Diversifying the curriculum and reading lists refers to the process of expanding educational content to be more inclusive and intersectional. Diversity could mean including more content about marginalized people in your curriculum and it could mean including more content by marginalized scholars in your reading lists. The object is not to simply fulfil quotas or follow rules, but to foster a learning environment where knowers and knowledges that have been excluded from the academy are reincorporated. Generally speaking, this means knowledge produced by people marginalized as a result of their class, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, race, or ability. Diversifying reading lists is a crucial step towards creating a more inclusive, innovative, and globally relevant academic environment.
The call for this change, coming from both students and academic colleagues, underscores its importance and urgency in contemporary education. Students across the UK have organized to tell us the current curriculum is a real barrier to their educational success. We want to create learning environments where they can see that people like them are authoritative producers of knowledge. Colleagues from marginalised constituencies across the UK have written about the difficulties they face in the university when their research is undervalued, under-cited or dismissed. Diversifying reading lists can go some way to create teaching cultures where everyone's research is valued.
The attainment gap in UK higher education refers to the disparities in academic performance and outcomes between different groups of students. These disparities are often observed along lines of socio-economic status, ethnicity, gender, and other demographic factors. Diversifying reading lists can have a significant positive impact on the attainment gap in education by promoting inclusivity, enhancing engagement, and providing broader perspectives.
Students from marginalized backgrounds may struggle with texts that do not resonate with their experiences. By including diverse authors and perspectives, schools can help bridge the attainment gap by making learning more accessible and relatable to these students. Also, when students see successful authors from similar backgrounds, it can inspire them to achieve their own academic and personal goals. Representation can be a powerful motivator for academic achievement.
Diversifying reading lists can play a crucial role in addressing the attainment gap by making education more inclusive, engaging, and relevant for all students. This approach not only benefits individual learners but also contributes to the broader goals of equity and social justice in education.