Dismantling Race in Higher Education Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy: Racism, Whiteness and Decolonising the Academy
Abstract
This book reveals the roots of structural racism that limit social mobility and equality within Britain for Black and ethnicised students and academics in its inherently white Higher Education institutions. It brings together both established and emerging scholars in the fields of Race and Education to explore what institutional racism in British Higher Education looks like in colour-blind 'post-race' times, when racism is deemed to be ‘off the political agenda’. Keeping pace with our rapidly changing global universities, this edited collection asks difficult and challenging questions, including why black academics leave the system; why the curriculum is still white; how elite universities reproduce race privilege; and how Black, Muslim and Gypsy traveller students are disadvantaged and excluded.
The book also discusses why British racial equality legislation has failed to address racism, and explores what the Black student movement is doing about this. As the authors powerfully argue, it is only by dismantling the invisible architecture of post-colonial white privilege that the 21st century struggle for a truly decolonised academy can begin. This collection will be essential reading for students and academics working in the fields of Education, Sociology, and Race.
... A substantial and expanding volume of research, including studies by Arday and Mirza (2018), Bhopal (2018) and Bhopal and Pitkin (2020), have examined the obstacles hindering the success of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students in higher education. These studies point to significant issues such as lower progression and retention rates, a notable awarding gap, and subpar employment outcomes for graduates. ...
... A decolonised and anti-racist approach formed the backbone of the co-creation project. Decolonising education refers to the process of challenging and rethinking existing education systems that are rooted in colonial legacies and practices, and the higher education environment is an example of this (Arday and Mirza 2018;Sian 2019). Decolonisation involves critically examining and altering the curriculum, teaching methodologies, assessments, academic support, and structural racism within the educational system so to address and rectify the biases, inequalities, and Eurocentric perspectives that dominate education. ...
... According to CRT principles, to understand the pernicious nature of racial disparities and act, we must listen to those affected, their voices and lived experiences (Gillborn 2008;Delgado and Stefancic 2023;Walton 2021), in order to effect positive change within the system. It is this group within higher education who are most negatively impacted in relation to belonging, retention, progression, degree awards, and graduate outcomes (Bhopal 2018;Arday and Mirza 2018;Ryde 2019). ...
This article discusses the impact of a staff and student co-creation project embedded within a core module, which worked to both explore and seek ways to address the awarding gap. The project established safe spaces for students to share difficult lived experiences at the university, spanning an academic year, and included students in their final year of undergraduate study from a range of disciplines. Student experiences were gathered to inform policy and, with staff, co-created resources were developed and delivered for universities (at both our institution and two external universities) to address the awarding gap, adopting a decolonised and anti-racist approach. The project was vast and, therefore, this article presents only one part of the conducted research, which explored the project’s impact on co-creation students through a participatory evaluation approach known as the world café. The findings highlighted the positive effect of co-creation on students’ sense of belonging, friendships, and connection with faculty, and for the co-creation project to be embedded in the curriculum at all levels of study. Additionally, the students provided clear actionable recommendations for universities to improve student outcomes and address the wickedness of the awarding gap.
... In the process, the racial hierarchies upon which science has been built and the sometimes racist or discriminatory motivations behind scientific research themes are exposed. Such a curriculum is meant to critically address White privilege, entitlement, inequity and racialised disadvantage [9][10][11]. Hence, decolonisation involves recognising that colonialism and racism have been involved in shaping modern history and pedagogy, affecting-and at times directing-knowledge production and scientific discoveries [4,6,10,[12][13][14]. ...
... Such a curriculum is meant to critically address White privilege, entitlement, inequity and racialised disadvantage [9][10][11]. Hence, decolonisation involves recognising that colonialism and racism have been involved in shaping modern history and pedagogy, affecting-and at times directing-knowledge production and scientific discoveries [4,6,10,[12][13][14]. It is important to stress that the aim of decolonising the science curriculum is addition rather than subtraction: to discuss the biases and inequalities associated with science production and to add context and historical background to scientific advances. ...
... Decolonisation is meant to benefit all students, not just those who are historically marginalised, preparing everyone for a modern, multi-cultural world, where privilege and entitlement is increasingly challenged. Such efforts aim to ensure that all students see themselves in their education, and feel some level of ownership over the knowledge they learn, while educating everyone-no matter their genetic or cultural heritage-to the best of their abilities [9,10]. It further improves literacy and awareness of global inequalities in scientific knowledge production and equips future generations of scientists with tools to conduct scientific research that is more inclusive, equitable and just. ...
Scientific advances are historically linked to colonial actions of past empires resulting in knowledge production biased towards the West with minimal representation of scholars of other ethnicities than White in science curricula in Higher Education (HE). Calls to decolonise science curricula seek to diversify content by acknowledging the role of racism and privilege in the history of science, aiming at creating a HE that is less isolating for minoritised ethnicities and feels welcoming to students of all identities. This case study explored science teaching staff’s familiarity with and misconceptions of decolonisation at a UK HE institution using an online questionnaire. We further assessed participants’ perceptions of barriers, benefits and risks, training needs, and preparedness to take actions in their teaching. We found that a majority of participants had a positive disposition towards decolonising their teaching, but that critical misconceptions, e.g. linking decolonisation to ‘cancel culture’ and ‘colour-blind’ behaviour were common, while important barriers, e.g. a lack of training and constraints on time, halt progress. We provide specific recommendations for staff training and a brief historical background relevant to life sciences. By supporting teachers, that train future generations of scientists, to decolonise the curriculum we can improve equity in HE, academia, and society.
... Likewise, the use of 'angraiz' (a colloquial term for white-skinned people) subverts the illusion of a neutral, objective academic space. It exposes how race remains entwined with perceived intellectual authority, echoing the 'white occupation' of knowledge that Leonardo critiques (Arday & Mirza, 2018). This stark term acknowledges the reality that decolonization isn't just about diversifying faces in academia; it demands confronting colonialism's enduring power, dismantling the whiteness that remains implicitly equated with knowledge production. ...
... It requires addressing those hidden expectations that create barriers for students from the Global South (Le Grange, 2016). Moreover, it's about confronting the 'white occupation of academic knowledge' (Leonardo in Arday & Mirza, 2018)the unspoken assumption that everyone will intuit the rules of the game. This isn't about hand-holding; it's about respecting that different educational traditions have shaped students' understandings of their roles. ...
... This perpetuates the 'violent monologue' inherent in neo-liberalized higher education, where Western knowledge reigns supreme (Motta, 2018). JYU might promote its international outlook, but its course structure speaks a different story, one that silences those who can't decipher the code (Leonardo in Arday & Mirza, 2018). The consequence? ...
This study examines the experiences of two Pakistani doctoral researchers at the University of Jyväskylä (JYU), Finland, highlighting the disconnect between the university’s internationalization policies and the realities faced by non-Western students. Employing autoethnography, the study reveals systemic Eurocentric biases and linguistic imperialism, leading to significant psychological challenges like alienation and identity crises. It critiques the paradoxical impact of Finnish language courses, demonstrating how policies aimed at inclusivity inadvertently marginalize non-Finnish speakers. The findings advocate for policy reforms that address the diverse linguistic and cultural needs of international students, calling for a decolonized approach to higher education internationalization that truly embraces cultural and linguistic diversity.
