A scoping review protocol of anti-racism programs and practices in higher education: Implications for developing interventions to advance equity

Abstract

BackgroundIn the United States and Canada, racism continues to persist in higher education systems. Hate violence and racial trauma on campuses are significant barriers to health and well-being, particularly for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC). Additionally, higher education systems often fail to successfully bridge achievement gaps to facilitate the success of BIPOC. This protocol describes a scoping review of anti-racism efforts through higher education programs and practices from 1950 to 2022. No previous scoping reviews have been identified that illustrate anti-racist organizational programs and practices in higher education settings. MethodThis scoping review protocol aims to identify and map the characteristics of anti-racism programs and practices (occurring at the organizational level) in higher education settings throughout the United States and Canada. A systematic search will be conducted using nine electronic databases, with date limits from 1950 to 2022: Academic Search Ultimate (Ebscohost), ERIC (Ebscohost), APA PsycINFO (Ebscohost), Medline (OVID), Dissertations & Theses Global (ProQuest), Social Services Abstracts (ProQuest), Social Work Abstracts (Ebscohost), Sociological Abstracts (ProQuest) and Scopus (Elsevier). Reference lists of documents included in data charting will be searched. The scoping review will follow guidance from the most recent 2020 version of the JBI Manual for Evidence Synthesis and PRISMA reporting guidelines for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR). Two reviewers will perform full-text screening of preselected studies independently to select studies according to inclusion criteria. Covidence will be used to upload search results, screen abstracts and full text study reports. Data will be extracted, and findings and characteristics synthesized in a narrative summary. Additionally, frequency counts of concepts, populations, and characteristics will be presented. DiscussionOur scoping review will be the first to map anti-racism programs and practices in higher education. It is anticipated the findings will interest policymakers, researchers, and higher education practitioners concerned about creating interventions aimed at improving social, economic, and environmental factors which shape health equity and empower underrepresented communities towards increased educational attainment.