The maze of classification based on

ethnicity: is there a solution?

Chantal Davies (Senior Lecturer, University of Chester)

Objectives• Background• Categorisation and ethnicity• Conclusions: application to

future research

Background• The 2011 BME Experience Project (Davies &

Garrett, 2011)o Nature of the projecto Use of broad generic terminologyo Self-identificationo Problems

• The ‘Employability’ researcho Background o Importance of ‘race wrestling’ (Pollock, 2004)

Categorisation and ethnicity: introduction• The need for classification• Tool of emancipation? (Urla, 1993)• Tool of oppression? (Bonnett &

Carrington, 2000)• Higher Education and ethnic

monitoring (Bird, 1996; Connolly, 1994)

Categorisation and ethnicity: general

terminology• Race/ethnicity• The politicisation and decline of

‘black’• Use of umbrella terminology

oBlackoBMEo Ethnic minorityoMinority ethnic

Categorisation and ethnicity: pan-ethnic and specific

categorisation• Use of pan-ethnic terms• Specific terminology:oThe problem of ‘White’oConceptual confusion (Burton et al, 2010)

• Imposed or self-categorisation

Conclusions: application to future

research• Multiplicity of ethnicity (Nazroo &

Karlsen, 2003)• Open ended questions on dimensions

of ethnicity• The importance of ‘race wrestling’• Position as a non-BME researcher

(Howarth, 2002)

References• Bird, J. (1996). Black Students and Higher Education. Buckingham: Open

University Press.• Bonnett, A., & Carrington, B. (2000). Fitting into categories or falling between

them? Rethinking ethnic classification. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 21(4), 487-500.

• Burton, J., & Nandi, A., & Platt, L. (2010). Measuring ethnicity: challenges and opportunities for survey research. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 33(8), 1332-1349.

• Connolly, C. (1994). Shades of Discrimination: University Entry Data 1990-92, in: S Haselgrove (Ed.). The Student Experience. (Buckingham, SRHE/Open University).

• Davies, C., & Garrett, M. (2012). The BME student experience at a small northern university: an examination of the experiences of minority ethnic students undertaking undergraduate study within a small northern university. Compass: The Journal of Learning and Teaching at the University of Greenwich, 5, 57-66.

• Howarth, C. (2002). Using the theory of social representations to explore difference in the research relationship. Qualitative Research, 2(1), 21-34.

• Nazroo, J., & Karlsen, S. (2003). Patterns of identity among ethnic minority people: Diversity and commonality. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 26(5), 902-930.

• Pollock, M. (2004). Race wrestling: struggling strategically with race in educational practice and research. American Journal of Education, 111, 25-67.

• Urla, J. (1993). Cultural politics in an age of statistics: numbers, nations, and the making of Basque identity. American Ethnologist, 20(4), 818-843.