Postcode Inequity: Closing the Awarding Gap for Stage 1 STEM Students residing in our most deprived UK postcodes

Project leader(s):  Louise MacBrayne Jennie Bellamy

• Theme:  Access, Participation and Success
• Project faculties:  STEM
• Status:  Archived
• Date:  September 2024 to February 2026

Winner - Best Poster Competition, 14th eSTEeM Annual Conference 2025.

At the onset of the project, we identified that gateway (the first module typically taken by students in a qualification) STEM modules in Science (S111 and SDK100) and Environment (U116), have awarding gaps between 10% and over 25% between the most and least deprived UK postcodes, based on the measure of Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD).

The report summarises findings from our survey and interviews with STEM students who were residing in IMD Q1 (most deprived 20% of UK postcodes) and IMD Q5 (least deprived 20% UK postcodes). We compared the three science modules with two modules from Engineering and Innovation (T192, T193) and one gateway Design module (U101) to consider similarities and differences between student experience across the STEM faculty more widely.

A JISC online survey was distributed to nearly 10,000 students of whom nearly 250 responded. In total 18 students were identified for direct contact based on their survey responses. Seven attended individual interviews which were recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis.

Survey findings indicated that that IMD Q1 students were more likely to be working full-time than those in IMD Q5. Furthermore, IMD Q1 students were more likely to have caring responsibilities than those in IMD Q5.

Key themes identified centred around community, study space, finances, belonging and self-confidence.

Results from a parallel intersectional study for socio-economic status with other characteristics like ethnicity and disability revealed no consistent double disadvantage for either IMD Q1 or IMD Q5 students, although T193 showed consistent double disadvantages across both IMD Q1 and IMD Q5 which warrants further research.

Recommendations focus on increasing visibility of sources of support available to all students, one notable example being increased visibility of the Student Assistance Fund. Many students noted the lack of a private, quiet space in which to study, hence increased visibility (via module VLE sites and tuition) of the SCONUL library access scheme, where our students can use the library facilities of other institutions, is strongly recommended.

Other notable recommendations include increasing the visibility of university staff, especially academic staff, from non-traditional and working-class backgrounds and encourage those staff to be open about their lived experiences. IMD Q1 students in particular had noted a lack of sense of belonging and self-confidence, believing that Higher Education is not a place for them.

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