University of Leicester academic recognised by National Teaching Fellowship Scheme

A University of Leicester academic has been recognised for his research and teaching on race and inclusion by the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme.

The scheme celebrates and recognises individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and the teaching profession in Higher Education.

Dr Paul Campbell is an Associate Professor of sociology at the University and has worked to tackle unequal satisfaction and award outcomes between minority ethnic and white students.

The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme is widely recognised both in the UK and internationally as a mark of quality of teaching and excellence.

He has been awarded the fellowship following his development of the Racially Inclusive Curricula Toolkit.

It has been designed as a resource to provide practical guidance for making module content, assessment and practice more racially inclusive and relatable to all students and to help University of Leicester lecturers meet the learning needs of minority ethnic students.

Dr Campbell has been recognised for the toolkit’s successes in enhancing the racial literacy and racially inclusive practice of lecturers at the University of Leicester and across the sector, as well as improving students’ learning experiences on University courses.

The toolkit, which was launched in 2020, has since been adopted in undergraduate and postgraduate sociology, and media modules and at Leicester Medical School. It is now the University’s primary and introductory racial inclusive curricula toolkit.

The toolkit has also been incorporated outside of the university and is employed in a range of courses at the University of Wolverhampton, University of Chester, Liverpool John Moores and Birmingham City University to inform an internal module audit.

Speaking about his recognition by the National Teaching Fellowship Scheme, Dr Campbell said: “As an academic, I have always seen teaching as an equally important part of my identity as research, and such, this award is as important a recognition to me as the awards for my research.

 “The National Teaching Fellowship Scheme is the highest national recognition and affirmation of the value and impact of my work as a race and inclusion scholar, teacher and academic leader in helping to address the racial inequities that manifest in taught curricula.

“It is also for making teaching practice more equitable for students irrespective of their race or ethnic backgrounds in Higher Education.

“It’s a recognition of the value of my work in supporting lecturers to more effectively meet the learning needs of their students of colour and stimulate racially inclusive content and practice within the university and across the sector.”

Dr Campbell also leads a number of other Race Equality and Education projects and supports a number of UK universities in overcoming racial inequalities in their curricula and practice.

He is also the current winner of the University of Leicester’s Citizen’s Award for Inclusivity (2021) and is recognised as a University Distinguished Teaching Fellow (2021).

Dr Campbell was recently appointed as Director of the Leicester Institute for Inclusivity in Higher Education and hopes to continue his contribution to informing best inclusion practices at the University of Leicester and within Higher Education.

Dr Campbell said: “The award underscores the Institute for Inclusivity in Higher Education and the University of Leicester’s role as a leader in the conversation for providing clear, measurable and effective guidance for improving inclusive practice across the sector in relation to race and all protected characteristics.”