Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales: Findings from a Collaborative Research Project on Developing a Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scale (CSCS) with the NERUPI Network

Seven institutional members of the Network for Evaluating and Researching University Participation Initiatives (NERUPI) worked together to survey second-year undergraduate students in at least one selected programme per university to determine the relationship between students’ perceptions of the cultural sensitivity of the curriculum and their engagement. The study was intended to replicate the original CSCS study described in Chapter  2 across a wider range of subjects and institutions, further refine the CSCS, and provide feedback to participating institutions. 286 students (64% white; 17% Asian; 10% Black) from seven universities and eight different disciplinary areas completed the 15-minute survey rating six dimensions of the cultural sensitivity of the curriculum (the CSCS), their interest in their course (a measure of engagement), interactions with teaching staff, quality of relationships with teachers, and their satisfaction with their course, as well as providing demographic information. In this chapter, we summarise the project to contextualise the subsequent chapters. Specifically, we address how and why some findings were not replicated and highlight those findings where effects seem both consistent and robust. We also discuss new elements of the CSCS-R survey, such as a new open-ended question asking students for examples of culturally sensitive curricula and a new scale on culturally sensitive assessment. We discuss how those improvements to the CSCS may advance the practical agenda of creating more culturally sensitive curricula.