Bangor University Students’ Union Report
LGBT Access and Success in Higher Education Report Page | 1
Contents
Foreword Key Findings Introduction Profile of Respondents Department Gender Age Group Ethnic Group Sexual Orientation
Methodology Research Activity ‘Belonging’ Events and Attitudes Academic and non-academic support and support networks
Recommendations Appendix Comments Statistics Worksheets Surveys
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Foreword success, and retention in Higher In 2013, NUS’ LGBT Campaign issued a
Education, ensuring that our institutions
call for partners to investigate equality, equality,
take steps to ensure that a diverse student
access, and success for LGBT students in
body can be supported to achieve and
Higher Education. Bangor Students’ Union
succeed in education.
was successful in becoming a project partner, and set out to identify two of t he
We look forward to seeing the results of
five key areas as identified by NUS;
national research, and are hopeful that recommendations made in our report will
1. “Building support for collecting monitoring data and encouraging
improve experiences for LGBTQ+ students across the sector.
disclosure of student sexual orientation and/or gender identity.” 2. “Working with LGBT staff in the
Many of the recommendations in our survey come directly from students, in
institution to improve LBGT
addition to us drawing our own
students’ experiences of
conclusions. conclusions. In addition, our research will
education.”
concentrate on working with LGBT staff to improve educational experiences of
Bangor Students’ Union in recent years has come to greatly ffocus ocus on education and representation, and during the last 18
Higher Education, with further work on lobbying to build support for f or collecting monitoring data.
months, Bangor SU has been a key partner in delivering on measures that will improve students’ experience of education.
Bangor Students’ Union is committed to reducing and removing barriers to students accessing education, and ensuring that all students, regardless of
Rhys Taylor Vice President Education and Welfare, Bangor University Students’ Union
Danielle Barnard Academic Representation Representation Unit CoOrdinator, Bangor Students’ Union
sex, gender or gender identity, age, disability, religion or belief, or class. We believe that feeding into national data is paramount to tackling issues of access, Page | 3
Findings Summary
The themes that overwhelmingly appeared throughout our research were the following;
1. Students’ feeling towards staff and students in their school colours their engagement with active learning, co-curricular activities, and feeling of belonging. 2. Students who are unaware of staff awareness or training training on LGBTQ+ sensitivity are less likely to access support, which enables students to achieve. 3. Students who have experienced negative negative attitudes have not been confident in addressing and challenging those attitudes, which have led to some students not feeling confident in engaging in learning and co-curricular activity. 4. The context of the curriculum and lecturers’ lecturers’ use of heteronormative language can impact upon students’ ability and willingness to engage with curricular and co-curricular activity.
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Introduction to ensure that students are encouraged encouraged to Bangor University is consistently praised for its commitment to and delivery of
discuss issues and are learning in an inclusive and welcoming environment.
quality student support, and providing a welcoming environment environment to all students.
This report will analyse the results of two focus groups themes, discussed over the
In BSU’s (Bangor Students’ Union) 2012 Annual Student Student Written Statement we we said that Bangor University is an institution which “cares “cares about its relationship with students”. Bangor University also has a very well structured and highly praised
course of three focus groups, the results of a survey conducted during the f ocus groups, and a similar survey held in addition to the focus groups which includes equality data mapping. We will look at the followin f ollowing g key areas;
Peer Guide scheme, supporting supporting students during the early period of their time at University.
1) Profile of respondents 2) Inclusivity in the curriculum and
Very little evidence exists on LGBTQ+
learning environment
students’ experience of education at
3) Belonging and identifying
Bangor University. Our student society,
4) Academic and non-academic
who were involved with this research,
support and support networks
focus heavily on welfare and liberation campaigning. campaigning. In addition the institution does not currently collect monitoring data, which has impacted on our ability to reach a wider audience.
The research conducted concentrated on students’ experience of education whilst at Bangor, therefore our evidence discusses individuals’ perceptions and experiences of being a student at Bangor University,
This opportunity has enabled us to do some small-scale research with students
and being an LGBTQ+ student within the Higher Education learning environment.
who, on the whole, have had positive experiences experiences whilst at Bangor.
