“Open Science” as a metaphor and desideratum for the state of the science system at large

Inequalities within (social) sciences at large: Has everyone who wants to the chance to become a (social) scientist?

"Let's open up (social) sciences for everyone who wants to become a (social) scientist!" is the claim behind this blog post.
To approach the issue of (social) sciences on a large scale, I decided to use “The World Social Science Report: Challenging Inequalities” (2016) and a second, although somewhat older material: “The World Social Science Report: Knowledge Divides” (2010), both published by UNESCO and ISSC, whereof I picked suitable articles. The connection to “Open Science” lies in an unusual understanding of this term, as a metaphor and desideratum for the state of the science system at large. The logic behind that: Where “science” is not open (enough), it should be “opened up” to enhance individual chances for people who want to become (social) scientists, as well as for the benefit of respective societies all in all (aligned to the sustainable development goal of universal access to education until 2030[1], which indeed rests on the human right for education of the year 1948[2]). Globally, there are very different conditions for the production of social science knowledge[3]. The question of the state of social sciences is not only to be seen as an effect of inequalities; social sciences are also one of the “tools” of choice to analyze and improve local situations. Johann Mouton (2010: 67) therefore asks concerning the themes in social science research: “To what extent does science in the region (including both the social sciences and the humanities) address the most important development goals of the respective countries?” The current state of (social) sciences is not only to be understood out of local developments; international intertwinements have to be considered. Laurent Jeanpierre (2010: 118 pp.) points out the asymmetry respectively the inequalities of the (world) science system on the global scale. He notes two patterns of migrations within a highly asymmetrical global structure: On the one hand, “[social] scientists migrate from the main academic centres to the periphery in order to teach, export their skills, or do research and gather data.” On the other hand, “talented young social scientists tend to leave a peripheral position for academic centres in order to be trained or work with the most eminent scholars.” Jeanpierre (2010: 119) remarks, that “imperial and colonial political structures provided a highly asymmetrical framework for such voluntary migrations, reinforcing the scientific creativity and productivity of the centre at the expense of the periphery (Brisson, 2008). Yet these migrations are not always voluntary. They may also depend on the social and economic conditions of researchers, on the status of academic and research positions, and on political constraints on scientists’ freedom of speech.” To sum it up, till today “transnational disciplinary spaces of exchange show a highly asymmetrical structure, where Western countries, primarily the USA, generally hold a hegemonic position.”

Narrowing the issue of (educational) inequalities to the region of sub-Sahara Africa, especially to Nigeria: Primary and secondary education as prerequisite for personal mobility chances to become a (social) scientist 

I was going to look at social sciences in Nigeria, because it’s known that they are especially worse off. The precarious state of many social science and humanities research centres seems to be indicative of a more general trend in research and scholarship in many African countries – the deinstitutionalization of science (Mouton). Here, however, I'm not talking about (social) sciences in Nigeria yet, but I'll present a couple of numbers regarding primary and secondary education in the chosen location (as a foundation for the understanding of the rate of social mobility to tertiary education). Jimi O. Adesinam (2016: 96 pp.) emphases that the “average Gini index [a common measurement for inequality, H.S.] for sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s highest”, although there have been reductions of inequalities since 2000. For Nigeria, there are especially high wealth inequalities with a Gini-Index of 81.4. To be specific in regard to inequalities within a country (i.e. Nigeria), one has to take note that those “indicators also vary widely by gender, by location (urban, rural) and by income group. Disadvantages often accumulate and lead to high levels of inequality". Adesinam (2016: 97) explains the development of inequalities as follows: “The fall in inequalities before 1980 reflect the growth of economic opportunities and social mobility in postcolonial Africa. A higher level of investment and broader participation in education led to a much higher level of social mobility.” He particularly sees economic liberalization and deregulation responsible for increasing inequalities in the post-1980 period. The decline in inequality/inequalities that some countries experienced in the 2000s, is, according to Adesinam, probably related to good economic performance and favorable external conditions (improvements in terms of trade).

Statistically, inequalities concerning the chances to become a (social) scientist – can be tracked and made visible by displaying enrolment in primary schools: Primary school enrolment in Nigeria is very depended by state (regions), as the first figure below shows[4]. In regard to women in education, it is evident that there is a similar geographical bias concerning educational inclusion: The according figure shows the distribution of the literacy rate among women. The North and the North-East is worse off, whereas the more positive numbers belong to the Southern parts of Nigeria.

