Investigating the Attainment Gap in Academic Performance of Minoritised Ethnic Groups for a STEM Related Subject

Abstract

This paper addresses the attainment gap in academic performance for students of Minoritised and non-minoritised ethnicity, studying Discrete Mathematics, an undergraduate university level module, whereby an investigation of the effect of an intervention in one of the assessments is undertaken and statistically analysed. The attainment gap faced by the students of the UK higher education sector is concerning and between students of minoritised ethnic background and their counterparts, there is a sizeable achievement disparity in the education system. These groups' divergent academic performance is referred to as the attainment, and socioeconomic disadvantage, cultural hurdles, and institutional bias have all acted as a setback for the students from Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic communities. However, there are obstacles to putting this strategy into practise, such as the need for suitable pedagogical techniques and assistance for students from different ethnic circumstances. Creating inclusive teaching methods in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects that consider the linguistic and cultural diversity of the student is necessary to address these hindrances. Higher educational institutions can contribute to reducing the achievement gap for minoritised ethnic groups and fostering greater equity and social mobility by encouraging the teaching and study of modules in a responsive manner. Continuous analysis and study on the discrepancies faced by the students at their institutions should be performed to reduce this gap whilst promoting diversity. Moreover, a comparison over two academic years relative to the overall academic performance of students, considering the minoritised ethnic cohort, is accomplished so as to measure the approach’s validity. The results from the performance ratio, t-test, hypothesis testing, effect size, chi-squared test, categorical variable analysis and the Cronbach alpha measure, all feed into and confirm the reliability of the study hence validating the positive impact of the intervention.