Session Outline

This session presents an innovative pilot project at Manchester Metropolitan University designed to address persistent awarding and graduate outcome gaps for South Asian Muslim women entering the teaching profession. Institutional PDEF data (2023/24) shows that only 59% of Muslim students in Education achieved a good honours degree, with women within this group experiencing a further 12% negative differential. Research demonstrates that Muslim women in UK education often encounter racialised stereotypes (Allouche, 2024), constrained belonging (Ahmad, 2007), and limited access to culturally congruent guidance - all of which negatively impact confidence, achievement, and progression.

To respond to these inequalities, this project establishes an Alumni Ambassador Network that pairs South Asian Muslim women PGCE students with alumni who share similar cultural, gendered, and faith-identity experiences. Supported by literature on Islamic feminism (Ahmad, 2007), standpoint epistemology (Harding, 1993), and culturally responsive mentorship (Niaz, 2025), the pilot uses co-produced mentoring relationships to foreground lived experience as a valued form of knowledge and professional capital. Ambassadors act as identity-affirming role models, offering guidance on navigating placement environments, professional expectations, and the specific cultural dynamics that shape South Asian Muslim women’s journeys into teaching.

The session will outline the structure of the pilot - including the mentoring model, co-design process with alumni, and mechanisms for embedding insights into institutional policy and inclusive practice. It will also highlight the project’s alignment with MMU’s Intentionally Inclusive Framework, Advance HE’s Inclusive Institutions Framework (2025), and sector scholarship on belonging, mattering, and inclusive advising. Although still in its early stages, the project adopts an evaluation framework informed by existing evidence that culturally aligned mentoring improves confidence, belonging, and graduate outcomes for marginalised students (Niaz, 2025; Knight et al., 2025). Emerging qualitative feedback from the co-design phase will be shared to demonstrate early indicators of impact.

Crucially, the initiative offers a replicable model for universities seeking to embed inclusion within personal tutoring and academic advising. The ambassadors act as an extension of advising practice by providing culturally responsive conversations, identity-safe spaces, and contextually informed advice that complements the role of tutors. The project therefore offers practical insights for HE practitioners wishing to enhance the inclusivity of student support structures and advance equity in student outcomes.

Learning Outcomes

Bibliography