	Nigeria Primary School Enrolment by state in 2013. Source: Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics.    70 % - 80 %    60 % - 70 %    50 % - 60 %    40 % - 50 %    30 % - 40 %    20 % - 30 %    10 % - 20 %
	Female literacy rate in Nigeria by state in 2013   > 90%   80–90%   70–80%   60–70%   50–60%   35–50%   < 35%

Inequality of learning also increases when moving up the educational ladder (ibid.) Coming back to inequalities in Nigeria in concreto, a look at the numbers delivers a very clear picture: “In 2013, a child from the poorest quintile in Nigeria was more than twenty-three times more likely to have never attended school than a child from the richest quintile.” To say it with another scenario: 98 per cent of children from the richest quintile complete primary school, compared with 20 per cent of children from the poorest quintile (UNESCO, 2015). Wealth (resp. income) is the largest distinction mark in this case, nevertheless gender plays a crucial role, too. On the latter front, the Global Gender Gap Report (World Economic Form, 2014) elucidates, that gender inequality is found in the fields of economic participation and opportunity, the – on hand relevant – field of educational achievement, health and survival, and political empowerment (Adesinam 2016: 99). Better education is, on the one hand, prerequisite for many goals (e.g. the enrollment rate of girls in primary schools correlates positive with life expectancy and socioeconomic development of a nation.), but, on the other hand, it’s effects have to be actively promoted / translated to the life world: “The difference in the gender gap scores shows that gender equality in education does not automatically translate into gender equality in other domains.” Manos Antoninis, Marcos Delprato and Aaron Benavot (2016: 63pp.) also outline that education is a means in itself, and is additionally a means for other goals. It’s essential to economic growth, poverty reduction, gender equality, public health, conflict resolution, and the transformation to sustainable production and consumption. Therefore, education ranges as a key mediator in the reproduction of social inequalities resp. in the promotion of equality. For the reason that education as social institution reflects and reproduces socio-economic and cultural disadvantages, “students from economically poor families are more likely to attend schools characterized by worse infrastructure, fewer qualified teachers, less ambitious peers and outmoded pedagogical practices compared with those in more affluent areas. Hence they are more likely to end up with lower learning outcomes.” Characteristics of the individual which make differences in regard to educational chances are also tracked back to gender, location, income / wealth, ethnicity, and disability (Antoninis et al 2016: 64). The World Inequality Database on Education (WIDE), developed by the Global Education Monitoring Report, exactly works with these indicators. Its differentiated view allows to state that in Nigeria, just 3 per cent of the poorest rural girls completed lower secondary school in 2013 - in comparison to 17 per cent of the poorest boys and to 95% of the richest urban boys.

A comparison for the whole region of sub-Saharan Africa shows that the above cited numbers fit into the overall picture: The poorest young people are profoundly underrepresented beyond the completers of lower secondary education. While middle classes benefited within the period 2000-2010, the poorest have done worse[5]. Adesinam (2016: 97) reports, that sub-Saharan Africa showed improvements in several education indicators within the period 1999-2010. Reasons for lasting inequalities, however, are “direct and indirect costs of education [that] often discourage or prevent poor households from investing in the education of their children” (ibid. 98). Therefore, improvements can (and were) achieved by a reduction of financial burdens, like abolishing fees, the introduction of school feeding programs, and cash transfers.

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[1] There is a global target of achieving equal access to all education levels by 2030 (Antoninis et al 2016: 66).

[2] Education has been recognized as a basic human right since the 1948 adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

[3] The summary of the UNESCO report of 2010 informs, that the “differences in conditions for social science knowledge production between different countries and regions of the world are astounding and could hardly be greater. (…) There are huge discrepancies around the world in the size, financing level, institutional structure, infrastructure and condition of social science research systems, and in their production of graduates and publications” (UNESCO/ISSC 2010b: 5).

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Nigeria; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nigeria_Primary_School_Enrolment_by_state_in_2013.svg#/media/File:Nigeria_Primary_School_Enrolment_by_state_in_2013.svg (05.06.17)

[5] That’s why measures need to be sensitive to the educational progress of all groups.