... I approach the interviews as an interactional event (De Fina and Perrino, 2011) in which reported narratives by the participants emerged. The article converges with existing research on inequality in British higher education by Arday (2018), Arday and Mirza (2018), Bhopal et al. (2018), Hobson and Whigham (2018) and Johnson and Joseph-Salisbury (2018), among others, who demonstrate that racism, the predominance of 'Whiteness' and inequality based on perceptions of gender, religion and culture permeate British higher education. The article also builds on these studies by contributing to the growing scholarship on the intertwined relationship between humans and materiality in education by Chappell (2018), Chappell et al. (2021), Craft (2013), Jiang and Tham (2023), Page (2018) and Pedersen (2023), among others, using a posthuman perspective to argue for accommodating multiple agencies in rethinking higher education. ...
... (Alex, interview) While Alex's feelings of being framed within perceptions of 'race' and religion are shaped by racialised experiences which reinforce Whiteness and power, he moves beyond such an essentialist grand narrative (Amadasi and Holliday, 2018), by asserting 'self-oriented identity' (Zhu, 2016: 232) as 'internationalist', as well as by advocating for his self-representation, which also connects with many other individuals, through activism. Alex's experience of being racialised, and his quest for equality, connects with Arday's (2018) research on being racialised and marginalised in academia, and his struggles and at times incapability to disrupt normativity and White privilege in academia. In resisting reductionist views of the world, including people, Alex rejects the idea of nationalism in general by arguing that it promotes fixation of 'identity'. ...
This article uses a posthuman perspective to analyse the intertwined relationship between some academics as social beings and their areas of expertise. It focuses on the intra-action between the academics and their areas of expertise to express their self-perception, resist essentialist discourses of who they are experienced as within the university setting and advocate for social justice both at the university and in wider society. Using empirical evidence from this study, linguistic, racial and religious discrimination in academia based on perceptions of accent, ‘race’ and religion are uncovered. The study also reveals intra-action between the academics and their areas of expertise to make themselves, including their social and organisational environment, happen by moving beyond stereotypical understanding of the world. The study argues for the need to acknowledge the pertinence of social issues such as ‘race’ in British higher education, rather than viewing them as irrelevant to academia. The study contributes to the existing literature on inequality and higher education by reimagining a just higher education and society using a posthumanist lens. It also has implications for policy in terms of the contribution of a single-language policy and the predominance of ‘Whiteness’ in higher education in creating and perpetuating perceptions of diversity as a problem rather than a resource for growth and bridging gaps between communities.
... The literature on BAME academics consistently highlights a persistent underrepresentation in senior academic and leadership positions, reflecting broader systemic issues within higher education. Studies have shown that BAME academics face structural and cultural barriers, including institutional racism, lack of mentorship, and limited access to professional development opportunities (Arday & Mirza, 2018;Bhopal, 2020;Rana et al., 2022). These barriers not only hinder career advancement but also contribute to a sense of isolation and marginalization among BAME faculty members ( Alternative higher education institutions, characterized by their diverse student populations and often innovative approaches to teaching and learning, provide a unique context for examining the experiences of BAME academics. ...
... In Handbook of Critical Whiteness: Deconstructing Dominant Discourses Across Disciplines (pp. [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. ...
The experiences of Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) academics in higher education institutions have garnered increasing attention due to persistent disparities and challenges faced by these groups. This protocol outlines a systematic review aimed at exploring the experiences of BAME academics in alternative higher education institutions. The review will synthesize existing literature to identify key themes, challenges, and opportunities encountered by BAME academics in these non-traditional settings. The systematic review will follow established guidelines, including a comprehensive search strategy across multiple databases such as PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria will focus on peer-reviewed articles, dissertations, and reports that examine the experiences of BAME academics in alternative higher education institutions. Studies will be selected based on relevance, methodological rigor, and the richness of data on BAME academics' experiences. Data extraction will involve detailed coding of study characteristics, participant demographics, and key findings related to the experiences of BAME academics. Thematic analysis will be employed to identify recurring patterns and themes across the selected studies. This approach will allow for a nuanced understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities faced by BAME academics in alternative higher education institutions. The findings from this systematic review will provide valuable insights into the lived experiences of BAME academics, highlighting areas for policy intervention and institutional support. By identifying best practices and areas needing improvement, this review aims to contribute to the development of more inclusive and equitable higher education environments. The results will be disseminated through academic publications, conference presentations, and stakeholder engagement to inform future research, policy, and practice. This protocol underscores the importance of addressing the specific needs of BAME academics in alternative higher education institutions and aims to foster a more inclusive academic landscape.
... There has been a growing movement to address gender and racial bias and inequality within the higher education sector globally, including campaigns to decolonize academia and the curriculum (Rodriguez, 2018;Muldoon, 2019), efforts to address systemic racism in higher education institutions (Arday & Mirza, 2018;Ahmed, 2006), and institutional commitments such as the Athena Swan charter to improve gender equality. Carey, Clayton, and Horiuchi (2020) show that students at U.S. universities favour diversity and increasing the representation of under-represented groups. ...
... Despite these advances, there is also evidence that higher education remains dominated by White men, and, increasingly, White women (Johnson & Howsam, 2020). Scholars of Black, Indigenous, and other racialized minorities continue to face obstacles to inclusion (Henry, Dua, James, Kobayashi, Howard Ramos, & Smith, 2017;Bailey, 2015;Arday & Mirza, 2018;Rollock, 2023). ...
Building on Milkman, Akinola, and Chugh (2015), this article presents data from an experiment conducted in Australia that included fictional emails from prospective students seeking a meeting with faculty members. The results show significantly different responses from faculty depending on the student’s name and association with a racialized group. While the study reveals evidence of racial bias, there is, contrary to previous studies, little evidence of gender bias. Additionally, the study concludes that gender or racial diversity at the university or discipline level is not associated with lower rates of bias. Additional exploratory analysis further examines the data for evidence of change processes, including the interaction of gender and racial diversity, and lower rates of bias among more junior academics.
... Most participants were uncomfortably aware of Black student under-representation in their courses, and being a notable minority was experienced as unpleasant. Racialised and isolating experiences can compound a sense of unbelonging (Arday and Safia Mirza 2018), and these participants struggled to relate and connect to their predominantly White counterparts. Participants admitted that, besides transitioning challenges from secondary school to university, they also faced struggles of 'onlyness' (Harper 2013) with limited opportunities to relate to other students from similar backgrounds, which was stressful and alienating. ...
... In contrast with experiences at secondary school, the university environment moderated the feeling of being an impostor, which was an unexpected finding, given the difficulties minoritised students face (Arday and Mirza 2018). Participants viewed their universities as diverse and, mostly, welcoming and felt they could be 'authentic' in expressing their cultural identity, especially in 'safe spaces'. ...
Less is known about the impostor phenomenon in undergraduate students and, more so, racially minoritised students in the UK. Impostorism has a constraining effect on constructing an authentic identity, leading to a feeling of phoniness. When impostorism intersects with a gendered and racially minoritised identity, individuals may face specific challenges, such as managing compound identity labels or struggling to achieve in their academic environment. This paper reports experiences of the phenomenon in Black female undergraduate students. Semi-structured focus group interviews with 10 students were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Four themes were generated: contextual experiences of impostorism, finding sense of belonging, struggling to maintain and value an authentic self, and taming my impostor. The findings point to university environments as both barriers and enablers for taming the effect of the impostor phenomenon on academic and cultural identities and provide novel insights into an underrepresented student population.
... Why the despair? Universities are racialized organizations (Ray, 2019;Schachle & Coley, 2022), where white supremacy is upheld (Arday & Mirza, 2018;Doharty et al., 2021;Rollock, 2021;Sian, 2019). A variety of scholarship has exposed the underrepresentation of staff of color in universities on both sides of the Atlantic (Bhopal, 2020;Jayakumar et al., 2009;J. ...
