Decolonising the Resource List Project

This session reported on a study that responded to persistent systemic inequalities that affect the learning and experiences, such as sense of belonging, of racially minoritised students in higher education. Evidence indicates that UK curricula remain Eurocentric with resources predominantly authored by white males. Decolonising the curriculum involves fostering dialogue about cultural representation, knowledge systems, and the ways they shape educational worldviews. While such discussions can provoke discomfort, avoiding them reinforces institutional racial hierarchies. Diversifying the resource list has emerged as a critical strategy for supporting staff with promoting culturally responsive pedagogy and challenging normative assumptions that privilege whiteness and male gender within academic spaces. <br/><br/>The project began with desk‑based research to review existing literature and current practices related to curriculum diversification. Then, the current resource list of two modules was analysed according to the demographic characteristics of authors. The next step will be a collaborative consultation process involving both staff and students and the co‑development of a survey instrument designed to evaluate the impact of a diversified resource list on staff and student teaching, learning and experiences. <br/><br/>The analysis of the resource lists led to the co-construction of three overarching themes: ethnic and cultural underrepresentation, gender imbalance, and the predominance of white authors within the reading list. A mixed-methods approach will be used to evaluate the impact of the diversified resource list on staff and student outcomes. The analysis coheres with the literature review pointing to the relevance of this decolonising the resource list project in offering an opportunity for collective dialogue to deconstruct knowledge production in Higher Education. It involves embedding diverse worldviews and culturally varied perspectives, rather than merely adding ethnic minority and gender diverse authors. This project aims to integrate alternative knowledge systems into teaching by capturing staff and student perspectives and enhancing confidence and capacity to implement and engage in decolonised, inclusive resource lists.