The Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Academics

A comparative study of the unequal academy

Kalwant Bhopal

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2015
• eBook ISBN: 9781317816584
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

Recent research suggests that Black and minority ethnic (BME) academics remain underrepresented, particularly at senior levels in higher education, and tend to be concentrated in new, post-1992 universities. This book provides an original comparative study of BME academics in both the UK and the USA, two different yet similar cultural and political climates, considering issues of inequality, difference and identity in the Academy.

Presenting a distinctive and engaging voice, the book discusses the complexity of race, gender and identity in the context of higher education, an area that continues to appear to be dominated by white, middle class values and perspectives. Chapters offer an up-to-date commentary on the purpose, failures and potential of research on race, gender and identity, and its place within contemporary education and sociology. The book broadens the understanding of educational research, considering both sociological and cultural discourse, as well as examining racialized and gendered identities from a theoretical and analytical standpoint. The book closes by offering suggestions for viable policy shifts in this area.

The Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Academics will be of key interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the field of education, as well as sociologists wanting to learn more about black and minority academics in higher education.

1  Introduction

The international global economic crises have led to significant insecurities in the labour market, both on a national and international level. Economic recession has affected European countries such as Greece, Italy and Spain. In the UK, changes in Coalition government policy making between 2010 and 2015 saw huge spending cuts in education and it is those who remain marginalised and disadvantaged who have been most affected. Alan Milburn’s report (2012) on social mobility outlines significant inequalities in the labour market and education. The report suggests that,

Across the professions as a whole, the glass ceiling has been scratched but not broken. The professions still lag way behind the social curve. If anything, the evidence suggests that since 2009, taken as a whole, the professions – despite some pockets of considerable progress – have done too little to catch up. The general picture seems to be of mainly minor changes in the social composition of the professions. At the top especially, the professions remain dominated by a social elite.

(Milburn, 2012: 3)

The report argues that greater equality needs to be achieved in the labour market.

The professions have a critical role. They are a key and growing source of employment opportunities. As the society which they serve becomes ever more complex and heterogeneous, the professions themselves will need to keep pace by becoming ever more diverse. In an increasingly competitive global market, they will need to do more to make the most of the widest possible pool of talent.

(2012: 13)

Research also suggests that inequalities in higher education have a significant impact on social mobility and access to high earning jobs in the labour market (Lindley and Machin, 2013; Sutton Trust, 2013). According to the Sutton Trust,

There has also been an increase in the numbers of postgraduates – those staying on in higher education after obtaining their undergraduate degree. 11 per cent of people in work (aged 26–60) in Britain now hold a postgraduate qualification, up from 4 per cent in 1996. In the past, employers used to accept O-levels or A-levels for many jobs. More recently, a Bachelor’s degree was expected. Now, graduates seek to distinguish themselves increasingly by acquiring a postgraduate degree. But as the requirements of the labour market have become more demanding, this has exacerbated educational inequalities as workers with postgraduate degrees increasingly come from richer family backgrounds.

(Lindley and Machin, 2013: 5)

The report also suggests that women’s increased education has become a key factor in narrowing wage differentials and that,

These patterns of rising wage differentials for those with the highest levels of education, coupled with rising higher educational inequality by family income, will make it harder to shift the already low levels of social mobility in Britain and America. As educational expectations grow and the economic and social position of workers with no or limited qualifications (especially men) has worsened, the need to improve the education and training of a significant section of the workforce becomes ever more important.

(2013: 5)

The research also suggests that the introduction of tuition fees may impact recruitment patterns in higher education.

The impact of the new £9000 fee arrangements for undergraduates on the social mix in postgraduate education should be kept under careful review, so that appropriate action can be taken where it can be demonstrated that it is further reducing social mobility. The Office for Fair Access should look at universities’ postgraduate recruitment patterns as part of their annual assessment of access agreements, and consider what steps are being taken to ensure a broad social intake. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) should help improve our understanding of postgraduate study and financing by collecting data on fees, costs and the socio-economic background of students.

