‘Inhabiting uncertain terrain’: inequalities of access, experience, and outcomes for university education researchers in the UK

Narratives of widening participation, inclusion, and equal opportunities have been increasingly prevalent throughout UK Higher Education (HE) in recent years. Simultaneously, a drive for institutions to collect data around protected characteristics and equalities metrics has supported these principles. This paper reports extended analysis of equalities data collected as part of the British Educational Research Association (BERA) State of the Discipline survey conducted in 2022, which sought to understand the dynamics, approaches, and characteristics of the population of researchers in the field of education in the UK. The survey data are a rare opportunity to develop a holistic understanding of a range of interconnected inequalities with a representative sample of education researchers. Anyone identifying as an education researcher based in HE was eligible to complete the survey, resulting in a sample of 1,623 respondents. The survey used both closed and open questions to understand fundamental characteristics and provide a deeper exploration of thoughts and experiences within the educational research community. In this extended analysis, we find significant disparities in representation in education research, including an underrepresentation of minority ethnic staff across the research career pipeline and a disproportionate underrepresentation of women in the professoriate. We further highlight inequality of experience, extreme workloads, and stagnant career trajectories that many in the field of educational research are currently experiencing, thus bringing forth new empirical evidence which is both timely and pivotal.