Searching for Belonging: Institutional Racism and the 'Silent Crisis' in Higher Education

It is often that when discussing issues around race and racism within Higher Education, people ask, "where is the data?" In this thesis, I look back at some of the contemporary student decolonial movements that have happened across the UK. I share insights from these movements and the experiences of several students from the global majority - their experiences of marginalisation in higher education institutions are very common. This is the data.

Drawing from data collected through interviews conducted with students engaged in decolonising efforts at the University of Kent and my own observations of events hosted by student decolonial groups involved in contemporary decolonial activism across universities in the UK, I discuss how Black People and People of Colour (BPOC) students agree that universities have done very little to support impactful and long-term changes. This has had an adverse effect on students' sense of belonging and by extension their academic outcomes, mental health, and lived experiences. Despite this, BPOC students still find a sense of belonging amongst one another. Though, this does not compensate for the gaps that universities are failing to respond to and does not apply to everyone.