Careers and Employability Advisor Education Liaison Officer LET’S TALK ABOUT RACE Widening Participation: Challenging and innovative approaches to access and success in higher education and beyond Zion Sengulay Careers and Employability Advisor Robert Temowo Education Liaison Officer

By the end of this workshop, you will be able to: Discuss student and/or staff personal experiences related to race within Higher Education Identify at least 3 ways of taking positive action within Higher Education

Just a few facts

We care about diversity at Kingston….. Inclusive Curriculum Framework Beyond Barriers (Students and staff) BME Leadership Programme Equality online Module Cultural diversity programme Kingston University Reading Group Network of Equality Champions Inclusive curriculum consultants

Kingston’s Institutional Approach Measuring impact of initiatives Student Inclusive curriculum consultants Student Union partnership Value Added Score Steering Group Attainment Gap as Institutional KPI BME attainment and diversity considered in Quality Assurance EDI as academic promotion criteria Connected access agreement milestone with student success and KPIs Course and faculty meetings to raise awareness of their VA score Workshops: Inclusive curriculum Equality essentials Unconscious bias Course dashboards with the BME attainment gap https://staffspace.kingston.ac.uk/dep/planningoffice/performanceanalysis/Pages/Faculty-and-Course-KPIs.aspx People discussing attainment gap with the Inclusive Curriculum Framework

Feeling uncomfortable There is still so much more to be done! Let me share my experience with you TERMINOLOGY Anger Feeling uncomfortable Worried Judged Frustrated What is the point of this story – I bestowed privilege, I was called out (remember to do the gestures) Flipped for some white staff are talking about black students So when the team are delivering the work around the attainment gap they hearing concerns less and less now about ‘whispering in hushed tones the word black or bme’ stereotyping’ - Why : majority don’t want to offend or be seen as racist so they avoid talking about race and sometimes even to the bME students themselves

So what can we do next… Get up close and professional Group discussion: Case Studies

Feedback

Inclusive curriculum framework Teaching Create an accessible curriculum Enable students to see themselves reflected in the curriculum Equip students with the skills to positively contribute to and work in a global and diverse environment In the concept In the content (case study: question, discussion) In the delivery In the assessment In the feedback/forward In the review “Every year in school when we celebrated black history month, I always would hear about the usual topics, things like slavery, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks etc. The type of history that people would celebrate was always halfway across the world, though interesting, I could never properly relate to it. I am black, British, but Somali raised young woman, which has so many of it’s own challenges, trust me. We never got a chance to celebrate our country, culture and identity in schools or my local area, we never learnt about Somali history in school, read Somali literature or even learnt about the achievements from local people. This impacted my confidence with the education system, I felt invisible most of the time and realised over time I became an angry person, which affected my behaviour. Now I am at University, I was hoping that things would be different. It’s still the same type of black history month stuff though, but only time will tell I guess, we will have to see.”

In addition to the institutional approach, and the getting up close and professional, disadvantage can still exists, so…

‘People love to say, “Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day ‘People love to say, “Give a man a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he will eat for a life time.” What they don’t say is, “and it would be nice if you gave him a fishing rod.” I would like to finish with this quote which builds on the picture above…. Personalisation, relationship, customer care, time, empathy

Key points to consider Conversation- Talking about race is difficult but needs to be done by everyone Take responsibility- Do not wait to be told, instead be willing and open to learning more about cultural differences, race, terminology. Be honest- It always helps to express your lack of knowledge and/or any worries or concerns you have about not knowing how to navigate a discussion on race

TIPS The reality is that disadvantage exists so after talking ‘WE’ still need to take positive action Find out what your University is already doing Focus on one or two areas you want to change Get student union involved Get buy in from leadership Set up a student/staff advisory group Your story and experience can make a difference

We would love to hear from you Zion Sengulay – Thomas Careers and Employability Advisor 0208 417 4121 z.sengulay-thomas@kingston.ac.uk Robert Temowo Education Liaison Officer 020 8417 6512 and/or 0776 893 6512 r.temowo@kingston.ac.uk