Lack of global diversity in criminology education

Criminology and criminal justice courses need greater global reflection, inclusion from diverse stakeholders, and deviation from a US-centric approach, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

“Criminology and criminal justice have long suffered from a siloed approach of teaching methodology – one that favours scholars based in the United States,” explains Dr Jared Dmello from the University of Adelaide.

“This research validates anecdotal evidence from scholars across the world that criminology and criminal justice remain a US-centric field.”

Publishing in the Journal of Criminal Justice Education (JCJE), Dr Dmello conducted the global research in collaboration with Dr Stuti Kokkalera from Sam Houston State University, United States, to analyse the extent of cross-border conversations in the field.

“While organisational leaders seek to move towards a ‘globalised criminology’, findings from this research show that engagement with international scholars in pedagogical discussions remains underrepresented,” Dr Dmello says.

“These findings challenge claims of equal representation — while more scholars are engaging in research focusing on global communities, we found that a closed climate still excludes international voices from educational discourse.”

Within the flagship JCJE, only 9.13 per cent of publications in the sample had an author with a non-US-based affiliation. Of those 65 papers, just 23.08 per cent involved collaboration between authors in the US and another country.

“These findings represent an incredibly small percentage of international representation in discussions within the field’s leading educational journal, despite a plethora of criminologists teaching at highly ranked institutions across the world,” Dr Dmello says.

Dr Dmello explains that criminology and criminal justice programs cover a broad range of topics within relatively short degree timelines, with core areas focusing on policing, courts, and corrections. However, comparative or international criminology and criminal justice are often overlooked in curricula, with the study revealing that fewer than 20 per cent of programs require a course in these areas and almost none make it a mandatory offering.

“Leaders in the field, particularly amongst professional associations, journals, and stakeholder communities, need to more actively consider international and comparative voices as an essential component of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts,” Dr Dmello says.

“While working groups focusing on internationalisation are important for advancing a ‘global criminology’, failure to actively recruit and retain non-US-based scholars within those efforts serves as a limiting factor, restricting broader engagement and cross-border collaboration.

“The failure to provide a platform for global scholars hinders efforts to decolonise curricula and prevents the sharing of best practices within classrooms that transcend geographic boundaries.”

Dr Dmello says that while some level of underrepresentation was expected, the extent of it was surprising where there is much work needed to move towards a truly global criminology inclusive of voices worldwide, particularly from the Global South.

“Further research is essential on cross-national approaches to educational discourse, representing marginalised populations, and ensuring criminology and criminal justice graduates are prepared for an increasingly globalised world.”