Co-Modifying Diversity in Higher Education

Oforji, Chidinma; Lord, Dr Kat

Abstract

It is taken as a writ that social and cultural diversity is a good, in and of itself, and something for which education and education research must embrace. As former international students become immigrants become public sector employees in Europe, we map our journeys into UK HE as migrants from Africa and North America. In doing so, we pinpoint the cost of migration for us as individuals, and the profitability of our migration for the institutions capitalizing on our journeys. In 2012, Stephen J Ball argued that education policy was a profit opportunity, with education and education policy bought and sold as profitable commodities both within and beyond the state, giving rise to the corporatization of global education. His work has since shown how 'the market, business and commercial sensibilities are colonizing and reforming the meaning and practices of education' (Ball, 2018). We argue this is made explicit by the policy initiatives supported by governments, research institutes, funding bodies, and higher education providers, that advocate for the increasing internationalization of higher education (Shahjahan, 2016). These initiatives operate through neocolonial practices that celebrate 'diversity' while supporting a pattern of global migration from the global south, which ultimately feeds a global workforce that benefits the global north (Spring, 2014). The 'richness' of who we are has been exploited by a European education sector that has capitalized on our international student fees, capitalized on our hopes of immigration, and continues to capitalize on our roles as public sector employees responsible for caring for and educating Europeans. We contend it is our economic utility, and the economic value of our social and cultural diversity, that is ultimately sought by the notion and promotion of 'diversity in education' within the European education sector. That that end, we challenge the situating of our diversity as an ethical and academic good for UK HE, arguing international students are sought because migration is profitable, it is monetized, and it financially supports a system that commodifies diversity. We explore the reality of this through autoethnographic accounts of our journeys into, through, and beyond, European education, informed by critical and creative methodologies discussed by Pruyn, M., Cary, L., and Huerta-Charles, L. (2018).

Citation

Oforji, C., & Lord, D. K. (2023, November). Co-Modifying Diversity in Higher Education. Presented at Education, Migration and Identity, Queen Margaret University

• Presentation Conference Type: Other
• Conference Name: Education, Migration and Identity
• Conference Location: Queen Margaret University
• Start Date: Nov 29, 2023
• End Date: Nov 29, 2023
• Keywords: Diversity, International, Co-modyfying
• Related Public URLs: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/education-migration-and-identity-symposium-tickets-699695747817