White Working Class Males in British HE 2016 - 2017 | Page 25

White Working Class Males in British Higher Education percent of males continued . The data also shows that female students are more likely to achieve a first or a 2:1 . HEFCE ( 2014 ) report that when all other factors are considered there is an unexplained difference between the genders of an approximately five percent points . In relation to ethnicity the data suggest there is a positive difference between the outcomes of white students ( including but not limited to white British ) and their peers from BME backgrounds . It is suggested that , when other factors are controlled for , the proportion of BME students achieving a first or 2:1 is approximately 15 percentage points lower than white students .

4.2 Southampton Solent University

Male students Most recent figures from the university ( Southampton Solent University , 2016c ) suggest that in 2014 / 2015 there were 17.6 per cent more males than females studying at the university ( 58.8 percent compared with 41.2 per cent ). These figures are a reverse of the national picture which shows that within the UK HE population as a whole there are 12.2 percent more females than males and comparing data from 2014-15 and 2013-14 shows there the proportion of males studying at the University is growing , whilst nationally evidence is that the proportion of females is on the rise . The institutional figures mask significant gender differences within individual schools . For example , ‘ The School of Art , Design and Fashion had 66.8 % females , whilst the School of Maritime Science and Engineering had 86.8 % males ’ ( Southampton Solent University , 2016c , p . 70 ) and although the university population was disproportionately male ‘ a higher proportion of females continued with their studies ( 91.1 % females compared with 86.9 % males , a difference of 4.2 %)’ ( p . 70 ). The university has also identified an attainment gap for male students ‘ At Solent there was an attainment gap of 13.7 % for firsts / 2i ’ s in favour of females ( 76.7 % compared with 63.0 %)’ ( p . 70 ).

Working class students 2014-15 data shows that on average the continuation rate for home UK domiciled students on first degree courses was 88.8 per cent ( Southampton Solent University , 2016c ). This compares with a continuation rate for students from low participation neighbourhoods ( LPN ) of 87.7 percent , representing a difference of 1.1 percent ( down significantly from 4.1 % in the previous year ). Data further shows that on average 69.8 percent of students achieved a first / 2i degree , compared with 70.2 percent of LPN students , representing a difference of 0.4 % above average ( compared to 1.3 percent below average in 2013-14 ).

White working class males An examination of POLAR3 low participation neighbourhood data ( Southampton Solent University , 2016b ) showed that the proportion of white working class males applying to Southampton Solent University ‘ increased over the five-year period from 5.5 % in 2011-12 to 6.8 % in 2015-16 . In addition , the proportion of applicants accepting a place increased over the five-year period from 6.0 % in 2011-12 to 7.1 % in 2015-16 .’

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% of Acceptances 6.0 % 6.4 % 7.2 % 6.9 % 7.1 %

( participation ) * defined as living in a POLAR3 Quintile 1 postcode area

Figure 23 : Percentage of white working class males applying or accepting a place at Southampton Solent University

The report further identified that the participation gap between white working class males and the most advantaged white male students was narrowing . It is reported that in 2011-12 ‘ the participation gap between the acceptances by white working class male and the acceptances of the most advantaged white male students at the University was 5.8 %, but by 2015-16 this gap reduced to 3.2 %. This shows the University was attracting greater proportions of white