More than a quarter of British adults are not culturally diverse, a new survey has found.
A survey of more than 1,500 people by the Institute for Social Research found that a third are culturally and linguistically “disadvantaged” in the UK, and a quarter have little or no knowledge of their ethnic or cultural identity.
The survey, conducted by the Centre for the Study of Culture, Gender and Society at the University of Bristol, also found that less than a third of people identify as “English”, but they represent one in four British adults.
It found that the UK has the highest proportion of people who are “not culturally diverse”, with 36 per cent of respondents saying they were “not at all culturally diverse”.
More than two-thirds (68 per cent) said they felt they did not feel “inclusive” of others, compared to just 6 per cent who said they were socially or politically “inclusive”.
More:”Many of those who are socially and politically inclusive are also socially and economically in a position to be economically advantaged,” said Prof Richard Wilkinson, the lead author of the study, which was published in the journal Cultural Diversity and Inclusion.
Prof Wilkinson told the BBC the survey highlighted the importance of cultural diversity for individuals and society, with the survey finding that there is “a real risk that the social and economic advantage that some people have may be more important than the social benefit”.
The institute said that cultural diversity, which includes those who speak different languages and cultural traditions, was also critical to a multicultural society.
It said that “more people are able to participate in social and cultural life” when there is a high proportion of speakers from ethnic minorities and others with different backgrounds.
Prof Dr Kate Whelan, who co-authored the study with Prof Wilkinson, said: “We’ve known that in some contexts, people can be socially and culturally inclusory, and so we were really interested in seeing what we could do to make sure that this wasn’t the case in the United Kingdom.”
It was also found in the survey that the majority of people (55 per cent), as well as those who identified as “non-white” (39 per cent, the institute said), felt that being “white” in Britain was more important to them than being culturally diverse.
Prof Whelant said that people’s perceptions about what it means to be “white in Britain” were “really complex”.
“If you think about it, in many respects the word white is a social construct, so you might think of the word ‘white’ as a way of saying that people from a particular ethnic background are the norm and are not different from other ethnic groups,” she said.
“If the word is used in the context of a more diverse society, then it can really be an important way to describe people’s identity.”
People in this study who identified themselves as culturally and racially diverse said they thought that their racial identity was more significant than their ethnic identity.
“The institute also found the average age of first exposure to a different culture was 21.3 years old, with 44 per cent aged under 25, compared with only 12 per cent in the rest of the UK.
The institute has said that more than half of those surveyed, and almost a third, did not speak any English.
Prof Wilkins said that the study found that young people who were not able to speak English were “a really important part of the British multicultural fabric”, and said that it was a “disaster” that this was not reflected in the country’s overall educational outcomes.
He said that in the future, more schools and schools would need to offer the opportunity for pupils to “learn in a variety of cultures”.”
Prof Wilkinson said that he hoped the study would encourage the Government to “think big” and develop a “culture strategy” to support the development of culturally diverse schools and classrooms.”
This study shows that if we want our children to become culturally diverse then we need to make it easier for them to do so.”
Prof Wilkinson said that he hoped the study would encourage the Government to “think big” and develop a “culture strategy” to support the development of culturally diverse schools and classrooms.
The study found “that many people feel that there are barriers to access to the skills and resources they need to succeed in society, and to become economically and socially integrated”, he said, adding that the issue was a key factor for the attainment of those in disadvantaged communities.
“The cultural and linguistic barriers that are seen in society may also be barriers to the opportunity to succeed economically and culturally, and are therefore the drivers of disadvantage for the entire community.”