... In the UK specifically, in 2020, Black professors comprised less than 1% of all professors in the sector (Advance, 2020, p. 164). Then, once in university positions, the academy in the UK is not the most hospitable arena for people of color due to the pervasiveness of white supremacy (Arday & Mirza, 2018;Bhopal & Pitkin, 2020;Doharty et al., 2021;Rollock, 2021;Sian, 2019). The above and other research has documented the extent, frequency, and effect of the negative experiences those staff encounter when they do hold university positions (Ahmed, 2012;Bhopal & Jackson, 2013;Bhopal & Pitkin, 2018;Harley, 2008;Rollock, 2021). ...
... In the United States, for instance, segregation laws and discriminatory admissions practices denied access to Black, Indigenous, and other students of color for much of the 19th and early 20th centuries. In the UK, elite universities like Oxford and Cambridge remained inaccessible to ethnic minorities and working-class populations well into the late 20th century (Arday & Mirza, 2018). Similar patterns of exclusion have been observed in postcolonial contexts, where access to higher education was often shaped by class and caste hierarchies. ...
This paper explores the intersection between higher education policy and the representation of minority groups in academic institutions. Focusing on racial, ethnic, and socioeconomically marginalized communities, it critically examines how policy frameworks at institutional, national, and global levels shape access, participation, and advancement for minorities in higher education. Drawing on empirical research and theoretical discourse from 2000 to 2021, the study highlights persistent inequities in representation and outlines policy-driven strategies that aim to address structural barriers. It further discusses the effectiveness and limitations of affirmative action, targeted outreach, and inclusive pedagogy as tools of equity. Finally, the paper calls for an intersectional and systemic approach to policy reform that centers minoritized voices and dismantles institutional exclusion.
... Candidate ability should determine success in exams, yet globally and at all levels of education there is much evidence of variation in performance on educational assessments between learners from different societal groups (Arday & Mirza, 2018;Li, 2018;Smith, 2020). Differential Attainment (DA) or group-level differences in performance of groups (rather than individual differences) is also observed across all medical education stages and medical specialties. ...
Big datasets and data analytics enable granular analyses examining group differences in performance. Our focus is on differential attainment (DA) in postgraduate College (Board) examinations. We asked: Are candidates’ sociodemographic characteristics associated with performance on the UK’s Membership of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP) Part 1 after adjusting for medical school performance (MSP) and type of medical programme? This was a retrospective longitudinal cohort study of 6040 medical graduates with linked sociodemographic data in the UK Medical Education Database qualifying from a UK medical school (2012–2014) and sitting MRCP Part 1 before October 2019. Chi-squared tests established univariable associations with MRCP performance (pass/fail first sitting MRCP Part 1). Multivariable mixed-effects logistic regression identified independent explanatory factors of success, adjusted for medical school. The odds (95% CI) of passing MRCP Part 1 exams on first sitting were greater for men (OR = 1.61, CI 1.42–1.81, p < 0.001) and those on a graduate entry programme (OR = 1.44, 1.05–1.99, p < 0.001). The odds of passing were lower as age increases (OR = 0.87, 0.85–0.90, p < 0.001), for minority ethnic (OR = 0.61, CI 0.53–0.7, p < 0.001), and gateway to medicine (OR = 0.49, CI 0.27–0.90, p = 0.02) candidates. After adjusting for MSP, odds were greater for passing in men (OR = 1.62, CI 1.24–2.11, p < 0.001) and candidates with higher MSP (OR = 4.12, CI 3.40–4.96, p < 0.001). Our findings illustrate how performance on MRCP part 1 is associated with group-level social and educational factors. This DA may be due to aspects of the assessment itself, and/or the persistent nature of social and educational disadvantage.
... Structural racism remains very much present in universities at all levels, from faculty staff to students, in the USA. In the UK, institutional racism is argued to be inherent in universities and students of colour tend to have lower success when compared with white students (Mirza, 2018). ...
... Research on education systems highlights that impediment to anti-racist efforts often arises from a discrepancy in system conditions (Ahmed 2012;Arday and Mirza 2018). Therefore, political geographers are encouraged to reflect upon and challenge ethics and research procedures in alignment with decolonial principles. ...
This chapter reflects on my experience with ethics procedures for fieldwork in Algeria as an early-career researcher in political geography. I reflect as a Czecho-Algerian on the Western bureaucratic procedures of gaining ethics approvals in academic research and how this practice can slow down the research process, putting scholars’ fieldwork in jeopardy. Drawing on decolonial theory and literature on structural racism, the chapter calls for the decolonization of ethics and risk assessment procedures across Global North academic institutions. This requires a deconstruction of the Western imaginative geographies that maintain inequalities in the discipline. The chapter emphasizes the importance of including pluriversality in both doing and assessing research to effectively overcome entrenched colonialism in higher education.
... "Diversity" and "Belonging" A significant body of literature exists on social justice in higher education (see, for example, McArthur and Ashwin, 2020;Arday and Mirza, 2018;Swartz et al., 2018), and it falls beyond the remit of this paper to provide a comprehensive review. In the UK, such literature has historically been grouped under "widening participation," since many of the policies arose in response to the Robbins Report (Committee on Higher Education, 1963) while elsewhere it has historically been tagged with labels such as transformation 5 (South Africa), or Affirmative Action 6 (United States). ...
Geosciences are central to addressing many of the challenges facing our society and environment today, and geoscience undergraduate degrees can lead to influential and lucrative careers in a range of fields. However, geosciences are one of the least diverse of all STEM subject areas. We present results from a series of workshops held in 2022 focused on understanding the experiences of current or recent undergraduates from under-represented groups on UK geoscience degrees. The workshops focused particularly on the participants’ sense of belonging in their degree programmes. Factors that reduced participants’ sense of belonging can be broadly grouped into unfamiliarity of geosciences amongst family and friends , lack of representation in the discipline , lack of representation among/exclusion by peers , and structural barriers. We present and discuss the recommendations made by participants for strategies to tackle each of these barriers to belonging. These strategies are intended to be practical actions that individual educators can take to enhance belonging in the geosciences.
... But are they physically and psychologically safe for REM students? These students express higher rates of dissatisfaction with their student experience (Arday & Mirza, 2018). Racism remains a problem within higher educational institutions and students do not have confidence in existing reporting structures. ...
... The contemporary university is frequently seen as being driven by an individualising neoliberal ethic (Collini, 2012;Loveday, 2018), promoted as a virtue while encouraging 'toxic individualism' (Gill, 2018, p. 106). What is more, critiques have long been made of academia and universities as spaces of whiteness (Bhopal, 2016;Arday and Mirza, 2018;García Peña, 2022), patriarchy (Marshall and Witz, 2004), able-bodiedness (Burke and Byrne, 2020;Sheppard, 2021), and middle-classness (Reay, Crozier, and Clayton, 2009). Those who 'perish' rather than 'publish' ...
Disaster scholarship purportedly promotes disaster risk reduction and resists disaster risk creation, thereby deeply engaging with transboundary existential risks, justice, and political power. It is thus a commitment to humanity, and for it to become truly equitable and just, solidarity must lie at its heart. In this paper we connect solidarity with knowledge production and assess the implications of disaster scholarship and the relationships on which it is built. We offer a critique of the kind of research produced by neoliberal academic institutions and provocations for resistance through solidarity. We call on disaster scholars to use these prompts to reflect on their practice, research ethics, and their commitment to other human beings, inside and outside of the academy. Solidarity can help scholars to avoid the saviourism, self‐congratulation, and paternalism that are common in academia. Solidarity in disaster scholarship is a worthy endeavour precisely because it yields a concrete alternative vision of resisting disaster risk creation through knowledge production.
