Abstract
A historical issue presents a persisting problem in
current academic practice: the normalising and lack
of discussion of white privilege; a favoured state
which includes unearned advantages and unearned
assets for those who are white (Foss & Elliott, 2016).
Many white personal tutors (PTs) see discussions on
race (read as anything non-white) as taboo, feeling
incompetent or uncomfortable grappling with such
topics (Gabi et al., 2024). As white British PTs, we
want to name and acknowledge the privilege we
possess and the disparities we create. We argue that
an ongoing process of unlearning and relearning is
essential to the endeavour of reducing disparity issues.
An example is the degree awarding gap, whereby
despite entering UK HE with similar qualifications to
their white counterparts, racially minoritised students
are more likely to leave university with a lower degree
classification (Gabi et al., 2024).
current academic practice: the normalising and lack
of discussion of white privilege; a favoured state
which includes unearned advantages and unearned
assets for those who are white (Foss & Elliott, 2016).
Many white personal tutors (PTs) see discussions on
race (read as anything non-white) as taboo, feeling
incompetent or uncomfortable grappling with such
topics (Gabi et al., 2024). As white British PTs, we
want to name and acknowledge the privilege we
possess and the disparities we create. We argue that
an ongoing process of unlearning and relearning is
essential to the endeavour of reducing disparity issues.
An example is the degree awarding gap, whereby
despite entering UK HE with similar qualifications to
their white counterparts, racially minoritised students
are more likely to leave university with a lower degree
classification (Gabi et al., 2024).
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 24-25 |
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Journal | Research Intelligence |
| Volume | 162 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Feb 2025 |