Who’s left out of the conversation: The problem of marginalizing students in the scholarly conversation

Abstract

The description of the frame “Scholarship as Conversation” in the ACRL “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education” states “[w]hile novice learners and experts at all levels can take part in the conversation, established power and authority structures may influence their ability to participate and can privilege certain voices and information.”

When I think about scholarship as conversation I wonder, who does this discussion exclude? Librarians often consider the role race, gender, and sexuality have in excluding people from the conversation, and these are extremely important issues to explore and work to equalize. However, there is another group whose voice is often marginalized in academia: students.