... See UUK andNUS (2019, 2022) and Singh (2011) for further on the subject. 41 See Arday and Mirza (2018), Joseph-Salisbury (2018), andShilliam (2015). 42 Asia, and the Middle East that is complemented by training in and conversing with the Anglo-American and continental European philosophical traditions: 50 1. ...
... Blell et al., 2022;Minello et al., 2021). The inaction of universities on many of these fronts is blamed for exacerbating the subaltern identity of minority communities (Arday & Mirza, 2018) and the perpetuation of academia's homogeneity which makes it unattractive and/or inaccessible to a wider talent demographic. ...
The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic has ignited a near universal rethink of what is tolerable or desirable in work settings. In higher education—where discontent has been exacerbated by the pandemic—the potential for a ‘great resignation’ is a very real threat. The long-term impact of a crisis management approach in universities has led to a state of ‘pandemia’, according to Watermeyer et al., (British Journal of Sociology of Education 42:651-666, 2021b), whereby academics feel alienated and subjected to a ‘toxic’ work environment that lacks shared purpose and values. This article draws on Durkheim’s notion of ‘anomie’ to explore what leads academics to leave the sector and to consider how the outward migration of staff could be addressed through changes to leadership and management practice. Evidence is taken from an online survey distributed in the United Kingdom (UK), which collected demographic information of n = 167 academics and open-text responses to a question which asked respondents to provide their reasons for quitting higher education. Four key themes emerge which elucidate a trajectory of academic anomie: (i) declining quality of academic management, (ii) the pandemic as a disruptive awakening, (iii) the erosion of values and meaning and (iv) a sense of being ‘trapped’ within academia. Potential resolutions are suggested in respect of what respondents identify as the root cause of staff attrition—toxic management culture. Collective and inclusive governance and commitment from academics at all career stages to the leadership of groups, departments, institutions and the wider higher education sector are advocated as antidotes to academic anomie.
Workplace discrimination remains a pervasive challenge across sectors and profoundly impacts employees' psychological wellbeing. This paper critically explores the relationship between workplace discrimination and mental health outcomes, with a specific focus on how systemic and interpersonal discrimination contribute to stress, anxiety, depression, and burnout. It draws on a multidisciplinary body of literature, including psychology, sociology, and organizational studies, to examine the mechanisms through which discriminatory experiences are internalized and how institutional cultures reinforce marginalization. Furthermore, the study reflects on the unique vulnerabilities of marginalized groups, including BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) individuals in academic and professional settings. The paper underscores the urgent need for anti-discriminatory organizational policies and the integration of mental health support frameworks tailored to affected populations.
Diversity and inclusion (D&I) have become central themes in the discourse of higher education institutions worldwide. This paper critically explores the evolution, current landscape, and future of D&I in universities, with a focus on systemic inequities, institutional practices, and student and faculty experiences. While many institutions have made public commitments to promoting diversity, there remains a gap between rhetoric and practice. This article examines the socio-political drivers behind D&I initiatives, explores barriers to implementation, and outlines strategies for meaningful change, including curriculum reform, inclusive pedagogy, and accountability structures.
This paper examines the lived experiences of BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) academics within higher education institutions, primarily in Western contexts. Despite efforts toward diversity and inclusion, systemic inequalities persist that affect hiring, promotion, leadership representation, and overall well-being for BAME scholars. Drawing from empirical studies, personal narratives, and institutional reports, this article explores the structural and cultural barriers encountered by BAME academics, including racial microaggressions, epistemic exclusion, and the burden of diversity labor. It also considers strategies for structural reform and institutional accountability aimed at creating more equitable academic environments.
Racism permeates most institutions in the United States (U.S.). In institutions of higher learning, Black male tenured professors confront many hurdles that impact their experiences. This study investigated the discriminatory practices that continue to marginalize and disadvantage Black male faculty professors in Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) in this era of culture wars in the U.S. Using Critical Race Theory as a theoretical framework, this study has provided the historical and philosophical perspectives of racism in higher education. In-depth interviews were used to investigate the lived experiences of Black tenured faculty professors. Three Black male tenured professors from three four-year PWIs in the U.S. were interviewed. The participants have spent at least 25 years as faculty members. The study examined the intersectionality of race and gender in the experiences of Black faculty professors. The study found that Black male faculty professors continue to face significant racial discrimination in institutions of higher learning in the U.S.
This paper draws on social capital theory and feminist perspectives to critically examine the career navigation of Academic South Asian Women (ASAW) in British Higher Education institutions (HEI). While gender and racial inequalities in academia are well-documented (Bhopal and Pitkin, 2020; Rollock, 2019; Ahmed, 2019; Morley, 2014), the specific experiences of ASAW and their access to informal academic networking spaces remain underexplored. Findings reveal a complex interplay of factors enabling and constraining ASAW’s ability to mobilise and benefit from networks. Systemic barriers linked to entrenched white, patriarchal, and racist structures continue to persist. Participants’ narratives highlight both personal moments of realisation (‘snap moments’; Ahmed, 2017) and collective struggles, for example, racial microaggressions, stereotyping, and additional scrutiny within a field marked by exclusionary practices. As a starting point, this study adopts Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, focussing on habitus, capital, and field (Bourdieu and Richardson, 1986). Although this perspective helps explain the types of capital used to navigate, HE, I acknowledge that Bourdieu’s framework has limitations and does not fully capture the position of ASAW. For this reason, I also draw upon the feminist perspectives of Hook (1990) and Ahmed (2012) to help more fully explore the challenges and position of ASAW careers in HE. I thus extend Bourdieu’s concept of capital and explore how other emerging capitals such as professional, digital, hybrid, and emotional capital can be used to mobilise HE careers for marginalised groups like ASAW. I also utilise Critical Race Theory (CRT) scholars (Bell hooks, 2014; Taylor, 2009; Hooks, 1990 and Crenshaw, 1991) to further interrogate the systemic racism embedded in, HE’s policies, procedures, and practices. This paper foregrounds the theme of structural inequality and its reinforcement through informal networks, within recruitment practices. Despite slow progress in diversifying HE, ASAW demonstrate innovative strategies to advance their careers, leveraging alternative capitals, such as digital, external, and emotional capital to challenge dominant norms and forge pathways to success. The research ultimately argues for the transformative potential of these strategies, illustrating how ASAW resist systemic barriers and develop flexible responsive solutions to enhance their positions within academia.
Conceptualisations of the knowledge economy are highly contested. They range from descriptive accounts that associate it with a particular understanding of Post-fordism as well as with specific currents in Neo-liberalism that emphasise the salience of digitalisation and immaterial labour. In the case of the latter, there is a resonance with discussions of the fourth industrial revolution that address the changing nature of waged labour and its pedagogic requirements (Avis, 2021). Unger (2019), in a largely abstract account, provides a suggestive analysis of the knowledge economy that articulates with the previous conceptualisations. These overlapping constructions form a backdrop to the chapter whose specificity lies in its engagement with Higher Vocational Education (HIVE). The question the chapter poses serves as a provocation and is unanswerable given HIVE’s complexity. However, it enables an exploration of several issues: the relationship of the knowledge economy to STEM-ification, vocationalisation, employability and professionalism. These are set within a policy context in which there is an affinity between Post-fordist rhetoric and the knowledge economy which bear upon pedagogy, knowledge and critical practice. Importantly the issues the chapter addresses enable the problematisation of some of the tenets of the knowledge economy and the tensions graduates of VET/HIVE encounter when facing un-under-employment.
