The attainment of White and ethnic minority students in distance education

Abstract

At UK institutions of higher education, the academic attainment of White students tends to be higher than that of students from other ethnic groups. The present study confirmed this trend in students who were taking courses by distance learning with the UK’s Open University. It was apparent in students of all ages apart from the youngest, and it was largely independent of their gender, academic background and socioeconomic circumstances, or the particular course being taken. Students’ interactions with teachers and other students are attenuated in distance education, and so the results suggest that the explanation for the attainment gap in ethnic minority students must be sought elsewhere than in the nature of their relationships with teachers and other students.

Keywords:

• academic attainment
• degree classification
• distance education
• ethnicity

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to Nick Haycox for providing the student attainment data for this study. I am also grateful to Alison Ashby, James Hartley, Anne Jelfs, Erik Meyer, Tony O’Shea, John Pettit, Linda Price, Anne Slee, Will Swann, Patrick Terenzini and Alan Woodley for their comments, criticisms and advice.