Homophily in higher education: Historicizing the AERA member-to-fellow pipeline using theories of social reproduction and social networks

Abstract

This study examines select demographics of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellows ( n = 644), and whether or not the cohorts of AERA Fellows are becoming more diverse in racial and gender terms in relation to the inaugural year of Fellows in 2008. This study tests the mission statement of this exclusive program to ‘… recognize excellence in research and be inclusive of the scholarship that constitutes and enriches education research as an interdisciplinary field’. Our findings suggest that homophily – a sociological phenomenon that describes the ways in which individuals and institutions prefer sameness – is a real problem in higher education, and programs such as the AERA Fellowship are not accomplishing their mission to recognize the research of faculty of color, women faculty, and faculty in interdisciplinary fields. In contrast to the AERA Fellows mission statement, we find that the Fellowship program relies on homophilous social networks in selecting AERA Fellows and, in turn, reinforces social reproduction in higher education.

Forbes 30 under 30 in education: Manufacturing “edu-preneur” networks to promote and reinforce privatization/marketization in education

“…The manifestation of social closure increases and is an outcome of echo chambers whereby members of the closed network not only engage in self-congratulations but rely on the growing network information and resources to further its shared ideology. Social closure is not a new area of study; it has been documented to exist in higher education award systems, such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA) Fellows program (Hartlep et al, 2017). However, the present study contributes new knowledge to how social closure can lead to moving forward policies that are pro-market and pro-privatization and that lead to bolstering edu-preneurship.…”

Nudging Toward Diversity: Applying Behavioral Design to Faculty Hiring

“…Another way bias can emerge in the marketing and recruitment process is the reliance on search committee members’ networks to spread the word about the position. Studies using social network analysis showed that academic networks tend to be fairly homogeneous (Clauset et al, 2015; Fowler et al, 2007; Hartlep et al, 2017; Way et al, 2016). Often referred to as “homophily,” network theories suggested that people who share our sociodemographic identities, intrapersonal characteristics, and background attributes (e.g., doctoral institution), typically composed one’s personal and professional networks (Ibarra, 1997; Kossinets & Watts, 2009; McPherson et al, 2001).…”

Promoting educational innovations and change through networks between higher education teachers

“…Based on quantitative and qualitative data analysis, the authors reasoned that homophilous communication patterns inhibit an efficient transfer of different knowledge and education innovation. Homophily has also been found in educational research networks in higher education, potentially impeding interdisciplinarity, diversity, and hence innovation (Hartlep et al, 2017).…”