Paying the widening participation penalty
Racial and ethnic minority students and mental health in British universities
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8124283 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Funmi‐Victoria Olaniyan (0000-0003-3786-0875, Department of Sociology and Policy Aston University Birmingham United Kingdom, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 761-783 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-07 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1529-7489 • E-ISSN: 1530-2415 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/asap.12242 |
| OpenAlex | W3161797921 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 38 |
Racial and ethnic minority (REM) students are more likely to experience poor mental health than their White peers yet are less likely to seek help from university counseling services. In attempting to explain this puzzle , the role of environmental factors are rarely explored, despite evidence which suggests that the university environment is itself a major factor. Here, I take a qualitative paired comparison approach to examine the influence of the university environment on the mental health and help‐seeking attitudes of REM undergraduate students, evaluating their experiences at a Russell Group university (RGU) with low REM participation and a neighboring non‐Russell Group university with high REM participation. While both universities declared a commitment to widen participation and promote inclusion for REM individuals, semi‐structured interviews with 48 REM students reveal that feelings of isolation and the experience of discrimination were heightened at the RGU. However, students at both universities described having to navigate a “minefield” of racial microaggressions and “othering.” Further, these environmental pressures are compounded by personal factors (i.e., prior help‐seeking experiences, cultural norms, and family pressures). Together, these factors largely influence both their mental health and their help‐seeking attitudes. I argue that these factors create a widening participation penalty for REM students and suggest that support for these students must go beyond initial acts of increasing diversity on campus (for example, through Widening Participation schemes). Rather, efforts should focus on addressing and reforming the institutional environments and behaviors that hinder university campuses from becoming truly inclusive and mentally healthy environments
Diversity (politics · Ethnic group · Feeling · Inclusion (mineral · Mental health · Political science · Psychiatry · Public relations · Sociology · White (mutation · Higher Education Research Studies · Migration, Health and Trauma · Psychology · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Social Psychology
Understanding the reasons why students fail to submit assignments
The Cost of Asking
Gauging trauma-informed pedagogy in higher education
Institutional Compassion in Student Transition to University
A Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Utilisation of Embedded University Wellbeing Services by Ethnic Minority Students in London
Life as an ethnic minority ( EM ) university student
Storying student belonging in UK higher education
Nine themes in campus racial climates and implications for institutional transformation
Differing Perceptions
Enhancing Campus Climates for Racial/Ethnic Diversity
Thematic analysis
Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (Coreq)
Factors influencing attitudes towards seeking professional psychological help among South Asian students in Britain
Building the anti-racist university
Feeling like an “Alien” or “Family”? Comparing students and faculty experiences of diversity in STEM disciplines at a PWI and an HBCU
The ties that bind and the shackles that separate
I Know It (Racism) Still Exists Here
The Campus Racial Climate
Exploring ethnic differences in the post-university destinations of Russell Group graduates
Having Your Day in Court
The Strategy of Paired Comparison
Understanding Mental Health
Power and positionality
Bridging Student Engagement and Satisfaction
Being Black in a White World
Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method
Thematic Analysis
Birds of a Feather
| Citations per year | 1.4 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2021 - 2026 (6) |
| Highly cited | No |