The report however will discuss key recommendations recommendations made by students during the course of our research on how Page | 5
Methodology
In order to ensure that we were able to
belong, instances of negative attitudes
gather sufficient evidence, and honest
from staff or students and the perceived
evidence, we designed two surveys and
impact on access and success.
two workshop outlines. We set out to better understand how we could enable
Before resear ching ching into Bangor students’
staff to improve improve LGBTQ+ students’
perception of belonging, we found
experiences experiences of education, through
additional research that reinforced our
identifying key factors that contribute to
hypothesis that greater a sense of
students’ ability to engage and participate
belonging, the greater the engagement engagement
in curricular and co-curricular activity, and
with the academic environment.
the impact on success. In order to engage participants we Our first survey was drawn from questions
engaged with our LGBTQ+ society, Unity
asked by Goodenow (1993), who found
Bangor, attended committee meetings and
that the quality of ‘social bonds’ in bonds’ in school
society meetings, used social media and
is substantially correlated with self-
emails, including posters from NUS’ LGBT
reported school motivation, which has
campaign to advertise the dates of the
some impact on attainment or success.
focus groups.
Our second survey asked similar
As Bangor University University does not record record data
questions, but drew on focus group
for LGBT students, targeting information
activity around what positive steps their
specifically towards LGBT students was
academic school takes to ensure that all
difficult, which impacted on engagement engagement
students feel welcome and as though they
with our research.
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Profile of Respondents/ Participants
A total of 30 LGBTQ+ students students responded responded
Ethnicity
to our survey and/or took part in our focus groups.
Academic Department
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Gender
Orientation
Age Group
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Inclusivity in the curriculum and learning environment
Inclusivity in the curriculum was a theme
“I’m unsure of staff awareness awareness of LGBTQ+ issues or mental health issues, so I avoid talking to my personal tutor.”
directly raised by students during our research. Evidence of mix-genders and de-genderising within the curriculum was cited by all students st udents that participated in our research as an example of creating a positive environment in which LGBTQ+ (and trans*) students can learn.
A reoccurring theme theme during our research research was the concept of belonging. belonging. Wider evidence highlights the correlation between belonging and academic achievement, which will be discussed later.
Inclusivity within the learning environment, in addition to inclusivity in the curriculum, was also a key finding from our research.
In light of our focus on belonging and identifying with academic schools or environments, the importance of social bonds, and the increased sensitivity often
We asked students in one of our focus groups to discuss positive and negative attitudes towards LGBTQ+ issues and how they personally feel these attitudes
experienced by groups such as LGBTQ+ and trans* people to the issues of belonging, these comments pose difficult questions for us.
affected their participation in learning and the wider learning environment.
In our survey we asked respondents if they felt comfortable in their learning
“A Course Rep once onc e slandered one of my friends because of their sexuality. I was then unable to feel comfortable or ‘be out’. This made me feel uncomfortable and not feel wholly represented in my school.”
environment, and if staff in their school understood them. We later asked students who participated to consider the (perceived) impact on engagement, and therefore their success and achievement.
Therefore, does a link exist between “A lecturer kept saying ‘her/him’ etc. in a class. When W hen I asked if they could use gender neutral terms instead, they refused on the grounds of it being grammatically incorrect.”
feeling comfortable or belonging/identifying and being understood and the perceived impact on attainment, access, and success in Higher Education? Page | 9
In addition to the t he two statements above, we asked students to discuss what Our survey asked two questions, “I have
positive things their school does to make
felt comfortable in my learning
them feel welcome and as though they
environment ” environment ” and “Staff “Staff in my school
belong, and any positive and/or negative
understand me, which has allowed me to
attitudes that they had come across.
succeed as best as I can in my studies” studies ” 13 respondents agreed or strongly
Of the respondents that disagreed with
agreed with the first statement, where 3
the statements, further comments from
respondents disagreed with the first
those students revealed issues around
statement. On the seconds statement 11
the inclusivity of the curriculum and staff
agreed or strongly agreed, where none
understanding understanding of LGBTQ+ and trans*
disagreed.
issues. In addition, some students pointed towards a lack of f ormal
Fig.1
mechanism for reporting issues or concerns.
Bangor Students’ Union and Bangor University adopted a Zero Tolerance to Harassment Policy in 2012, however a formal reporting mechanism is yet to be established within the University.
Fig. 2
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Belonging and Identifying
We posed the followi f ollowing ng statement to students who completed both our survey and participated in our focus groups;
Belonging is “the “ the extent to which st students udents feel personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school social environment.” (Goodenow,1993)
During our discussions with students, st udents, factors within the learning or school environment also appeared to have an impact upon students’ engagement with their academic school/department.