This study explored the perceptions and experiences of racially minoritised students and staff in accessing and participating postgraduate research (PGR) at a UK post-92 university. Framed through the Theory of Possible Selves (PST), the study used focus group discussions to examine aspirations, barriers, and support mechanisms related to PGR participation by collecting data from undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students and staff. Findings revealed that aspirations are driven by intrinsic motivations, such as intellectual growth, and extrinsic factors, including career advancement. Key barriers include financial constraints, the complexities of the application process, and balancing academic and personal responsibilities. Participants highlighted the need for culturally relevant mental health services, mentoring programs, and tailored support systems. Recommendations include enhancing financial support, streamlining application procedures, and implementing peer mentoring schemes to foster a supportive and inclusive environment for racially minoritised students in PGR programs. These findings highlight the need for institutional reforms to address systemic inequities and promote greater access, success, and inclusivity for racially minoritised communities in higher education (HE).
Background
Discussions around racial disparities and injustice have gained increasing prominence in psychotherapy and counselling research. However, research in this area has been criticised for its omission of Black women's experiences, including as counsellors and psychotherapeutic practitioners.
Aims
This study explored and centred the experiences of Black women within therapeutic training and practice and particularly their navigation of gendered racism within training and clinical roles.
Materials & Methods
Informed by the frameworks of critical race theory and Black feminist thought, this qualitative study used interviews, focus groups, and qualitative surveys to capture the experiences of 15 Black women (11 trainee and 4 qualified therapeutic practitioners).
Results
We found that there is subtle racism in psychotherapeutic training and practice that hinders Black women's sense of belonging and professional development. The women's accounts highlighted how marginalised perspectives can be used to critique psychotherapeutic training and services, but participants faced silencing through victimisation after self‐advocating. The participants felt a sense of hypervisibility for their differences while also being excluded and overlooked for the same differences.
Discussion
The study provides insights for educational institutions and professional bodies to foster inclusive practice for Black women in the counselling and psychotherapy profession.
Conclusion
The data suggest that further research is needed that centres the experiences of Black women as therapeutic trainees and practitioners. Further research on white privilege in psychotherapeutic training and leadership, and examining resistance to changing current oppressive structures, is also needed.
Set within the context of the calls for a critical approach to the integration of international students, this paper draws on decolonial theories to examine the experiences of international students from Asian and African countries as they make sense of institutional policies designed to support their integration. The study uses a phenomenological approach to analyse focus group discussions and semi-structured interviews with international postgraduate students. The findings reveal how international students demand the decolonisation of a “Eurocentric” curriculum and a pedagogical framework that acknowledges their experiences and agencies as epistemic equals. Participants expressed diverse opinions about the institution’s academic culture, while inclusion policies are perceived as “tokenistic gestures” that fail to address racial invalidation and microaggressions. Findings from this study suggest the need for institutions in “post-race” times to transcend superficial equality discourses that commodify diversity as “good business sense”, targeting raced, mobile, and gendered “others” for inclusion by situating EDI strategies within a much longer history of global entanglements shaped by colonial, capitalist relations, rationalities, and subjectivities.
Objectives
National selection for higher surgical specialty training (HST) in the UK is a high-stakes gatekeeping assessment. If barriers, such as differential attainment, exist at HST selection for some groups and not others, then this will have a significant and lasting impact on trainees’ career progression and the diversity of the workforce, which should reflect the population it provides care for. The objective of this study was to characterise the relationship between candidate sociodemographic factors and performance at National Selection for HST in the UK.
Design
A retrospective cohort study.
Setting
National Selection for HST in the UK.
Participants
All UK graduates in the UKMED database (https://www.ukmed.ac.uk) who underwent selection for HST from 2012 to 2019.
Outcomes and measures
Performance at HST Selection for each surgical specialty is measured by assessment of the candidate’s academic portfolio and multiple objective structured clinical examination style stations testing knowledge and skills. Univariate analysis identified differences in success rates at first application. Logistic regression models identified sociodemographic predictors of success after adjusting for prior academic attainment (Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons (MRCS) performance).
Results
Of all applications to HST (n=2875), 66.5% were successful at the first attempt. Females were 32% more likely than males to be successful at selection for HST (OR 1.32 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.67)). MRCS performance was found to be a strong independent predictor of future success at HST selection. Females were more likely to be successful at general surgery selection (OR 2.69 (95% CI 1.63 to 4.45)), older candidates (graduates) were less likely to be successful at ENT selection (OR 0.21 (95% CI 0.05 to 0.95)), and candidates that were the first in their family to attend University were less likely to be successful at urology selection (OR 0.41 (95% CI 0.21 to 0.78)).
Conclusions
Our findings highlight few statistically significant associations and no consistent patterns between sociodemographic factors and performance at HST selection once we adjusted for prior academic attainment. This suggests that differences in performance on selection into HST may be more likely due to individual rather than group-level differences.
This paper brings together three parallel strands of work—Black Geographies, geographies of Caribbean creative practice, and quantum geographies. The paper begins by considering static linear spacetimes as colonial spacetimes, and draws on Michelle Wright's critique of Middle Passage epistemologies, from Black Studies, to elaborate on this. It then moves through a number of ways in which, over the last couple of decades, I have drawn together insights from Wilson Harris and Karen Barad to explore how quantum mechanics can facilitate a conversation about uncertainty, connectedness, entanglement and the liveliness of always already climate‐changed landscapes in relation to Black embodiment. In pushing briefly into string theory, the paper ends with the possibility of connecting spirituality with materialities, to push towards more politically attuned forms of emancipation.
In recent years, we have seen social movement-based calls for social justice and decolonisation in universities around the world. Some of these have been in response to specific events such as the murder of George Floyd in 2020, while others are rooted in longer standing social movements such as Rhodes Must Fall. These movements have served as catalysts for universities to rethink their commitments to social justice. This article presents the preliminary findings of a university-wide research initiative focused on understanding student and staff perceptions of decolonisation and their aspirations for decolonial work within a post-1992 institution in the United Kingdom. Positioned within the university’s broader commitments to anti-racism and as part of a student–staff partnership project focused on interrogating contemporary coloniality, this research investigates how participants understand and experience decolonial initiatives as well as the perceived impact of these efforts on curriculum, relationships, and institutional culture. By conducting a survey, we sought to unravel the complexities surrounding how students and staff conceptualise decolonisation, articulate their aspirations for decolonial initiatives, and envision the potential of student–staff partnerships as catalysts for transformative social justice work within the university. This study aims to enrich the discourse on social justice work in higher education by offering a critical lens on decolonial efforts and highlighting opportunities for collective action to rethink knowledge production and pedagogical practices. Grounded in the belief that decolonial research partnerships between students and staff are essential, the survey and article were developed by six researchers—three staff members and three students.
