1. TIES 2009 Retention programs in Higher Education Sabine Severiens Mary Tupan

2. TIES 2009 Two research observations Increasing diversity in higher education Study careers of minority students are less successful

3. TIES 2009 Increasing diversity The traditional student is no longer the average student (straight from secondary education, early twenties, full time student, parents with HE) Increasing numbers of students in general and students from ethnic minority backgrounds in particular

4. TIES 2009 Higher vocational education: 68% of all majority students graduates within 6 years, compared to 50% of all minority students University: 55% of all majority students graduates within 6 years, compared to 40% of all minority students (Wolff, 2007). (Figures from the Netherlands)

5. TIES 2009 Central question What can educational programmes do to reduce the differences in school performance and to offer diverse groups of students equal opportunities?

6. TIES 2009 Handbook of Higher Education Severiens & Wolff, 2008 a literature review with a focus on the role of teaching and programmes

7. TIES 2009 Our literature search indicated three relevant and overlapping areas 1.Tinto’s retention model (1997, 1998) 2.The social domain 3.The learning environment

8. TIES 2009 Tinto’s retention model: Social and academic integration Social integration: good contacts with peers, high quality cooperative work Academic integration: good contacts with teachers, good teaching Research shows: Ethnic-minority students seem less well socially and academically integrated. However, results are inconclusive about the relationship between integration and study success.

9. TIES 2009 The social domain Acting ‘White’ (the theory of oppositional identity) Ogbu, 2003 Pride in one’s own identity, extensive network in home community, acts as a psychological buffer, it compensates for lack of support from the educational institute

10. TIES 2009 “The working groups were annoying because all the other members of the group were Dutch and contact with them wasn’t very good. Maybe because I come from another country… but I don’t like them. They’re very curious and not funny. I am not like them. But that’s also because of me. I think that people find me antisocial because I don’t talk very much. It would be different if I had just one other student from Aruba in my group.” Interview with an ethnic-minority student, p. 92 in Severiens et al. 2006.

11. TIES 2009 The learning environment Successful learning environments: Diversity is the starting point, all students feel at home High expectations Historically Black Colleges and Universities: the personal nature of the relationships between staff and their students, positive role models

12. TIES 2009 “If you don’t really feel comfortable, you can’t perform optimally. I feel as if I’m being watched all the time.” Interview with an ethnic-minority student, p. 154 in Severiens et al. 2006

13. TIES 2009 Central question: What can educational programmes do to reduce the differences in school performances and to offer diverse groups of students equal opportunities? Two answers Mindset: Diversity as a positive (enriching) value, as the starting point Mindset: Encourage awareness of cultural identities

14. TIES 2009 More practically: Stimulating factors in the learning environment: Organize your programs as small scale as possible Train you teachers to ‘differentiate’ and tell them about the background of non-traditional students (multicultural competent teachers) Organize ample support, peer mentoring, tutoring etc Set clear demands, be explicit about the demands

15. TIES 2009 “(We teach in a way that … ) is specifically connected to the specific everyday lives of ethnic minorities, like unequal distribution of income and Turkey’s entry into the EU. But also issues like segregation to which we have devoted three lectures. These are topical subjects, especially because we have many ethnic minorities here.” Interview with a majority teacher, p. 95 in Severiens et al. 2006