Research within education shows that belonging and identifying with your school environment can improve educational attainment.
“In domains of achievement, we suggest, people are sensitive to the quality of their social bonds.” (Cohen & Steele, 2002) Steele, 1997; Steele, Spencer, & Aronson, 2002)
This suggests that in higher education, where success and achievement are key, students are more aware of how and
where they fit in (their sense of belonging) belonging) – if the quality of students’ social bonds are poor, does this impact on achievement?
Furthermore Walton and Cohen (2007) suggest that in an academic or professional setting, which would be comparable to that of Higher Education courses for all students, often stigmatised groups (such as LGBTQ+ and trans* people) are more uncertain of the quality of any social bonds, and are therefore more sensitive to the issues of belonging.
When asked ‘What ‘What features or aspects of your school make you identify with your school ?’ ?’ participants cited extra and cocurricular activity, approachability approachability of staff, an awareness of an open and accepting body of staff, and engaged and wellpromoted Peer Guides and Course Reps.
Respondents who participated in Students’ Union activity said that their sense of belonging within the University was stronger towards their society, rather than that of their school. One respondent said that due to the large lectures held in their school and lack of personal interest from staff, their feeling of attachment or belonging to their academic school was lesser than their Page | 11
feeling of attachment or belonging to the Students’ Students’ Union and their society.
“In welcome week there was a talk two lecturers. The whole talk was focused on
This could be as a result of the type of
beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it
degree, the academic field, or their mode of
was all about straight peoples' relationships
study. 13% of our respondents study a joint
and a woman’s perspective on what would
honours degree, which can impact on a
be found attractive in a man and vice versa,
students’ sense of belonging, accessing
which actually really annoyed and made me
support, and feeling comfortable in their learning environment. environment.
feel really uncomfortable. Not only had the LGBT been totally erased from the talk and research but also it simplified relationships relationships
For those students who somewhat disengage with their school(s) due to their
down to women liking men's money and men liking liking women's physical appearance.”
mode of study or large class sizes for example, students may identify more with their society or club, rather than their school.
This can potentially impact upon engagement with active learning or cocurricular activity which contributes towards students success and achievement in (higher) education.
Welcome week activity within the school social environment was also referenced heavily by survey respondents. One respondent said that;
Through evaluating focus group participation that discussed the use of heteronormative language by lecturers within curricular and co-curricular co-curricular activities, students noted a sense of exclusion from the subject, activity, school, staff, and fellow students.
Again, disengagement disengagement and lack lack of identification with aspects of the school social environment, as described by Goodenow (1993), could lead to lack of engagement engagement with the curriculum or with a co-curricular activity, which could negatively impact upon attainment and achievement achievement (in addition to retention).
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It is important to note that Bangor University and Bangor Students’ Student s’ Union Union place an emphasis on employability skills in addition to academic achievement, achievement, particularly following following the introduction of the Higher Education Achievement Report.
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Academic and non-academic support networks Academic and non-academic support support
Additionally, Additionally, some comments in our our survey
networks were discussed by students during
suggested that positive attitudes and
the course of our research, with relation to
‘accepting’ support in the academic
Peer Guides, Course Reps, Senior Tutors
environment could support learning and
and Personal Tutors.
achievement.
These groups are key features in the school social environment and are key points of contact outside the lecture room. However these individuals shape the tone of the learning environment, environment, and attitudes from these individuals can impact upon engagement with the school social
“Speaking with my personal tutor when going through some difficulties was very helpful and helped enable me to get my work in.” in. ”
“Being with staff and students who I felt unable to out myself to, so I became introverted during more active learning (e.g. labs)”” labs)
environment. “I was having an issue with my partner at the time. I talked it through with a tutor and she was very helpful and accepting. This made me feel more able to discuss LGBTQ+ issues in my school.
In contrast, one respondent said that they would feel uncomfortable approaching approaching a tutor if they t hey were experiencing homophobia, but emphasised that knowing if persons providing academic and non-
“A Course Rep once onc e slandered one of my friends because of their sexuality. I was then unable to feel comfortable or ‘be out’. This made me feel uncomfortable and not feel wholly represented in my school.”