(2013: 6)

The USA has also seen significant cuts in educational spending with a reduction in teacher pay, a reduction of teaching staff in schools as well as cuts to services for the most disadvantaged members of society (Apple, 2013). Consequently, such a fragile, ‘risk’ and fractured society leads to greater insecurity and instability in an already threatened world (Beck, 1992). As Apple states in the USA,

All around us, the effects of such things as unemployment, growing economic inequalities, housing foreclosures, the defunding of programs for the poor, hunger, homelessness, loss of pensions and healthcare, resurgent racism, anti-immigration sentiment and violence and so much more are becoming ever more visible.

(2013: 1)

Apple (2013) suggests that in times of change and insecurity, these disadvantages come to the fore. ‘Similar racialising effects are all too visible as well, as choice programs foster a set of strategies in which dominant groups are able to protect their children and themselves from the body and culture of the ‘Polluting Other’ (Apple, 2013: 7).

Aspects of insecurity are apparent in the creation and existence of an employment culture which has manifested in greater competition for jobs and less collaboration between colleagues and a decrease in collegiality resulting in a ‘dog eat dog’ mentality (Bhopal and Jackson, 2013). The academy has not escaped this insecurity. Academics all over the world are grappling with significant global changes; full-time permanent contracts are no longer the norm, working conditions have deteriorated, for some, salaries have remained the same and, managerial power and demands for ‘accountability’ have increased. The introduction of tuition fees in the UK has created a consumerist culture in which universities have to focus on providing students a ‘service’ that they are paying for. Consequently there is a greater focus on student satisfaction surveys as well as the demands of the Research Excellence Framework (REF)¹ in the UK which positions universities in league tables. Research by Bhopal and Jackson in 2013 which explored the views of thirty-five academics in the UK found that many respondents reported experiencing covert and subtle forms of racism and that the work of White academics was celebrated and profiled compared to that of BME academics. The report also found an underrepresentation of BME staff at the most senior levels and on decision making committees. REF panels were given as an example of this. There were contrasting views on the REF. Some respondents felt that the REF exercise was an objective exercise that ‘neutralised ethnicity’. Others suggested that a possible negative effect of the REF was one which emphasised subjectivity in how outputs would be judged and those researching areas such as race, diversity and inclusion may be seen negatively. Other aspects mentioned by respondents in the research were lack of trust in them and a lack of credibility in their work, as well as reporting feeling like ‘outsiders’ in their own institutions. Some recommendations of the research include: an acknowledgement of discrimination and exclusionary practices that exist for BME academics in higher education, strategies that need to be developed to support the career promotion and progression of BME staff, and a recognition of the role that BME staff could play in senior management committees and decision making processes. The authors state that there is a greater need for mentoring networks that can provide BME academics the support and advice they need for promotion and career progression. Research also suggests a prevalence of subtle racism in higher education in which BME groups continue to remain excluded and marginalised from senior decision making roles and positions (Bhopal, 2014).

This book explores the experiences of black and minority ethnic groups (BME) in higher education. It examines how their experiences in universities are affected by their identities such as their race, gender and class and how the intersectionality of these identities work to position them as ‘outsiders’ in the White space of the academy. The book makes a comparison between BME academics in the UK and those in the USA by exploring how their experiences are understood in two different social, economic and political contexts. The empirical data for the book is based on a qualitative study carried out between 2011–2013 in the UK and USA. It is based on thirty-five interviews with respondents who were employed in universities in the UK and thirty who were employed in universities in the USA.

The book aims to:

•  Specifically examine areas of discrimination and disadvantage such as race, class and gender in higher education as well as debating the difficulties of such concepts in relation to the experiences of BME academics in higher education.

•  Explore how intersectionalities of identity position BME academics in the academy.

•  Compare the experiences of academics working in UK and USA universities by analysing contesting discourses of identity in these different social and cultural contexts.

This book provides an original comparative account of racialised and gendered experiences of BME academics in two differing contexts: that of the UK and the USA. It examines the ways in which identities are understood and conceptualised in two different yet similar cultural and political climates. By exploring these identities in the global and local context of higher education, the book bridges a much-needed gap in educational and social scientific research. This book is based on the premise that race is a controversial subject in which difficult and contested discourses are the norm and analyses such discourses through empirical and theoretical debates within educational research to understand issues of race, identity, culture and inclusion.

