Ramdeo, Janet ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2744-8572 (2026) “If you’re internationally renowned, why don’t you have any international teachers?” How international students experience underrepresentation, marginalisation and stereotyping in performing arts programmes at an English university. In: BERA: "Global Perspectives: Equality Diversity and Inclusion in Education", 25th - 26th June 2026, Leeds Beckett University.

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Abstract

Many universities attempt to actively address issues of equality, inclusion and diversity (EDI) in their practices and policies. However, international students are rarely centred in EDI and decolonisation strategies, despite structural barriers that they face in UK Higher Education. Through core tenets of Critical Race Theory, this paper illuminates the experiences of international racialised students who attend performing arts courses, based primarily on white Euro- and Americentric cannons of knowledge, in an English university. Engaging in narrative inquiry to centre marginalised voices, Amara, Kai and Alicia (pseudonyms) share their perspectives and experiences of:
1. Curriculum and staff underrepresentation through the primacy of whiteness of the knowledge cannon taught in the institution and across the UK.
2. Marginalisation through miscasting or non-casting experiences, particularly due to their accent or home language influences, demonstrating the permanence of racism and racial bias. For example, they share the challenges they faced in accessing Shakespearian texts for performance purposes and how course recruitment activities failed to consider the impact of global time differences on their audition performances.
3. Stereotyping into characters and performance roles, illustrating intersectional experiences of oppression.
The paper concludes by discussing the process that senior staff undertook within the institution’s school that homes the performing arts discipline, which aimed to make improvements to the international student experience and increase staff cultural awareness. Senior staff implemented an inclusive curriculum framework, paying particular attention to racial and ethnic representation, resulting in a local inclusion action plan that attempts to accommodate international students’ needs.

Item Type:	Conference or Conference Paper (Paper)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	racial representation, decolonising the curriculum, performing arts
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General) L Education > L Education (General) L Education > LB Theory and practice of education > LB2300 Higher Education
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences Faculty of Education, Health & Human Sciences > School of Education (EDU)
Related URLs:	Organisation
Last Modified:	30 Jun 2026 15:46
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/53903

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