves to teach their children the value of their identity and 'how to play the game' of Higher Education. Too many times I have heard from Black students that they did not know that more support was available, or that they were eligible.

Lesson:

1. Design curriculum for students that allows for belonging and understanding of their cultural identity from level 3 (in Universities) through to level 6.

2. Design curriculum that teaches students how to navigate Higher Education, and not just content. You can use 5 credits of your 15-20 credit module teaching students how to produce their assessments or on how they have explored the support available at their University.

Challenges in student performance are a part of a bigger picture. Student under performance in University is symptomatic of wider systemic issues that the University may not be able to fix on its own. There is not a reason to stop the work currently taking place on anti-racism and decolonising, but rather a call to address the reality of student needs and circumstances before and during their University studies.

See a very well contextualised discussion on the Black awarding gap in UK HE below from SOAS University: