Inclusive Curriculum in Development and Practice STUDENT SUCCESS (EDI) PROJECT Promoting Student Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity Diversity Mark Inclusive Curriculum in Development and Practice Student Success (EDI) Project - https://www.kent.ac.uk/studentsuccess/

Context Jan Moriarty – Student Success Project Manager Student Success Project at University of Kent Diversifying the curriculum Working party: - Student Success Project - Academic Liaison Service (Library) - Kent Student Union - Dean of Internationalisation - Unit for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching - Centre for English and World Languages

Diversity Mark in the School of European Culture and Languages (SECL) Laura Bailey (Student Success Lecturer) Alison Webb (Student Success Project Officer)

Context: SECL School of European Culture and Languages Six departments Classics and Archaeological Studies, Comparative Literature, English Language and Linguistics, Modern Languages, Philosophy, Religious Studies 96 Programmes of Study All the Joint Honours combinations, individual modern languages, strands within Classical and Archaeological Studies, Comparative Literature, Religious Studies, etc. 331 modules Fairly ‘dead white male’ oriented (European, ‘classical’ subjects)

Diversity Mark: process Six modules selected One per department Heads of Departments selected modules according to criteria Convenors were asked to participate and to contact students for participation (this process took longer than expected) Audit performed Feedback on lists sent to convenors

Audit Excel file with information drawn from reading list, provided by Liaison Librarian (Emma Mires-Richards) Edited to hide info such as ISBN Added drop-down lists for gender and ethnicity of the authors and topic, and ‘other diversity’ Sent to convenor, asked to complete and return

Reaction from pilot (convenors) “I found this fascinating, especially as I was expecting a more balanced result - particularly in terms of gender. I'm thinking of presenting the results to the students on this course in the week where we explore the concept of hegemony in colonial new Spain. I'd like to demonstrate how narratives and systems of knowledge are not neutral, even in university reading lists, and even when the subject matter is actively post-and de-colonial, in fact!  I'll invite them to suggest titles they come across in their wider reading and add them to the Reading List where appropriate.”

Reflections (comments from SECL students in focus groups, 2018) This matters to students: “Next term I’m studying a module called Race and Racism and if I don’t see someone of my skin colour being brought up it’s not going to make sense, because we have been affected more than a white person has and for me that would be very upsetting, I probably won’t say anything, but it will be very upsetting.” “That’s why I won’t classify myself as a feminist, is that most of the theories and perspectives are from white feminists, and you can’t really say that a black female has the same experiences as a white female.” For an English Language and Linguistics module ‘Topics in Semantics’, a formal, technical module, there is no ‘authorial voice’ to consider, but… There was unconscious bias that we aren’t aware of (Western tradition) “It would be nice to see better representation to encourage more people to get into different fields. Because I do feel like there are really gendered or like racialized.” “I think it wouldn’t put me off doing [the subject], but it might make me think would they listen to me?”

Reflections (Laura & Alison) The process for any given module could be very quick – none of the components takes long For lots of modules, the biggest time saver would be to copy the list data into a spreadsheet that already contains the drop-downs, to avoid recreating them many times Convenors were in the main interested in the results and happy to take part They needed reminders, but then responded promptly and positively The process raised awareness very effectively Modules vary with regards to how ‘relevant’ diversity is (whether the perspective of the writer matters, whether it’s a topic of the module, etc).

Diversity Mark project in Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research - SSPSSR Medway THE PROJECT TEAM: Dr Barbara Adewumi (Sociology Lecturer) Dave Thomas (EDI Project Officer for the Student Success Project) Evangeline Agyemain and Collins Konadu-Mensah (Diversity Mark project officers)

Context: SSPSSR Medway 6 departments Sociology, Psychology, Criminology, Social Policy, History and Social Work Pathways BSc in Social Sciences, BA Hons in Criminal Justice and Criminology and BA in Social Work. To date, 11 modules were audited

Project aims: provide an evaluation of SSPSSR core text and additional reading lists and recommend immediate changes and additions begin to show practical ways of closing the BME attainment gap and promote a sense of belonging focus groups will provide a dynamic and in-depth view of the curricula student learning experience provide an opportunity for developmental reflection and analysis for lecturers as well as promoting a more diverse learning experience for BME students.

