Ethnicity

DEFINITION

At Marjon, we often talk about Ethnicity when we refer to a person’s colour, nationality or citizenship but in the law the protected characteristic is known as Race.  The Equality and Human Rights Commission describe the characteristic as “… race can mean your colour, or your nationality (including your citizenship). It can also mean your ethnic or national origins, which may not be the same as your current nationality. For example, you may have Chinese national origins and be living in Britain with a British passport. Race also covers ethnic and racial groups.”

When we focus on the characteristics of Ethnicity or Race, often the purpose is to try to improve outcomes for those who may be discriminated against for their colour or ethnic or national origins.  For example, we know that people from the wide diversity of ethnic groups often referred to as ‘BAME’ (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic), meet barriers to learning in the UK Higher Education context that people who belong to ‘White’ and particularly ‘White, British’ groups do not.  (In reality it isn’t as simple as that as there are so many variances in the data showing differences according to specific ethnicities).

Our goals therefore become about tackling and ultimately removing, all forms of bias, stereotyping and racist behaviour including institutional racism towards people who identify with an ethnicity within the ‘BAME’ umbrella whilst also promoting an anti-racist approach.

The resources in this section therefore largely focus on improving outcomes for students with an identity within the ‘BAME’ umbrella and the Top Tips section pulls out a few key things that we can all do to ensure a more inclusive teaching and learning environment for students.

TOP TIPS

  • Use a diverse range of resources – in reading lists, case studies, lecture content
  • Contextualise course materials – explain assumptions and discuss norms/context in terms of the development of the materials
  • Acknowledge limitations in the demographics of the course material – if there is a lack of diversity, discuss this lack with your students, is there still a need to challenge stereotypes and inequalities within this area of research/work
  • Avoid stereotypes in course content and celebrate diversity – use a range of examples, do not perpetuate stereotypes and ensure the material allows students to view themselves and others in a positive way
  • Increase your own pedagogical knowledge – speak to colleagues with other approaches and read articles focusing on diversity within your field

YouTube video – An everyday dimension of racism; Why we need to understand microaggressions

FURTHER INFORMATION AND ADVICE

Content is perhaps best found for teaching staff under their specific pedagogical area of interest however the resources below point to generic materials which may be of use as a starting point.  In addition, information on Race discimination can be found at the EHRC website here:- https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/advice-and-guidance/race-discrimination and for inclusive teaching resources, search the Advance HE Knowledge Hub for suitable resources such as:- https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/guidance/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/creating-inclusive-environment.

A useful checklist for decolonising the curriculum can also be found here:- Decolonising the curriculum- a health check (canterbury.ac.uk)  Shared with permission from Canterbury Christchurch University.

 

RESOURCES

If you have any resources you would like to share, please send them to ltout@marjon.ac.uk and these will be uploaded to the Toolkit.  Here are a few to get us started…