Exams and essay writing are being investigated for perpetuating “systemic inequlalities”, according to a new report from Birmingham university’s business school academics.
The report, which is titled “Decolonising a Business School in context”, argues that traditional assessment methods focus too much on “students’ deficits such as penalising students for language skills and expression in essays or the skills of writing under pressure in exams, rather than engaging with processes that foster deep critical refl ection, co-creation and creativity”.
In an effort to “decolonise” Birmingham’s business school, the academics claimed that business degrees must evolve to distance themselves from “colonialism and its legacies”.
The report also includes a commentary from Professor Sally Everett, from King’s College London, who discusses how traditional assessment methods “perpetuate systemic inequalities” and suggests replacing them a “decolonised approach to assessment”.
However, Chris McGovern from the Campaign for Real Education criticised the report, saying he was “saddened to see academic integrity being brought into disrepute”.
He argued: “Traditional forms of written assessment discriminate based on intelligence, not race. Students from the global south are being treated as intellectually inferior and incapable.”
The report, titled “Decolonising a Business School in Context: From Theory to Practice”, is part of a three-year initiative. Other activities as part of the project have included taking business students to art galleries to explore race theory interpretations of art.
Birmingham’s push to decolonise assessment methods is part of a broader effort across higher education to address perceived biases in exams and close the gap between the proportion of firsts and 2:1s awarded to white students versus their ethnic minority peers.
It is unclear how many academics have adopted the report’s recommendations so far.
A University of Birmingham spokesman said: “Birmingham’s academic standards are underpinned by confidence in our rigorous and robust assessment methods. We are wholly committed to upholding our high-quality assessment practices at the University.”
“Birmingham business school is a global business school educating students who come from all over the world. Understanding the world from multiple perspectives is a critical skill that we teach our future business leaders.
“This report from colleagues in the business school suggests a range of actions that may help students understand and explore those different perspectives. It is a product of academically rigorous research and discussions with academics both within and outside of Birmingham Business School. In its own words, it offers a guidance framework, and it does not mandate any actions, nor have any actions been mandated by the university.”
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons.
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