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Dismantling Race in Higher Education pp 349–364Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Leadership for Race and Social Justice in Higher Education

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Abstract

This chapter explores the goals of the Equality Act and educational leadership as dictated by government policy in relation to school leaders, and as part of this, considers the role of higher education institutions in promoting race equality in educational leadership in higher education. The chapter questions whether such a state is desirable and achievable in twenty-first century Britain particularly at a time when greater emphasis is given by universities to student (rather than staff) experience and NSS scores/league tables which promote student experience, and conducting race equality impact assessments are no longer a compulsory requirement. In examining the relevance of social justice in educational leadership, the chapter is less concerned with leadership styles or roles and focuses instead on White constructions/perceptions of who can occupy leadership positions. As such, the chapter explores the implications for universities in facilitating diverse but equitable leadership in higher education from a social justice perspective.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The 2010 Equality Act brought together under one act previous equality legislation namely: Race Relations Act, 1968, 1975; Sex Discrimination Act, 1975; Disability Discrimination Act, 1995; Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000 and public sector duties. Its purpose is to reduce/challenge inequalities and increase equality of opportunity for all groups.

  2. 2.

    Baroness Valerie Amos was appointed Director (Vice Chancellor equivalent) of the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London in September 2015. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-gains-its-first-ever-female-black-university-leader-10352821.html.

  3. 3.

    UK NARIC ‘is the designated United Kingdom national agency for the recognition and comparison of international qualifications and skills. It performs this official function on behalf of the UK Government’ for individuals and employers (UK NARIC online).

  4. 4.

    NSS—The national student survey is a census of all undergraduate students in English universities in their third year of study. It is commissioned by the Higher Education Funding Council in England (more information is available at http://www.thestudentsurvey.com/about.php).

  5. 5.

    The American Educational Research Association is the largest national interdisciplinary research association devoted to the scientific study of education and learning.

  6. 6.

    The Banks (2016: 156) article referred to in this chapter includes AERA membership figures by ethnicity , which shows that, in 2015, 64.2% of the membership of AERA was recorded as White, non Hispanic.

  7. 7.

    Equality impact assessments are an established tool for demonstrating due regard to the public sector equality duty which is required by law but EIA is not a legal requirement in England (ECU online, accessed 1 July 2016); available at http://www.ecu.ac.uk/guidance-resources/governance-and-policies/equality-impact-assessment/.

  8. 8.

    There are three awards (bronze, silver and gold) which apply to the Athena SWAN and each stage has more enhanced requirements in order to achieve the specific stage award.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Bedfordshire, Bedford, Bedfordshire, UK

    Uvanney Maylor

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  1. Uvanney Maylor
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Correspondence to Uvanney Maylor .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Roehampton, London, UK

    Jason Arday

  2. Goldsmiths College, University of London, London, UK

    Heidi Safia Mirza

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Maylor, U. (2018). Leadership for Race and Social Justice in Higher Education. In: Arday, J., Mirza, H. (eds) Dismantling Race in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60261-5_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60261-5_20

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