The Minoritisation of Higher Education Students: An Examination of Contemporary Policies and Practice

Research into ethnic attainment differences in British higher education and elsewhere tends to depict students from minority ethnic backgrounds as disadvantaged, marginalised, discriminated against and excluded. In The Minoritisation of Higher Education, Mieschbuehler demonstrates that this idea is shaping theoretical perspectives and informing higher education policies and practice across the country, yet current university policies and practices perpetuate, rather than ameliorate, the educational status of so-called minority ethnic students.

Including an examination of current theories, as well as a wealth of empirical data from students, this book explains how group-based social differentiation and student-centred education foster the idea that ethnic and social attributes matter, losing any sense of our common humanity. Considering the consequences of this for students and university education as a whole, and challenging all pre-existing ideas of how to approach reported ethnic attainment gaps, The Minoritisation of Higher Education is a thought-provoking read.

The book will be of great interest to scholars, postgraduate students and professionals in the areas of higher education; learning and teaching; equality and diversity; ethnicity; and attainment. It is also an important work for policymakers concerned with higher education.

Ruth Mieschbuehler is the Programme Leader for the BA Education Studies at the University of Derby, UK and an Executive Committee Member of the British Education Studies Association (BESA).