Perceived discrimination among students in higher education

Pages: 761-769
Narayanan Annalakshmi (Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu)
Murugesan Venkatesan (Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Deemed to be University, New Delhi)

The present study attempts to examine the types of discrimination experienced by students in higher education and the relationship between discrimination and psychological factors. The sample consists of 1645 students pursuing undergraduate, postgraduate and research programs in colleges and university in a mid-sized city in south India. The age of the sample ranged from 18 to 40 years. The participants completed self-report measures of discrimination, John Henryism, general self-efficacy, familialism, intentions to persist, state-trait anxiety, and physical symptoms. A couple of open-ended items to capture specific discriminatory experiences of students were also included in discrimination scale. ANOVA and regressions were carried out to analyze the quantitative data, and thematic analysis was done on the qualitative data. The findings show that male students reported higher discrimination from peer and teachers compared to female students. Perceived discrimination positively predicted intention to persist, John Henryism, state anxiety, trait anxiety, and physical symptoms but negatively predicted self-efficacy among students. Self-efficacy mediated the association between discrimination and state anxiety. Familialism mediated the relationship between discrimination and John Henryism. The first-generation and continuing-generation students did not differ with regard to peer discrimination. However, continuing-generation students reported higher levels of teacher discrimination compared to first-generation students. Qualitative data suggest that first-generation students experienced discrimination, domination, social exclusion, social comparisons and bullying. The findings highlight the urgent need to address issues of discrimination among students in higher education.