Returning to the concept of belonging, belonging, if students cannot turn to staff or fellow students due to perceived or actual attitudes
academic support had received sensitivity training would make it more likely that they would approach someone if they were experiencing experiencing difficulties. “I once heard a Peer Guide saying that a student should ‘stop being gay’ if they were worried about parents’ reaction.”
to LGBTQ+ and trans* issues, engagement engagement and therefore attainment and access to
Other students also noted that a positive
education could be inhibited.
and close relationship with school staff was a feature/aspect of their school that made them identify with their school.
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Recommendations
1. Academic staff to ensure that module curriculum uses non-heteronormative examples and uses gender neutral terminology. 2. Institutions and Students’ Unions should ensure that persons providing academic and non-academic support are sufficiently trained in LGBTQ+ issues , including personal tutors, senior tutors, Course Reps, and Peer Guides. Students should be made aware of this training. 3. Schools/Academic Schools/Academic Faculties to ensure that students are aware of Zero Tolerance or any other policy that protects staff and students from harassment. Institutions should also make reporting mechanisms clear for students. 4. ‘Equality Contacts’ should be made available to students in schools, similar to Disability Contacts, to enable students to openly discuss any issues that they are facing. This member of staff should also be able to support students with any issues affecting their studies.
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Appendix
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LGBT Focus Group Group Surv Survey ey
Q16 Pl Pleas ease e tell tell us ab abou outt a ti time me when you experienced experienc ed nega negati tive ve attitu attitudes des to toward wards s you in your learn learning ing environment, which which you bel believe ieve neg negat ativel ively y impa impact cted ed on you your r learning. Answered An swered:: 7
Skipped Skip ped:: 21
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Res pons es
Date
1
In welco elcome me wee eek k th ther ere e wasa ta talk lk fr from om Gu Guillam illame e Thie Thierrry an and d Fay Sh Shor ort. t. The who hole le ta talk lk wasfocu asfocus sed on beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but it wasal l about straight straight peoples' peoples' relationships relationships and a womans pers perspective pective on what woould be found attractive i n a man and vice versa, versa, which ac tually really annoyed and made me feel really really unc omfortable. Not Not only had the LGBT LGBT been totally erased eras ed from the talk and research research but al so it simpl ified relations relationships hips down to women liking men's money and men l iking women'sphysic women'sphysic al appearance. But m aybe I just just took it too seriously. seriously..!?? .!??
2/19/2014 3:49 AM
2
Non e i n b a n g or u n i ve rsi t y.
2 / 1 9/ 2 0 14 3: 1 5 AM
3
Being sur Being urrroun ounded ded by stud tudent ents s and staf tafff I felt una unable ble to out mys myself elf too too,, so becomin becoming g intr introv over erted ted during more active learning (e.g. labs)
2/19/2014 1:12 AM
4
I on once ce ov over er he hear ard d a cou courrse rep slan lande derring a fr frien iend d of mine fo forr th their eir sex exua uality lity which mad made e me fe feel el uncomfortable and unable to turn to them
2/18/2014 4:22 PM
5
Being mis Being misgen gender dered ed in clas class s by lectur lecturer ers s and stud tudent ents s. Hav aving ing lectur lecturer ers s us use e the wr wrong ong name aft after er being asked not to.
