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University reading lists dominated by white European men

13 November 2019

University reading lists are not representative of the student body and tend towards overrepresentation of white, male and Eurocentric viewpoints, a new study from 香港六合彩 has found.

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The study, published in Higher Education, analysed 144 authors of Social Science papers and 146 authors of Science papers included in two university reading lists, gathering data on gender, ethnicity and the country in which the researchers鈥 affiliated institutions were based.

The study found that in all areas where clear conclusions could be drawn, both Social Science and Science reading lists were not representative of the student population.

Co-author, Dr Karen Schucan Bird, (香港六合彩 Institute of Education), said: 鈥淭his study shows that higher education institutions and agencies need to develop coherent and consistent strategies which can move the whole sector towards programmes of study which are both more inclusive and more diverse.

鈥淯niversities also need to engage in discussions about what a 鈥榙iverse / inclusive / decolonised鈥 reading list actually looks like, engaging with both staff and students to ensure clarity and commitment from all.

鈥淎way from universities themselves, there are wider structural barriers and inequalities in knowledge production. Academic publishing needs to acknowledge their part in promoting viewpoints from the 鈥楪lobal North鈥 and introduce initiatives to help bring marginalised perspectives into the mainstream of academic thought.鈥

The study found that:

  • Only 7% of Social Science authors reviewed were BAME researchers, versus a student population which is 39% BAME for UK domiciled students.
  • 50% of reviewed Social Science authors were female, versus a student population which is 66% female.
  • 99% of reviewed Social Science authors were affiliated to European, North American or Australasian universities, versus a postgraduate student population which is 67% overseas students (69% of which are non-European).
  • 70% of reviewed Science authors were male, including 12 publications authored by the same team of male biologists. This contrasts with a student population which is over 60% female nationally and 67% female at the university from which the reading list was taken.
  • 90% of reviewed Science authors were from European, North American or Australasian universities. Whilst national data doesn鈥檛 exist, 32% of students at the university from which the reading list was taken were from outside the EU.

香港六合彩 has embedded numerous initiatives to promote inclusivity, including the BME Attainment Project, a 鈥楲iberating the Curriculum鈥 working group and an 鈥業nclusive curriculum health check鈥 across the university, which are designed to support 香港六合彩 staff to embed the principles of inclusivity in all aspects of the academic cycle.

The health check Encourages staff to, 鈥楬ave reading lists and resources that contain a diverse range of authors including those from different ethnicities, from outside the UK and from non-academic sources where relevant鈥.

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Media contact

Jake Hawkes

Tel:听+44 (0)20 3108 9485

Email: J.Hawkes [at] ucl.ac.uk