Asian and African Caribbean women and experiences of higher education: motivations and choices

This paper will present the findings of two research projects examining the experiences and aspirations of black and minority ethnic women in higher education. The first research project focussed on the experiences of South Asian women and the second on Black Caribbean women’s experiences and aspirations. Both projects were based on twenty case study interviews with women studying at ‘new’ (post 1992) universities in the South East of England. The paper highlights women’s motivations for attending university and the decisions they make when attending university, such as choice of course and choice of university. We found that the ‘localism’ and ‘critical mass’ of students from minority ethnic backgrounds affected the decisions women made. The desire to study and work has been well researched over the last two decades or so (Taylor, 1991; Modood and Shiner, 2002). It has been continuously pointed out that students’ experiences of higher education institutions and employment differed (Mirza, 2009). BAME students were less likely to secure employment after graduation and if they did, they had lower salaries. The findings also show that there is a strong desire to study for higher education qualifications, to find suitable employment and to develop their careers. In the face of structural inequalities the women in both projects have been able to achieve their objectives with reference to education and now they aspire towards achieving similar objectives in the labour market. In this context, the narratives of these women were used to explore their subjective experiences of being at university