Degree awarding gaps remain a significant issue in higher education, particularly affecting students from underrepresented backgrounds. Research highlights that a sense of belonging plays a crucial role in student success and progression. As Banerjee (2024, p. 43) argues, universities must actively create inclusive and supportive environments, particularly for students from marginalised groups. This suggests that issues of attainment cannot be separated from wider questions of inclusion, identity, and institutional culture.
Belonging, however, is not experienced equally. It is often shaped by invisible structures of privilege and familiarity. DiAngelo (2011, p. 62) highlights that “it is rare for most whites to experience a sense of not belonging… racial belonging becomes deeply internalized and taken for granted.” This insight is particularly useful in understanding how unconscious bias operates within education. Belonging is therefore not simply a personal feeling, but a socially structured condition that influences how students are perceived, supported, and assessed.
Unconscious bias can take multiple forms, including stereotyping, affinity bias, and the halo effect. These biases shape how educators interpret student behaviour, engagement, and ability. For example, students who appear confident or familiar may be more easily recognised as capable, while others—particularly those from different cultural, linguistic, or educational backgrounds—may be overlooked. These dynamics contribute to disparities in student experience and can reinforce awarding gaps.
These inequalities are not only individual but also institutional. Concerns around curriculum bias have been increasingly raised, with initiatives such as the “Why is my Curriculum White?” movement highlighting the dominance of Eurocentric perspectives within higher education curricula (Wong et al., 2021). This reflects wider concerns that higher education structures may privilege certain cultural perspectives while marginalising others.
Issues of belonging are also closely linked to cultural capital. Students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds may have had less exposure to cultural institutions, which can affect confidence and familiarity with artistic references. As Escobar (2018, p. 6) argues, diverse cultural traditions have historically been devalued, often reduced to “being worth nothing” under dominant narratives.
Together, these perspectives highlight that belonging is not neutral. It is shaped by structural inequalities that influence how students engage with education. Addressing awarding gaps therefore requires more than awareness; it requires active changes in teaching practice and institutional culture.
Reference
Banerjee, P. (2024) ‘Connecting the dots: a systematic review of explanatory factors linking contextual indicators, institutional culture and degree awarding gaps’, Higher Education Evaluation and Development, 18(1), pp. 31–52
Escobar, A. (2018) Designs for the pluriverse: Radical interdependence, autonomy, and the making of worlds. Durham: Duke University Press. pp. 1–21
DiAngelo, R. (2011) ‘White fragility’, International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 3(3), pp. 54–70
Wong, B., Elmorally, R., Copsey-Blake, M., Highwood, E. and Singarayer, J. (2021) ‘Is race still relevant? Student perceptions and experiences of racism in higher education’, Cambridge Journal of Education, 51(3), pp. 359–375
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