Diversity and social integration on higher education campuses in India and the UK : student and staff perspectives

Abstract

This paper reports findings from the first year of a UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI), 'Widening participation: Diversity, isolation or integration in Higher Education?' Over a three-year period this project will explore issues of diversity and integration, social cohesion and separation, equality and discrimination as experienced by students and staff on higher education (HE) campuses in India and the UK. Initial findings suggest that separation of groups on the HE campuses studied is pervasive and ubiquitous. While some such separation may be for supportive reasons, convenience, or inertia, at other times it is due to overt discrimination on the grounds of race, region, nationality, caste, class, religion, age or gender. However, most respondents said that greater integration was both desirable and possible.