2/18/2014 2:38 PM
6
See all pr prev eviousres iousrespon pons ses via que ques stion tionnair naires es and wo worrkshop hops s; plus plus;; // Re Refer ferencesto encesto 'o 'othe therr sor ortsof tsof relationships' relations hips' which the tutor said they had to mention 'to be PC', but asi f those those relationships relationships (gay (gay;; and anything anything else else outside outside the standard standard hetero nucl ear family model) wer were e weird weird or a joke. joke. Or not real. (As (As Secti on 28 call ed it, 'pretend 'pretend family relationship') relationship') Hav Having ing to keep keep quiet at various various cl as ass ses when homophobic thi ngs wer were e said, said, wanted to chal lenge it but hard to do so so without outing yours your self. I sometimes sometimes did speak speak up but it depended on the setting setting and my mood that day. If people didn't/did guess, guess, both waysI got ridic uled for standing up for 'thos 'those' e' (!) people. (Are we we suppos supposed ed to wear a neon sign saying saying gay?!) In one particular cl as ass s (held at Nor Normal mal Site) there was a pro-gay pro-gay tutor but tensions tensions in the class. class. The module was was in soci soci ology and there there were were about 2 of us guys that stayed to the end of the c ours ourse, e, in a cl as ass s of girls/women. girls/women. When When the tutor (female) wanted to talk about stereoty stereotypes pes,, the other guy would call himself a feminist (but (but later in private critic ise the tutor tutor for being one) before saying saying misogynis misogynistt things. things. I later told the tutor at some some point during the course course that I'm gay, or it c ame up in the c ours ourse e of something something else. Either way she she found out, and was was ok okay ay about it. We were supposed to be trashing stereotypes, though when I had managed to persuade the class that women women coul d work work in heavy industry industry (for example) and men could be carers, carers, I was was not popular when I brought brought up the existence existence of other sexualities than straight. straight. I don't know, know, but with with hindsight hinds ight it l ook ooks s a bit li ke bullying developed during the course. course. The mal e student student wasfol lowing me on buses buses and in town, aswell as at uni. I thought of confronting him di rectly and saying saying something l ike 'in case you you are wondering, wondering, I am gay, and that's is not even relevant'. relevant'. I didn't, in case there there were were consequences. consequences. Sometimes when dealing with (es (especi peci ally) macho environments or people from them,. you have to sort of go bac k in the cl os oset! et! And ac t li ke the surrounding surrounding subcul ture wants wants you to act.
2/18/2014 11:40 AM
7
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2 / 1 8/ 2 0 14 9: 2 0 AM
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LGBT Focus Group Group Survey Survey
Q17 Pl Pleas ease e tell tell us ab abo out a ti time when you experi ex perienced enced po posi sitive tive at attit titud udes es to toward wards s you in your learnin learning g env enviro ironment, nment, which you bel beliieve po posi siti tively vely impact impacted ed on you your r learning. Answered nswered:: 6
Skipped: 22 Skipped:
#
Re s pons e s
Da te
1
Speaking with my per Speak pers sona onall tu tuto torr whe hen n go going ing th thrroug ough h some dif difficu ficulti ltieswa eswas s ve verry hel helpf pful ul an and d hel helpe ped d enable me to to get my wor work k in.
2/19/2014 3:49 AM
2
Ge n e ra l p o si t i vi t y to wa rd s wh o i a m .
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3
Fi n d i n g a sta ff m e m b e r an a n d c l a ssm a te I c o u l d o u t m yse l f to o .
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4
T he he re re h av ave n o i ns nsta nc nc es es o f p os osi titi ve ve a tt tt it itu de de s to to wa wa rd rd s m ys yse lf lf i n m y l ea ea rn rn in in g e nv nvi ro ro me me nt nt
2 /1 /1 8/ 8/ 20 20 14 14 4 :2 :2 2 PM
5
The tu tuto torr in th the e ab abov ove e cour cours se wasok asokay ay bu butt we did didn' n'tt dis discus cuss s much much,, or in an any y dep depth th or fo forr any length of time.
2/18/2014 11:40 AM
6
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LGBT Focus Group Group Survey Survey
Q9 Please tell us what positive things your scho sc hool ol do does es to mak make e you feel feel as th thou ough gh you belon belong g or are are we welco lcome me in your scho school. ol. Answered: An swered: 6
Skipped Skip ped:: 22
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Re s pons e s
Da te
1
Thisis har hard d to ans answ wer er,, near nearly ly all cour cours se conte content nt is still hete heterronor onormativ mative. e. Tutor Tutors s, couns counsellor ellorsand sand fellow people still assume you are straight, so so its comi ng out to people as per.
2/19/2014 3:49 AM
2
No se g re g a ti o n a t a l l to d o wi th g e n d e r
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3
No t m u c h
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L GB T Q+ re se a rc h h a s be be e n i n c l u d e d wi t h i n t h e c u rri c u l u m
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5
- He l pf pf ul ul a n d g e ne ne ra ra l l y n i c e p e er er g u id id e s - T e a ch ch e rs rs a r e a p pr pro a c ha ha b l e - F re re sh sh e r'r' s we we e k a c titi vi vi t i es es
2 /1 /1 8 /2 /2 0 14 14 1 0 :5 :5 0 A M
6
Wh e n I c a m e o u t a s t ra ra n s, t he he sc h oo oo l h a s a d op op te te d m y n e w n a m e a n d c a l l m e t ha ha t & I 'v 've h a d m y name changed on my librar library y card
2/18/2014 9:20 AM
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