Chapter 2 Higher education in the UK and USA outlines the different higher educational contexts in the UK and USA. It provides contextual detail on how higher education operates in the two different social and political contexts and draws upon previous literature that has explored the experiences of BME academics and provides a critical analysis of the debates and issues as well as an analysis of how these debates are situated within the wider context of the academy.

Chapter 3 The research and methodology outlines the research methodology. It explores how respondents participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews which focused on aspects of their experiences of becoming academics and entering the academy; promotion and progression; aspects of career development; the positioning of respondents and how their identities affect their role in the academy; the process of the REF; the impact of financial cuts in higher education institutions and the effect this has on individual career trajectories and the different types of support structures in higher education institutions.

Chapter 4 Theoretical understandings of identity in the academy provides a critical understanding of race and identity within the context of higher education. It explores how BME academics are positioned in the academy and how their positioning is affected by aspects of gender, race, class and power. The chapter uses empirical research to examine how identities are translated within the context of higher education and how BME academics understand their own identity within the context of higher education. This chapter focuses on empirical data from respondents who were working in universities in the USA.

Chapter 5 ‘Outsiders’ in the academy? explores the position of BME academics in the academy. It specifically examines the ‘outsider’ status of BME academics in the White space of the academy. The chapter uses empirical findings from the study to explore aspects of power, race, class and gender by comparing the experiences of BME academics in the UK and the USA. It concludes by analysing how a comparative perspective can provide us with an understanding of inclusion for BME academics who are positioned as ‘outsiders’ in the academy.

Chapter 6 Climbing the ladder: promotion and progression concentrates on the career progression of BME academics to provide an understanding of racialised identities in the academy. It explores the discourses by which BME academics negotiate their identities in relation to their career progression and promotion. It does so by examining the different facets and themes of identity within the context of belonging and exclusion within the academy and how these contribute to notions of inclusion and exclusion within the White space of the academy.

Chapter 7 Inclusion, equality and social justice explores how BME identities in the academy can be understood in relation to issues of inclusion, equality and social justice. It examines how processes of inclusion and exclusion position BME academics in the academy. The chapter focuses on aspects of inclusive policy making such as the Equality Act 2010 and explores the workings of such policy making in relation to aspects of social justice in the academy; it does so by drawing on theoretical understandings of inclusion and social justice.

Finally, Chapter 8 concludes the book by bringing together previous discussions on the positioning of BME academics in the UK and the USA. It suggests ways in which we can engage in difference in order to move towards greater equity in educational policy making and practice.

Note

1  The Research Excellence Framework is the system of assessing the quality of research in universities in the UK. It is based on a process of expert review in which universities will be assessed on their publications, funding and research impact. The REF is discussed in Chapter 2.

References

Apple, M. (2013) Can Education Change Society? London and New York: Routledge.

Beck, U. (1992) Risk Society: Towards a new modernity. London: Sage.

Bhopal, K. (2014) The Experiences of BME Academics in Higher Education: Aspirations in the face of inequality. London: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education, Stimulus Paper.

Bhopal, K. and Jackson, J. (2013) The Experiences of Black and Minority Ethnic Academics: Multiple identities and career progression. Southampton: EPSRC.

Lindley, J. and Machin, S. (2013) The Postgraduate Premium: Revisiting trends in social mobility and education inequalities in Britain and America. London: Sutton Trust.

Milburn, A. (2012) Fair Access to Professional Careers. London: Crown.

2 Higher education in the UK and USA

This chapter outlines the different higher educational contexts in the UK and USA. It provides details on how higher education operates in these two different social and political contexts. It draws upon previous literature that has explored the experiences of BME academics and provides a critical analysis of the debates and how these are situated within the wider context of the academy.

Inequalities in the labour market

There has been a great deal of research that has explored inequalities in recruitment and selection processes, particularly in relation to candidates’ ra...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• List of figures and tables
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Higher education in the UK and USA
• 3 The research and methodology
• 4 Theoretical understandings of identity in the academy
• 5 ‘Outsiders’ in the academy?
• 6 Climbing the ladder: promotion and progression
• 7 Inclusion, equality and social justice
• 8 Conclusions
• Index