Reimagining the curricula in higher education: Increasing students’ interaction with teachers and Interest through Culturally Sensitive Curricula

Persistent racial equality gaps exist in HE. Positive interactions with teachers and interest are both associated with higher attainment (Jansen, Lüdtke, & Schroeders, 2016; Kuh & Hu, 2011), yet BAME/White gaps exist on these two engagement variables (Lundberg & Schreiner, 2004; Quinlan, 2004). We traced these “engagement gaps” back to the lack of culturally sensitive curricula, suggesting that reforming curricula may help close both engagement and attainment gaps (Museus, 2014). Adopting a ‘race-focused’ approach (DeCuir-Gunby & Schutz, 2014) we investigated: 1) the extent to which students, particularly Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic (BAME) students, perceive their curriculum as culturally sensitive; and 2) the relationship between cultural sensitivity in curricula and students’ engagement, defined as their academic interactions with teachers and their interest in the subject. To answer these questions, we developed a new set of Culturally Sensitive Curriculum Scales which make an important conceptual and methodological contribution to research.