Disparities in Student Attainment (DiSA) Project

This was a joint study between the University of Wolverhampton and Coventry University which explored the gap between the attainment of black minority ethnic (BME) and white students across the two universities.

Project dissemination

The DiSA programme has produced a wealth of findings about how disparities in student attainment can arise; the most evident of these revolves around the quality of relations that students have with their lecturers. The resources below present these findings in depth, exploring all aspects of student and lecturer relationships and the impact this has on attainment and thus attainment gap.

Briefing papers

  1. Ethnic Categorisation (Word doc 69k)
  2. Influence on subject choice: folk psychology (Word doc 114k)
  3. Challenges in Academic Writing (Word doc 53k)
  4. English Language Development for Undergraduate Biomedical and Bioscience Students (Word doc 68k)
  5. The increasing participation of male BME leisure students through Blogs and peer/tutor collaboration at the University of Wolverhampton (Word doc 61k)
  6. The Power of the Teacher-Student Relationship (Word doc 52k)
  7. Making the grade: student attitudes to choice in assessment (Word doc 46k)
  8. Reflexive co-inquiry with students: Consensus Oriented Research Approach (CORA) (Word doc 538k)
  9. Low Levels of Disparity: Lecturers’ Perspective (Word doc 46k)
  10. The Student Psychological Contract (Word doc 47k)
  11. Raising Aspirations and Intellectual Capability (Word doc 69k) 
  12. Student Voices: Perceptions of learning, assignments and achievement (Word doc 48k)
  13. Pilot Peer Mentoring Scheme (Word doc 48k)
  14. The effect of assessment regimes on the performance of BME students studying mathematics-based courses (Word doc 44k)

Final report 

Disparities in Student Attainment (DISA) Professor Glynis Cousin & Dr Debra Cuerton October 2012