‘Black or minority ethnic’ (BME), female, and dyslexic in white-male dominated disciplines at an elite university in the UK; an exploration of student experiences

ABSTRACT

This study offers an interpretative phenomenological analysis of the intersectional experiences of two ‘black or minority ethnic’, female dyslexic students as they navigate university spaces within white-male dominated disciplines. The participants kept reflective journals for three weeks after which they took part in a one-to-one interview discussion structured around their journal entries. Following multi-level analysis using IPA (Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis), the participants’ experiences are discussed under two themes: why does that happen? and should I be here? Following each themed discussion, the authors present their personal reflections upon the emotions and tensions they experienced as part of a black researcher, white-researcher partnership.

KEYWORDS:

• Black or minority ethnic
• dyslexia
• lived experience
• intersectionality
• higher education

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.