Intellectual colonisation is defined as the imposition of Western knowledge systems onto non-Western cultures, resulting in the marginalisation and subordination of non-Western beliefs, practices, and technologies. Decolonisation aims to challenge this dominance. Higher Education Institutions play a crucial role in dismantling intellectual colonisation, and sustained efforts are needed to promote diverse perspectives. The authors adopt a critical pedagogy and cyclical improvement approach to develop inclusive and equitable learning environments. They have committed to the process of decolonising the curriculum, acknowledging it as ongoing and multifaceted. A range of staff-led developments have been initiated as understandings of decolonisation have deepened. Alumni have applied review tools related to decolonising the curriculum to identify potential improvement areas. A student workshop was facilitated to overview the initial project developments and gain insight on how to address the issues identified. Feedback from the diverse student cohort indicated this was highly valuable. The potential for student-staff partnerships in driving decolonising efforts has begun to be explored, but key challenges include resource constraints and the need for student upskilling. The project goal is to empower students and staff to acknowledge their positionality, critically engage, and adopt a decolonial lens in both educational and workplace arenas.
This chapter adopts an autoethnographic and intersectional perspective in order to critically examine the ways British Muslim women academics are positioned within the academy and the everyday challenges, and macro and microaggressions faced while being an ‘outed’ Muslim woman academic working within UK higher education. Situating myself as a ‘permanently precarious’ Muslim woman academic, and employing a lens of ‘lateness’, I trace how long-term precarity over a 30-year period is representative of the institutionalised racism, Islamophobia, Othering, and marginalisation experienced by Muslim women academics and academics of colour, and highlight the impacts these have on our sense of belonging, confidence, and ability to thrive within the sector. I argue that despite several reports on the racism and Islamophobia experienced by students and staff from Muslim backgrounds, there remains a culture of exclusion that universities need to do more to address. While hiring practices within universities may claim to welcome candidates from diverse backgrounds, I chart how wider research, instead, documents institutionalised, gendered, racialised, and anti-Muslim discriminatory hiring practices across the academy, and highlight the ways these are experienced at a personal level. For those of us working within the niche field of ‘Muslim studies’, I argue that such practices act to further, and routinely undermine ‘our’ expertise on our communities while maintaining the authority of the Western, non-Muslim academic gaze to determine what is worthy of research, and who is worthy of recognition.
This chapter explores the experiences of early career Muslim women in UK Higher Education. It considers the nuanced ways in which religion, gender, and career stage interplay and intersect, shaping their experiences in particular ways as well as how this has consequences for their recognition, success, progression, and retention. As part of this, we draw on examples from our own experiences and observations as two early career visibly Muslim women academics. We engage with examples from our experiences and note some of the ways in which we have attempted to carve out spaces for ourselves in often isolating and marginalising spaces. In doing so, we also scrutinise higher education institutions’ claims about creating inclusive spaces in light of the specific needs and conditions of visibly Muslim women. As a result, the chapter becomes in part an endeavour of resistance and disruption of the status quo, as we claim our space to be heard and recognised.
Despite the current hyper-marketised higher education (HE) system obsessed with displaying “happy colourful faces” of diversity, there is a prevalence of deficit labels such as “BAME” which has created marginalised rhetoric which removes Muslim students from the traditional experience. For minoritised students like Muslim women, it fails to provide them with information about substantive experiences—relying on appearance and imagery—rendering them and their actual needs invisible. Thus, as a contested phenomenon in the HE space, the terrain traversed can be traumatic, and cause mental fatigue, which can often reveal itself in the form of lower attainment, increased anxieties, and cultural pressures. From generation Jihad to generation M, the Muslim female student population is often fixed by the white gaze, and this chapter seeks to explore how “a racialised episteme is interrupted” or disorientated through accounts of a brown Muslim student-lecturer in a modern university.
This chapter explores the unique experiences of three Black Muslim women as they navigate the higher education landscape in the UK. The authors delve into their encounters with gendered Islamophobia within the ivory tower while also shedding light on the misogynoir they confront as Black women in academia. Employing a critical race theory lens, the chapter uses a creative interpretation of the authors’ counter-narratives through the medium of composite characters. This creative expression is a powerful tool, offering an unfiltered exploration of the authors’ experiences as Black Muslim women in higher education. Through this lens, the chapter explores themes such as anti-Blackness, belonging, intersectionality, microaggressions, and representation. In a collaborative effort, the authors aim to share their invaluable insights, seeking to speak to, rather than for, the unique lived experiences of Black Muslim women navigating higher education.
British higher education (HE) inherently lacks representation and is often rooted in a rhetoric that favours theories, practices, concepts, and ideologies from a Eurocentric gaze. In this chapter, the authors share their personal lived experiences as Muslim academics, teaching at two different HE institutes. By adopting a duoethnographic approach, the authors reflexively discuss the intersectionality between their race, religion, social class, and ethnicity within the landscape of British academia. The authors critically discuss how their marginalised identities, and the lack of institutional recognition they receive, have contributed to a Eurocentric curriculum, imposter syndrome, tokenism, microaggressions, and a cold campus climate. The authors share antidotes of how they have navigated through their academic spaces by offering examples of inclusive practice and novel pedagogical approaches. These suggestions are presented across three themes: (1) learning through reflection, (2) learning through experiences, and (3) learning through action. Together, recommendations are made on how to develop a space that promotes equity and inclusivity to feel more recognised and valued within academia.
This chapter explores the narratives of self and survival of three transnational professional Muslim women who live and work in British universities. The women’s complex layered identities expressed through faith, memories of home and experiences of racism reveal the ways in which the macro structural discourses of race, gender and religion intersect and are lived through the women’s embodied experiences at the micro level of their social world in the corridors of the academy. Developing the theoretical concept of embodied intersectionality, the chapter explores the ways in which the women draw on their embodied practices (such as wearing the hijab) and inner sense of self (through expressions of faith and belonging) to negotiate and survive the postcolonial disjunctures of racism and Islamophobia which framed their everyday lives. Through their agency and subjectivity, the Muslim women continually challenged and transformed hegemonic discourses of race, gender and religion in educational spaces.
This research investigated teacher educators’ perspectives and practices related to preparing primary teachers for diverse classrooms in a 1-year initial teacher education (ITE) programme in an urban context in England. The research consisted of semi-structured interviews and document analysis within a complex inter-personal, social and policy context. A conceptual framework drawn from the literature was used to analyse the data in terms of teaching about, teaching to and teaching for diversity. An additional theme was uncovered on the role of autobiography in shaping teacher educators’ perspectives. Findings indicate that teacher educators employed six distinct practices related to preparing new teachers to teach in diverse classrooms, which were contextualised by national regulations and university-school partnerships. Key findings are that teacher educators themselves believed that ‘more should be done’ and that building dialogue around diversity within the teacher education community is a crucial step towards addressing inequities and diversity in ITE.
This study examines Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s aesthetic treatise Laocoön: An Essay on the Limits of Painting and Poetry (1766) from an experimental aesthetic perspective. In his wide-ranging discussion of the relationship between the visual arts and poetry, Lessing assigns a critical role to the beholder’s imagination in aesthetic response. As Lessing maintains, the beholder of a painting or sculpture—such as the statue Laocoön and His Sons (c. 150 BC)—is able to anticipate subsequent events, including actions, gestures, and sounds. Recent achievements in the cognitive neurosciences can shed new light on Lessing’s insights about the way viewers engage with works of art. Such breakthroughs include the discovery of mirror neurons and the development of concepts such as embodied simulation, empathy, intersubjectivity, motor imagery, and predictive processing. According to empirical studies, the perception of human actions, postures, gestures, and physiognomic expressions can enable observers to understand the emotions and intentions of others. Therefore, it is now possible to address the question of how biological processes underlie the observation of body movements, gestures, postures, and expressions and their implications for the aesthetic experience of—and empathy toward—images that depict human figures in movement, thus bringing Lessing’s insights up to date.
