Working Towards a More Inclusive Reading List within the Context of Decolonisation

Next week I'm looking forward to delivering a session on inclusive reading lists at the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education’s Quality Insights Conference. This is taking place fully online on 23 and 24 February so please do check out the full programme and book a place to join us! The details of my lightning talk session are below, drawing on similar themes from the recent event I presented at that focused on Decolonising the University within and Beyond the Curriculum.

This lightning talk will present visual slides to share key learning and areas for reflection with respect to auditing a reading list within the context of decolonisation. This evaluation was inspired by good practice across the sector to develop more inclusive curricula and, particularly, to diversify reading lists that will better support learning and reflect our diverse student body. The evaluation of the resources for the initial module on a Postgraduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education aimed to: A) evaluate how to make the reading list more inclusive of diverse authors and perspectives, and B) model good practice so that students on the module (who are also staff teaching across the university) may conduct similar work in the future. The evaluation analysis focused on ethnicity, gender, and national origin of authors. This brief presentation shares initial findings from the audit of the 2021 resources for the module (inherited from colleagues) as well as enhancements made in advance of the module running in autumn 2022. It shares reflections on the findings and also offers a provocation for others who may seek to conduct similar work in future.

By the end of this session, delegates will have reflected on the power of the resources we use in learning and teaching, and the importance of making the curriculum more inclusive. After seeing one approach to auditing a resource list and efforts to enhance it, delegates will have learnt about key findings and challenges from this evaluation.