RECAP Research Spotlight: Exploring students’ experiences of racially inclusive assessment practices in online distance learning. Developing a best practice model.
- Lucie Wheeler
- 24 minutes ago
- 5 min read
This innovative project has ten team members, and uses a co-researchers model with four students as researchers. The team is composed of:
1. Anna Judd-Yelland (PI)
2. Dr Paula Addison-Pettit
3. Mel Green
4. Dr Carlos Montoro
5. Catherine Carden
6. Dr Poppy Gibson
7. Eunice Acheampomaa (student co-researcher)
8. Joanne Sandhu (student co-researcher)
9. Ricky O'Connor (student co-researcher)
10. Catherine Newport (student co-researcher)
Did You Know?
➤ The hidden curriculum in education has been shown to most impact racially minoritised students.
➤ Nguyen, Rienties and Richardson (2019) analysed the learning analytics of students and found that Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students were 19-79% less likely to complete, pass or gain an excellent grade in comparison to white students despite spending 4-12% more time studying.
➤ Uneven levels of or a total lack of assessment support and preparation, when accompanied by different modes of assessment, often left racially marginalized students unprepared.
What was the research was looking at?
Have you heard about the idea of a ‘hidden curriculum’ in education?
➤The hidden curriculum refers to the unintended lessons, values, and norms that students learn through social interactions and the overall environment of the school, rather than through formal teaching from an agreed curriculum.
➤This research project, funded by PRAXIS Scholarship, explores how the Campbell and Duke’s Racially Inclusive Practice (RIPIAG) framework can be used to support university students who enrol in distance learning. The framework has been designed to address the hidden curriculum of assessment and uneven levels of assessment preparation in studying that has been found to most impact racially minoritised students.
➤Gutman and Younas (2024) have highlighted the importance of adopting holistic approaches to supporting students online. This project responds directly to this call by working with the learning design team to investigate what racially inclusive practice looks like, and explore what works in terms of student experience, engagement, progression and retention.
➤Through the application of elements of the RIPIAG framework and other methods of revealing the hidden curriculum throughout the student experience of a module at university level, the project will strengthen student-tutor partnerships and contribute to equitable outcomes.
➤The project aims to contribute to the reduction in the Black awarding gap through improving the retention, assessment submission, assessment scores, pass rates and positive student experiences for Black students in an online distance learning context.
How did you conduct your research?
This mixed-methods project combines qualitative ‘Listening Rooms’ data, quantitative Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) dashboard data, and survey data from surveys sent to university students.
➤The Listening Rooms methodology (Parkin and Heron, 2022) is a qualitative research approach, especially in higher education, where friends have recorded conversations about their lived experiences using researcher-designed prompts, capturing authentic, peer-to-peer insights on themes like belonging or success. These conversations are recorded and transcribed by the researchers, using thematic analysis to draw out themes.
➤One strength of this method is that we can see how Listening Rooms offer the opportunity to reveal true participant voices outside power dynamics such as in a 1:1 interview between researcher and participant. Listening Rooms focus on generating rich data by creating a safe, private space for deep, personal sharing, often revealing nuanced perspectives on challenges like student support or diversity.
➤Through combined analysis of the survey responses, the listening room transcriptions, and the dashboard data from the university, insight and understanding will be gained.
What are your key findings?
This project is still in process, until Summer 2026.
Any recommendations?
➤ One key takeaway for researchers we would like to highlight is the value of students as co-researchers. Having four students on our team has offered great value when designing survey tools, for example, and checking that questions are fit for purpose and have the clarity for participants.
➤ The Listening Rooms methodology is a creative way to gather student opinions and experiences without the need for direct interviewing; consider this as a tool in your next qualitative project!
Your final word…
Working on projects like this help us advance inclusive practices and promote outcomes for our learners. We can only do this if we hear voices of the learners themselves and listen to their lived experiences.
How can we continue to ensure that the nuances of the ‘hidden curriculum’ do not disadvantage students?
Tell us in the comments
References & Recommended reading:
Addison-Pettit, P., Green, M., and Henry, F. (2025), An exploration of staff perspectives about anti-racist and inclusive assessment (ARIA) in ECYS, PRAXIS,
Aggleton, J. (2025), Optionality in assessment on E209, PRAXIS,
Breeze & Rizvi, (2023), Exploring the study journey of level three female students from South Asian backgrounds, PRAXIS,
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Bonilla-Silva, E. (2018). Racism without racists: Color-blind racism and the persistence of racial inequality in America (5th ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.
Campbell, P., & Duke, B. (2023). An Evaluation of the Racially Inclusive Practice in Assessment Guidance Intervention on Students’ and Staffs’ Experiences of Assessment in HE: A Multi-University Case Study (Version 1). University of Leicester. https://doi.org/10.25392/leicester.data.23579565.v1 (Accessed: 21 January 2026).
Campbell, P. I. Hawkins, C. & Osman, S. (2021) Tackling Racial Inequalities in Assessment in Higher Education: A Multi-Disciplinary Case Study. Available at: https://researchportal.port.ac.uk/files/80673353/Tackling_Racial_Inequalities_in_Assessment_in_HE_May_21.pdf (Accessed: 17 June 2025).
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Green, M. and Malcolm, C. (2023), ‘Degrees of change: the promise of anti-racist assessment’, Frontiers in Sociology, 8, DOI: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.972036, Available at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsoc.2023.972036/full
Gutman, L. M. & Younas, F. (2025). Understanding the awarding gap through the lived experiences of minority ethnic students: An intersectional approach. British Educational Research Journal, 51, 990–1008. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.4108
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Parkin, H. and Heron, E. (2022) Innovative methods for positive institutional change: The Listening Rooms Project and student and staff ‘voice’. Educational Developments, 23 (3), 13-17.
Nguyen, Q., Rienties, B. & Richardson, J.T. (2020) Learning analytics to uncover inequality in behavioural engagement and academic attainment in a distance learning setting. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 45(4), pp. 594-606.
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