In May 2021, Jesus College Cambridge submitted to the Diocese of Ely a ‘faculty petition’ – that is, a formal request to alter the fabric of an ecclesiastical building – asking for permission to remove from the west wall of the college chapel a large memorial to Tobias Rustat, ‘because of Rustat's known involvement in the transatlantic trade in enslaved Africans’. On 23 March 2022, following hearings the month before, Hodge Dep Ch provided a written judgment in which he denied the application. The college, he said, had not provided a convincing case that the removal of the monument was ‘necessary to enable the Chapel to play its proper role in providing a credible Christian ministry and witness to the College community’, and such a case was needed to outweigh the ‘considerable, or notable, harm’ that would result from the removal ‘to the significance of the Chapel as a building of special architectural or historic interest’.
There is no question that racism has continued to be viewed as a global health crisis. Racism and other consequences of racist structures leave Black graduate students reeling for support and care. Black students, particularly Black graduate students, experience higher education as an exclusionary and alienating force. This chapter, per the authors, explores Black graduate students' experiences participating in a counterspace at a predominately White institution (PWI).
In a global context of growing inequality and socio-environmental crises, Equity in Higher Education considers the issues and challenges for progressing an equity agenda.
It advances a unique multidimensional framework based on theoretical and conceptual threads, including critical, feminist, decolonial, post-structural, and sociological discourses. It also provides readers with the sophisticated insights and tools urgently needed to challenge long-standing, entrenched, and insidious inequalities at play in and through higher education.
Written as a form of a pedagogical interaction, and addressing nuanced temporal and spatial inequalities, this key resource will be of value to policymakers, practitioners, educators, and scholars committed to progressive and groundbreaking approaches that can engage the ongoing challenges of transforming higher education towards more just realities.
The article discusses the coexistence of popular and classical music in general music education. It touches on the problem of how to distinguish both areas of artistic activity and discusses attempts to define them presented so far. It emphasizes the integrative nature of the exploration of different domains, combining different ways of perception and expression in the context of educational activities.
Replete with espoused discourses of equality, diversity and inclusion within public bodies, is the UK, wherein lauded initiatives reward its universities’ commitments to increasing the access and positioning of ‘women’ in higher education. This paper contributes a critical quantitative analysis of the state of representation and participation of academic staff within these universities generally, and the majority‐female discipline of education particularly. Education is important because it has a direct relation to social change and ethicality. It may maintain or reproduce the status quo; however, exercising its transformative potential is essential for the success of various international frameworks aiming to address global inequality, including most recently the Sustainable Development Goals. Sensitised by QuantCrit principles, a descriptive statistical exploration was undertaken of the staff composition and employment conditions captured within the administrative datasets reported on academic staff by all the public universities in the devolved nations of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales from 2015 to 2020. The findings of this study confirmed: (i) the continuation of gendered inequalities across the academic hierarchy, particularly as the pyramid narrows to the assigned intellectual leadership position of ‘professor’; (ii) racialised, gendered inequalities in access to employment, and in positioning once employed; and (iii) more adverse conditions where gendered, racialised and geopolitical inequalities intersect, most extremely for Black African female academics. The study demonstrates that the centring of ‘race’ and consideration of nationality are required to challenge coloniality, and to bring to the fore the differential impacts of systems of discrimination within this globally influential sector.
Efforts to diversify and decolonise higher education have gained momentum in recent years, aiming to address racial and systemic inequities. However, marginalised perspectives often remain marginalised in curricula, affecting the engagement and success of minoritised students. The lack of diversity among faculty further compounds the issue, influencing teaching content and perpetuating non-inclusive curricula. Meaningful change necessitates ongoing re-evaluation through critical and intersectional lenses, involving self-reflection to uncover biases and transform teaching practices. Assessing curricular initiatives is vital for guiding progress, and Thomas and Quinlan’s (Widening Particip Lifelong Learn 23:37–47, 2021) Culturally Sensitive Curriculum Scales (CSCS) offer a framework to assess and enhance cultural inclusion. The original CSCS framework assesses curriculum on four dimensions: diversity, positive portrayals, challenging power, and inclusive engagement. This case study detailing a pilot project at the University of Derby explores the application of CSCS to analyse student assessments in a science communication module. The study demonstrates increased instances of culturally sensitive keywords in student work, highlighting the impact of curriculum adjustments on awareness of diversity and systemic barriers. While limitations exist, the CSCS toolkit shows potential to enhance cultural inclusivity in higher education pedagogy, encouraging critical engagement with diversity issues. Recommendations include expanding studies, developing guidelines, and exploring long-term impacts.
Education is a key driver of intergenerational mobility, yet previous research has suggested that there are large socio-economic and ethnic gaps in higher education participation, including amongst the most selective institutions. Prior attainment has been found to be an important reason why some young people are more likely to go to university than others, but it is less clear which stage of education has the greatest impact on HE participation. This is vital from a policy perspective, as it provides insight into the best time to intervene to raise participation. This report uses linked individual-level administrative data from schools in England and universities in the UK to document the relationships between socio-economic status, ethnicity and HE participation, and explore what drives these relationships.
The book is the first in the UK to examine the contention that the higher education system is institutionally racist. It explores the sector as a whole and one HEI in particular.
A large body of research has been conducted both on the social stratification of education at the general level and on the educational attainments of ethnic minority groups in the UK. The former has established the increasing fluidity in the class-education association, without paying much attention to ethnicity, whilst the latter has shown reinvigorated aspirations by the second generation without fine-grained analyses. This paper adds to this literature by examining the relationship between family class, ethno-generational status and educational attainment for various 1st, 1.5, 2nd, 2.5, 3rd and 4th generations in contemporary UK society. Using data from Understanding Society, we study the educational attainment of different ethno-generational groups. Our analysis shows high educational selectivity among the earlier generations, a disruptive process for the 1.5 generation, high second-generation achievement, and a ‘convergence toward the mean’ for later generations. Parental class generally operates in a similar way for the ethno-generational groups and for the majority population, yet some minority ethnic groups of salariat origins do not benefit from parental advantages as easily. An ‘elite, middle and lower’ structure manifests itself in the intergenerational transmission of advantage in educational attainment. This paper thus reveals new features of class-ethno relations hitherto unavailable in UK research.
Using data from the Managing Cultural Diversity Survey 2010 and the Ethnic Minority British Election Study 2010, we explore the activity and employment outcomes of majority and minority individuals in the UK, and examine their association with a variety of ethnic embeddedness measures. We do not find that white British respondents living in areas of high deprivation and diversity experience lower levels of economic activity or bad jobs. Deprivation rather than minority embeddedness stands out as the factor that serves to compound both majority and minority disadvantage. In the case of minorities, embeddedness does have some negative effects, although these are greatly attenuated once one takes into account the level of area deprivation.
Objectives
Explore trainee doctors’ experiences of postgraduate training and perceptions of fairness in relation to ethnicity and country of primary medical qualification.
Design
Qualitative semistructured focus group and interview study.
Setting
Postgraduate training in England (London, Yorkshire and Humber, Kent Surrey and Sussex) and Wales.
Participants
137 participants (96 trainees, 41 trainers) were purposively sampled from a framework comprising: doctors from all stages of training in general practice, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology, psychiatry, radiology, surgery or foundation, in 4 geographical areas, from white and black and minority ethnic (BME) backgrounds, who qualified in the UK and abroad.
