Thread by @GoodwinMJ

A short thread on our new report on academic freedom in four democracies which will be of interest to researchers, journalists, politicians & policymakers
#highered

Academic freedom -the ability of scholars to research, voice & teach ideas without fear of negative consequences- has long been central to prosperity, innovation, dynamism. Exposing students to different ideas is also central to developing well-rounded, critical thinkers

But recent years have seen growing international concern about threats to academic freedom. Prominent cases (e.g. Jordan Peterson, Kathleen Stock, Noah Carl, Peter Boghossian etc.) + recent studies suggest this core freedom is being challenged/under threat on multiple fronts

Studies point to: dominance of left-wing progressives on campus, emergence of a strong ideological monoculture, nonconformists (e.g. conservatives/gender critical) experiencing negative consequences (bullying, intimidation, sacking, etc.) & 'self-censoring' views as a result

We wanted to explore this further by conducting a survey of academics who are currently working in the social sciences in top unis in 4 democracies: UK, US, Australia & Canada. Harvard to Princeton, Oxford to Cambridge, Toronto to McGill & ANU to Melbourne

Our sample includes academics from 48 unis who did survey via Qualtrics in summer 2021. We had 650 responses, a response rate of 8% and a completion rate of 85%. Overall, 46% were professors aka the most senior/influential in top universities around world

What did we find? For those of us who care a lot about academic freedom there is good news and bad news. In broad terms, the good news is that we find lots of vocal support for academic freedom. The bad news is we also find good reason to feel concerned about universities

First, there is a very strong ideological imbalance. 76% of academics in our sample identify as left-wing with 21% of that group identifying as "far left". Just 11% self- identify as right-wing. This raises Qs about extent to which viewpoint diversity exists in higher ed

Second, large numbers of academics, regardless of their politics, say they are 'self-censoring' on campus. 41% say "they sometimes feel need to hide or self-censor their beliefs on campus". 1 in 10 agree strongly with this

By country, just over 1 in 3 academics in the UK say they are self-censoring their views when on campus (which is consistent with the recent UCU survey), vs 29% in Aus, 44% in Canada, 50% in US.

Fourth, academics who self-identify on the right, who now comprise a small minority, are far more likely to self-censor: 75% who lean right are vs 35% who lean left. In other words, most right-leaning scholars in elite universities feel unable to reveal their political beliefs

Fifth, unfortunately we also find that large numbers of academics openly dislike people who do not share their politics. While 64% of academics feel positively about people who vote for left-wing parties, only 10% feel the same way about people who vote for conservative ones

Sixth, we also find considerable asymmetry in how each side views the other; while 70% of left-leaning academics openly dislike right-wing voters, only 36% of right-leaning academics openly dislike left-wing voters.

Seventh, despite these concerning findings we do find considerable vocal support for the principle of academic freedom. Most academics support their students being exposed to speakers who might offend them & say their uni should prioritise free speech even if students object

Eighth, but we do find a sizeable minority of 'activist academics' who openly say they prioritise ideological goals (eg social justice) over academic freedom, who do not think limits on freedom of speech undermine principles of higher ed & prioritise emotional safety of students

These views concentrated on left; while 91% of right-leaners think academic freedom must always be prioritised even if violates social justice ideology, only 45% of left academics agree, suggesting large numbers are willing to prioritise on academic freedom for ideological goals

Indeed we find strong support for 'diversity statements' which unis increasingly use to screen job applicants/grants/scholars on ideological grounds. 65% of left-leaning academics support vs 21% of right-leaning academics; most on right see them as ideological litmus test

There is lots more in report but overall findings confirm recent studies which show strong ideological slant, many self-censoring & vocal left-wing minority which appear willing to compromise on academic freedom to pursue ideology. See my earlier thread

https://twitter.com/GoodwinMJ/status/1447645331781468167?s=20

My personal view fwiw: while many (clearly left-wing activist academics) argue debate over academic freedom is a "myth", "culture war", etc., the evidence on this is now overwhelming and it is no longer credible to argue there is no issue in our universities

For report see here bit.ly/3tylREi Might interest ppl who've written on this @HdxAcademy @JonHaidt @glukianoff @PolStudiesAssoc @Dannythefink @Anoosh_C @timeshighered @sullydish @epkaufm @PippaN15 @APSAtweets Thks also to academics who took part in pilot & Q design /end