SRHE Members must log-in to access member registration rates 

Facilitated and chaired by: Professor Karen Mpamhanga who is the co-convenor of the Higher Education Policy. For more details about the network and its activities, please click here.

Overview

Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers in the United Kingdom (UK) are under-represented in higher education (HE). The Census 2021 for England and Wales indicates that out of all ethnic groups, Gypsies and Irish Travellers are least likely to have a level 4 qualification or above, with 11% of Gypsies and Irish Travellers reporting this qualification. This is substantially below the average for England and Wales (34%), whilst the percentage for Roma is 32%. Evidence of inequalities is apparent in HE in England for these communities including potential awarding gaps and low undergraduate continuation rates with many students feeling ‘outsiders’ in HE spaces. This is often compounded by experiences of anti-Gypsyism and anti-Roma racism.  Moreover, Roma, Gypsies and Travellers are often invisible within university spaces, discursive practices, and initiatives including university anti-racism policies, Race Equality Charters and Access and Participation Plans. This lack of recognition is despite the Office for Students in England identifying the communities as having a decreased ‘equality of opportunity’ in HE and initiatives such as the Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showmen and Boater (GTRSB) into Higher Education Pledge.  Recent research by Morgan et al, (2024) and Marsh & Morgan (2025) highlights how Travellers, Roma and Gypsies are invisible within university EDI strategy including decolonising the curriculum initiatives with staff feeling unease about how to support and engage with Gypsy, Roma and Travellers students and communities.  This session will explore some of the recent research and support discussion around how Roma, Gypsies and Travellers can best be supported in HE.

Schedule

Speaker bios

Julia Morgan is a SFHEA and an Associate Professor in Public Health and Wellbeing at the University of Greenwich, London.  By background she is a health professional and previously worked in community development and engagement. Some of her recent multi-disciplinary research has focused on maternal health in Tribal areas of India; mobile health for Nomadic peoples in Mongolia, and maternal health for Indigenous women in Colombia, South America. She has undertaken two research projects on the under-representation of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in higher education in the United Kingdom and co-edited a handbook on developing good practice. She has written a number of articles on the topic.  She  is co-editing a Routledge book along with Professors Colin Clark and Hazel Marsh on Gypsies, Roma and Travellers and Higher Education in the United Kingdom as well as a further  Routledge book on Romani Realities in the Americas with Professor Hazel Marsh.

Hazel Marsh is a SFHEA and Professor of Cultural Politics at University of East Anglia, where she has acted as Chair of the School’s decolonising working group and EDI committee. Her research is interdisciplinary, and focuses on issues concerning social and cultural justice, the politics of representation, the creative arts and community action, education inequalities, and the contributions of Romani and Traveller groups to the societies they live in. She is currently leading impact projects ‘Romani and Traveller Voices in Music Archives in the UK’ and ‘Strengthening Romani Capacity in Colombia’, and co-leading AHRC-funded project ‘Embedding Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month in the Public History Calendar’. She is lead author of recent articles ‘How Romani Gypsy and Traveller people have shaped Britain’s musical heritage’, ‘Calling out the Catalogue: Romani singers in an archive of English folk song’, and ‘Strengthening Romani voices in Colombia: Reflections on a participatory approach’.

Marie Bowers is a Romany woman, a biochemist, and founder of the award-winning STEMM outreach project ‘Science Travels’at the University of Glasgow (UoG). With passions for science, outreach and teaching, Marie has raised awareness of the invisibility of Gypsy, Traveller, Roma, Showman and Boater communities in HE both locally within the University of Glasgow and with external audiences such as learned Societies and the general public. This has provided opportunities to embed ‘science Travels’ within teaching at UoG and for Marie to lobby senior management to improve provision for GTRSB students and staff. Marie is currently studying for a Doctorate in Medical Education at the University of Aberdeen where her work focusses on the barriers to STEMM HE for GTRSB students.

Dr Emily Danvers is an Associate Professor in Education at the University of Sussex. Her work explores student voice, academic identity, and power in learning spaces.  She champions inclusive and creative teaching practices and publishes widely on equity, power, and belonging in university learning environments.

Chris Derbyshire is Partnerships Manager for Widening Participation at the University of Sussex. He champions improved future-selves including access to higher education for under‑represented groups—with lead responsibilities for Gypsy, Roma, Traveller outreach, school partnerships, Primary, and attainment programmes, promoting institutional commitment to creating inclusive, pathway‑opening opportunities.

Eloise Goodman-Thompson is a former University of Sussex student and currently Admissions Coordinator at the University of Sussex, based in the Sussex House Admissions Office. She supports prospective students through the application process and contributes to the university's recruitment strategies. Eloise is a key contact for admissions-related inquiries.

Beth Harri-Lirette is a University of Sussex Biochemistry graduate with hands on cancer research experience. She works for the NIHR BioResource to increase the diversity of health research participants in the UK. While studying, she worked as a widening participation ambassador focused on GRT initiatives.

Shannon Phillips is a Romani English teacher passionate about inclusive education. A former Sussex student, she now uses her classroom to empower underrepresented students through creative writing and cultural awareness. Her work bridge's identity and literacy, challenging stereotypes and championing educational access for Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller communities and all disadvantaged students.