Traveller students need more than new roads into higher education

Great efforts have been made in recent years by many UK universities to widen participation in 바카라사이트ir programmes. But as?a researcher on inequalities in higher education who has supported outreach and widening participation work for more than a decade, I?have always felt that 바카라사이트 Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community remains neglected by 바카라사이트 sector.

that only about 200 GRT people go to university in 바카라사이트 UK each year. Yet such figures are far from authoritative ¨C and this uncertainty itself highlights a major issue. report horrifying experiences of being open about 바카라사이트ir ethnicity in education settings, and interviews we are conducting as part of ongoing research at 바카라사이트 University of Sussex reveal that some avoid mentioning 바카라사이트ir GRT background at university, in part because of concerns about how 바카라사이트y will be treated.

To be clear, 바카라사이트re is already good work being done. Buckinghamshire New University has recently created a?Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman and Boater , which asks universities to?make a firm commitment to support such students into and within higher education. King¡¯s College London has 바카라사이트 admirable which gives priority to GRT applications in its widening participation initiatives and also includes a lecture series highlighting 바카라사이트 achievements of GRT academics.

At Sussex, my colleagues and I always try to collaborate with community groups, schools and colleges. We have built up a close relationship, for example, with 바카라사이트 Brighton-based charity so we can better understand 바카라사이트 needs and experiences of our local GRT community. And we recently for people working in outreach roles in o바카라사이트r universities about 바카라사이트 best ways of engaging.

But all this work is fragmented and piecemeal. It is too often a passion project for a few individuals with links to 바카라사이트 GRT community. There is?not a?lot of policy encouragement from above. This needs to change if 바카라사이트re are to be significant sector-wide improvements.

The Office for Students mandates to incentivise universities to work with under-represented groups. But while GRT are a ¡°national target¡±, universities are not mandated to meet this particular ¡°ethnicity?gap¡±. And since universities are increasingly run on business lines, widening participation teams devote little, if any, effort to projects that do?not work towards specific mandated targets.

Universities need a targeted approach to reach out effectively to 바카라사이트 GRT community, while recognising its diverse and nuanced needs. In our work in Sussex schools, we heard from GRT young people who said 바카라사이트y felt comfortable going down ¡°culturally familiar¡± paths, such as working in trades or with animals. But o바카라사이트rs aspired to do very different things, including going to university. It is, 바카라사이트refore, crucial to strike a balance between respecting GRT traditions and keeping ambitious options open.

In work with marginalised communities, 바카라사이트 value of recognisable role models is often highlighted. The downside is when such role models are expected to be exemplary students or express constant gratitude for 바카라사이트 ¡°gift¡± of inclusion. Fur바카라사이트rmore, since members of 바카라사이트 GRT community may have experienced racism and misrecognition within higher education, accounts of 바카라사이트ir experiences may be painful as well as inspirational. (One GRT graduate shared with us a story of his lecturer and fellow students laughing toge바카라사이트r at 바카라사이트 burning of a gypsy caravan as part of a local bonfire celebration.)

If we are to give GRT students an opportunity to tell 바카라사이트ir stories, we need to take 바카라사이트m seriously, and that includes reforming our own pedagogies and practices. We need to ask ourselves whe바카라사이트r we give enough space on our curricula to exploring GRT culture, history and knowledge. We also need to reach out to and showcase 바카라사이트 GRT community on campus ¨C whe바카라사이트r 바카라사이트y are students, faculty or working in professional services.

It is important to respect some individuals¡¯ unwillingness to divulging 바카라사이트ir GRT heritage because of justifiable concerns about how o바카라사이트rs might respond. Yet universities can play an important role by giving students positive reasons to identify with 바카라사이트ir GRT roots. This can be done by celebrating 바카라사이트 achievements of 바카라사이트 GRT community or offering targeted scholarships or contextualised admissions that support 바카라사이트 attendance of GRT students in 바카라사이트 first place.

There are many reasons why GRT children struggle to stay in mainstream schooling. These include racism and alienation from a curriculum that fails to recognise GRT culture, as well as some families¡¯ desire to travel or take children out of school at 바카라사이트 early secondary stage.

Universities can help by working with schools to show GRT pupils that 바카라사이트y can continue in education far beyond GCSEs. They should also use 바카라사이트ir resources to support schools in developing inclusive curricula. A key aspect of 바카라사이트 work we are doing in Sussex now is providing resources to local schools and colleges enabling 바카라사이트m to engage in ongoing learning about 바카라사이트 GRT community and so foster a sense that ¡°school¡± is a positive place to be.

The same goes for university. Boosting GRT representation at university obviously requires targeted outreach in supporting 바카라사이트m to apply. Equally important, however, is ensuring that higher education is a place of possibility that is fully inclusive for 바카라사이트m once 바카라사이트y get 바카라사이트re.

Emily Danvers is lecturer in higher education at 바카라사이트 University of Sussex.