Social class ‘key’ to diversity efforts as white students shun HE

White children eligible for free school meals (FSM) are lagging behind their peers when it comes to progressing to university, according to a report by social mobility charity the Sutton Trust.

Sizeable gaps between ethnic and regional groups in moving from school to higher education (HE) have been identified by the charity, with only 18 per cent of white British FSM pupils taking the leap by age 19, compared with 62 per cent of black African and 58 per cent of Indian FSM pupils.

Even the grouping with the second lowest progression rate, black Caribbean children with the FSM entitlement, go to university at a rate of 36 per cent, double that of their white British contemporaries.

Although white British girls have higher rates of progression into HE than their male counterparts, the same grouping is further behind other cohorts of girls, with a 22 percentage point gap between them and black Caribbean FSM girls.

Carl Cullinane, director of research and policy at the Sutton Trust and one of the report’s authors, said: “One of the big reasons for these gaps are differing experiences and attitudes to education among parents. White working-class parents are much more likely to have had negative experiences of school themselves, which affects their engagement with schools and the importance they place on education.

“This is illustrated by differences in using private tutoring. Poorer pupils from black African, Bangladeshi, black Caribbean, Pakistani, and Indian families were four to five times more likely to receive private tutoring than their white British peers.”

The Crossing Paths report investigates “how gender, ethnicity and place shape opportunity”, and follows on from Sutton Trust’s Opportunity Index research into social mobility and socio-economic variations, released last year.

On average, 29 per cent of pupils in British schools achieve an undergraduate degree by age 22, the report notes.

However, this figure becomes just 16 per cent for FSM pupils and 9 per cent for white FSM children specifically.

These averages mask considerable regional and local variation, however, with 11 per cent of white FSM pupils in London achieving a degree by age 22 compared with 8 per cent of their equivalent contingent in the south east.

In response to the findings, Sutton Trust has made several recommendations, including calling for universities to lead by example.

“Universities across the country should use their position as civic institutions to increase regional and local collaboration with schools, colleges, employers and local government to identify coldspots, address barriers, and improve access to higher education,” the report urges.

Researchers also demand an increase in maintenance support for students to reflect the “real costs” they face.

“Social class should be seen as an essential element of diversity and inclusion work across schools, universities and employers, particularly as it magnifies other disparities,” the report adds, calling on the government to “review making social class a protected characteristic”.

Reflecting on the findings, co-author Cullinane told Times Higher Education: “We need to focus more on harder to reach groups when it comes to widening access, rather than just picking low-hanging fruit, but of course this is easier said than done.

“We also need much greater regional collaboration that delivers better outcomes for communities at a local level.”

Cullinane pointed to the welcome return of targeted maintenance grants for students from low-income households, but said policymakers seemed to lack a cohesive vision for widening access to university.

“The recognition that the access agenda has stalled and needs reinvigorating has been a welcome one,” he said, adding: “But it is also clear that the government don’t have a joined-up philosophy on the role of higher education in breaking down barriers to opportunity, and different policies are jarring with each other.

An optimistic and clear vision of the role of HE and widening participation in the wider ecosystem is absolutely vital.”

georgia.luckhurst@timeshighereducation.com