Exploring Occupational Justice for Black University Students in the United Kingdom: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Occupational justice is a core concept within occupational science, concerned with equitable access to meaningful, health-promoting occupations across the life course. Within higher education (HE), occupational injustices may arise through structural racism, discriminatory institutional cultures, exclusionary curricula, and restricted access to academic and social participation. For Black students in the United Kingdom, these injustices shape educational engagement, occupational identity development, mental health, and future life opportunities. This scoping review aimed to systematically map and synthesise existing evidence on occupational injustice experienced by Black university students in the United Kingdom, using an occupational justice lens to illuminate how structural and institutional factors shape participation, wellbeing, and inclusion within higher education. Methods: This scoping review followed Arksey and O’Malley’s methodological framework. A comprehensive search of MEDLINE, APA PsycINFO, and CINAHL Ultimate identified studies published between 2022 and 2025 that explored Black students’ lived experiences within UK HE. Study selection was conducted using explicit inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were charted systematically and presented in thematic summaries. Results: Five peer-reviewed qualitative studies conducted in England met the inclusion criteria. Three interrelated themes were identified: (1) structural marginalisation and exclusion within higher education; (2) occupational deprivation through restricted access to social, cultural, and institutional capital; and (3) hope, resistance, and possibilities for occupational justice. Conclusions: This scoping review demonstrates that occupational injustices experienced by Black students in UK higher education are deeply embedded within institutional structures and cultures. Applying an occupational justice lens reveals higher education as spaces where inequities are reproduced but also contested. This study necessitates a shift toward decoloniality to address the foundational role of structural racism in shaping the contemporary UK academic landscape.