Results
Most trainees described difficult experiences, but BME UK graduates (UKGs) and international medical graduates (IMGs) could face additional difficulties that affected their learning and performance. Relationships with senior doctors were crucial to learning but bias was perceived to make these relationships more problematic for BME UKGs and IMGs. IMGs also had to deal with cultural differences and lack of trust from seniors, often looking to IMG peers for support instead. Workplace-based assessment and recruitment were considered vulnerable to bias whereas examinations were typically considered more rigorous. In a system where success in recruitment and assessments determines where in the country you can get a job, and where work–life balance is often poor, UK BME and international graduates in our sample were more likely to face separation from family and support outside of work, and reported more stress, anxiety or burnout that hindered their learning and performance. A culture in which difficulties are a sign of weakness made seeking support and additional training stigmatising.
Conclusions
BME UKGs and IMGs can face additional difficulties in training which may impede learning and performance. Non-stigmatising interventions should focus on trainee–trainer relationships at work and organisational changes to improve trainees’ ability to seek social support outside work.
This article addresses how critical race theory can inform a critical race methodology in education. The authors challenge the intercentricity of racism with other forms of subordination and exposes deficit-informed research that silences and distorts epistemologies of people of color. Although social scientists tell stories under the guise of “objective” research, these stories actually uphold deficit, racialized notions about people of color. For the authors, a critical race methodology provides a tool to “counter” deficit storytelling. Specifically, a critical race methodology offers space to conduct and present research grounded in the experiences and knowledge of people of color. As they describe how they compose counter-stories, the authors discuss how the stories can be used as theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical tools to challenge racism, sexism, and classism and work toward social justice.
This article asks whether standard accounts of class reproduction apply among migrants and their descendants as among the majority group, whether there is a process of assimilation across generations toward the overall (British) pattern of class reproduction, whether the trends over time in absolute and relative mobility among the majority population are mirrored among migrants and their descendants, and whether trends in class reproduction are mirrored in trends in ethnic stratification. Using national representative surveys covering four decades, the authors find a major generational shift, with the first generation experiencing a notable social decline but the second generation having a clear advancement. Relative mobility rates among migrants and their descendants are close to those of the majority group and exhibit similar trends over time. Ethnic stratification also appears to be slowly declining, although the persistence of unemployment among the second generation qualifies the optimistic story of ethnic socioeconomic assimilation.
J. Phillip Thompson III, an insider in the Dinkins administration, provides the first in-depth look at how the black mayors of America's major cities achieve social change. Black constituents naturally look to black mayors to effect great change for the poor, but the reality of the situation is complicated. Thompson argues that African-American mayors, legislators, and political activists need to more effectively challenge opinions and public policies supported by the white public and encourage greater political inclusion and open political discourse within black communities. Only by unveiling painful internal oppresssions and exclusions within black politics will the black community's power increase, and compel similar unveilings in the broader interracial conversation about the problems of the urban poor. Tracing the historical development and contemporary practice of black mayoral politics, this is a fascinating study of the motivations of black politicians, competing ideologies in the black community and the inner dynamics of urban social change.
The main objective of this paper is to provide a comprehensive description of the economic outcomes and performance of Britain's immigrant communities today and over the last two decades. We distinguish between males and females and, where possible and meaningful, between immigrants of different origins. Our comparison group is white British-born individuals. Our data source is the British Labour Force Survey. We first provide descriptive information on the composition of immigrants in Britain, and how this has changed over time, their socio-economic characteristics, their industry allocation and their labour market outcomes. We then investigate various labour market performance indicators (labour force participation, employment, wages and self-employment) for immigrants of different origins, and compare them with British-born whites of the same age, region and other background characteristics. We find that over the last 20 years, Britain's immigrant population has changed in origin composition and has dramatically improved in skill composition - not dissimilar from the trend in the British-born population. We find substantial differences in economic outcomes between white and ethnic minority immigrants. Within these groups, immigrants of different origins differ considerably with respect to their education and age structure, their regional distribution and their sector choice. In general, white immigrants are more successful in Britain, although there are differences between groups of different origins. The investigation shows that immigrants from some ethnic minority groups, and in particular females, are particularly disadvantaged, with Pakistanis and Bangladeshis at the lower end of this scale.
Why and how do those from black and minority ethnic communities continue to be marginalised? Despite claims that we now live in a post-racial society, race continues to disadvantage those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Kalwant Bhopal explores how neoliberal policy making has increased rather than decreased discrimination faced by those from non-white backgrounds. She also shows how certain types of whiteness are not privileged; Gypsies and Travellers, for example, remain marginalised and disadvantaged in society. Drawing on topical debates and supported by empirical data, this important book examines the impact of race on wider issues of inequality and difference in society.
This article draws on an analysis of the narratives of teachers, policy-makers and young Muslim working-class women to explore how schools worked towards producing the model neoliberal middle-class female student. In two urban case-study schools, teaching staff encouraged the girls to actively challenge their culture through discourses grounded in western post-feminist ideals of female ‘empowerment’. The production of the compliant ‘model Muslim female student’ appeared to be a response to the heroic western need to ‘save’ the young women from backward cultural and religious practices. While this approach had many positive and liberating effects for the young women, it ironically produced forms of post-feminist ‘gender friendly’ self-regulation. The article concludes with a black feminist intersectional analysis of race, religion, gender, sexuality and class in the context of British multiculturalism and rising Islamophobia, exploring the contradictions of gendered social justice discourses that do not fully embrace ‘difference’ in educational spaces.
In the five years since the first edition of Injustice there have been devastating increases in poverty, hunger and destitution in the UK. Globally, the richest 1% have never held a greater share of world wealth, while the share of most of the other 99% has fallen in the last five years, with more and more people in debt, especially the young. Economic inequalities will persist and continue to grow for as long as we tolerate the injustices which underpin them. This fully rewritten and updated edition revisits Dorling’s claim that Beveridge’s five social evils are being replaced by five new tenets of injustice: elitism is efficient; exclusion is necessary; prejudice is natural; greed is good and despair is inevitable. By showing these beliefs are unfounded, Dorling offers hope of a more equal society. We are living in the most remarkable and dangerous times. With every year that passes it is more evident that Injustice is essential reading for anyone concerned with social justice and wants to do something about it.
Muslim students in schools continue to be implicated in the British state’s counter-terrorism agenda. With government policies ‘monitoring’, ergo ‘assisting’ young Muslims in schools by preventing their possible radicalization, the entire Muslim community, from children to adults, have become ‘suspects’. However, misunderstanding and ignorance about the Muslim identity already existed before 7/7. The chapter presents biographical accounts of Muslim women who reflect on their schooling experiences before and after 7/7, suggesting how racism and ignorance about the troubled ‘Paki’ was already prevalent in schools, which has now taken the guise of the dangerous ‘would-be’ terrorist. While participant experiences vary based on school demographics, their narratives are nonetheless instrumental in highlighting the limitations of a security policy that incites greater anxiety about the Muslim student.
The promotion and progression of black and minority ethnic academics and teachers in England has been the subject of much debate. Although several theories have been put forward, racial equality has stood out as a major contributing factor. The experiences of black and minority ethnic academics and teachers in England are similar in terms of aspirations, and their experience of organisations also points to similar patterns of exclusions. This integrated study provides thick data from qualitative interviews with academics and teachers, theorised through the lens of whiteness theory and social identity theory, of their experience of promotion and progression, how they feel organisations respond to them and how they, in turn, are responding to promotion and progression challenges. There was a shared view amongst the participants that, for black and minority ethnic academics and teachers to progress in England, they need ‘white sanction’ – a form of endorsement from white colleagues that in itself has an enabling power.