The Audit

The Data Distilled Row Labels Sum of BAME American Female Sum of BAME American Male Sum of White American Female Sum of White American Male Sum of White British Female Sum of White British Male Sum of BAME British Female Sum of BAME British Male Sum of European Female Sum of European Male Sum of Other White Female Sum of Other White Male Sum of Other BAME Female Sum of Other BAME Male Foundations in sociological and criminological research 2 4 Foundations of Social and Criminological Reasearch 1 1 5 11 28 3 Introduction to Criminology and Criminal Justice 6 15 25 46 2 Issues in Criminal Justice 24 40 102 21 Legal Process for Criminal Justice Reading Law Research methods in sociology 14 29 Sociological Perspectives and Concepts 8 23 81 7 9 12 10 The Politics of Social Policy 53 78 Understanding Contemporary Britain 32 119 Youth, Crime and Criminal Justice 13 66 Grand Total 17 62 92 302 555 22 72 31 43

Diversity in the curriculum: Library Academic Liaison Services The concept of the Library ‘without walls’ – so a physical and digital space. A manifestation of the body of knowledge. What Academic Liaison Services does in the Library. We have a role working with our schools to build, develop and manage collections in liaison with our academic schools. We also support students and staff use of these collections. A major way we do this is through our Reading List Service. We purchase materials on reading lists. It is important to recognise that Reading Lists shape our library collections, and diverse reading lists will mean students recognise themselves within the collections. The process map is a circle that reads clockwise and starts with the Library. We provide reading list data to support engagement with library collections. We have started to develop a toolkit to support module convenors to include diverse readings on their lists. The second part of the process map passes to academic colleagues. Academic colleagues review the data and explore options for content with support from the Library if needed. Convenors may choose to engage students. Through the pilot, convenors then add content to their online reading list. This leads to the third part of the process map. Through the online reading list review, the Library orders new materials. This content includes diverse ideas, theories and authors. This process leads to good outcomes. Students see themselves reflected in inclusive texts and resources. This in turn impacts on student experience and other outcomes, including TEF. How can Liaison Librarians work in partnership with academic colleagues to develop diverse collections through reading lists? Libraries are both physical and digital spaces. Library collections reflect institutional culture, so define the ethos and core values at the heart of the University of Kent.

Online Reading Lists: Dashboard Our input to the pilot includes an initial analysis of the current ‘online’ reading list. This provides a ‘snapshot’ of the list, and some broad indicators including – gender balance/authorship/student engagement with the list/ format. This information supports the academic process of reviewing the list and to consider diversity of teaching content. Academic Liaison Services are developing a toolkit to support academic colleagues in locating diverse texts through a wider range of publishers, how to identify what’s being published (current awareness/looking at other institutions’ reading lists/identifying and accessing open access texts). The dashboard shows information about the online Reading List. This includes: The format of items on the list and percentage they represent. This includes multimedia, physical and electronic content, and more. Online reading lists might be structured in a certain way. A small graphic represents this and how many texts are considered must read, should read and could read. Another graphic shows the gender balance of authors represented as a pie chart. If there are themes embedded within the reading list, this is noted. A bar graph shows the number of page views, which indicates the level of student engagement with the list. Finally, a donut chart profiles authorship. The ethnicity of authors represented on the reading list are indicated. Liaison Librarian provides a snapshot of how the online reading list looks now. Colleagues in the academic school add to the initial data.

Online Reading Lists: Support toolkit We are running a ‘Love your reading list’ campaign, and will tie in with the Kent Union ‘Diversify my curriculum’ campaign. As information professionals we will also lobby our suppliers and publishers to be transparent about their policies and increase the range of available texts. The ‘currency of publications’ example shows a graph that details when materials on the online reading list were published. This may be useful to support a module convenor to review their reading list. We are looking at areas where Academic Liaison Services and wider Library colleagues can support. The toolkit details areas where the Library and Liaison Librarians can support. Through information about digital content provision. Contacting and maintaining a dialogue with suppliers and publishers. Guidance for students to use their online reading lists, and library resources. To note if the online reading list shows in the Virtual Learning Environment. Library support to review module teaching collection through a toolkit and dialogue with the Liaison Librarian. Library colleagues work in partnership with academic colleagues, Kent Union, and with publishers and suppliers.

Questions