The value of social and cultural diversity in education, as conceptualized by EERA in its 2023 Conference Theme, is described in terms of its ethical and academic value. It is taken as a writ that social and cultural diversity is inherently good, and something for which education and education research must strive. As former Scottish international students become immigrants become Scottish and public sector employees, we agree that ‘the richness of who we are and who we are becoming becomes a source and resource’ but argue against this being in service of ourselves, ‘for what we do and why we do it across the education continuum’ but in service of the education continuum. Ball (2012) argued that education policy was a profit opportunity, with education sold as profitable global and national commodity. His work has since shown how ‘the market, business and commercial sensibilities are colonising and re-forming the meaning and practices of education’ (Ball, 2018, p. 588). We argue this is made explicit by the policy initiatives supported by governments, research institutes, funding bodies, and higher education providers, that advocate for the increasing internationalisation of higher education (Shahjahan, 2016). These initiatives operate through neocolonial practices that celebrate ‘diversity’ while supporting a pattern of global migration from the global south, which ultimately feeds a global workforce that benefits the global north (Spring, 2014). Therefore, we argue the ‘richness’ of who we are has been exploited by Scottish universities, working within a European education sector, that has capitalised on our international student fees and our hopes of immigration into Scotland and England, while continuing to capitalise on our roles as public sector employees responsible for caring for and educating Scots, Brits, and Europeans writ large. We contend it is our economic utility, and the economic value of our social and cultural diversity, that is ultimately sought by the notion and promotion of ‘diversity in education’ within Scottish universities and the wider European education sector. To this end, we challenge the situating of our diversity as an ethical and academic good for European education, arguing social and cultural diversity is sought by Scottish, as well as the wider European higher educations sector, because it financially supports a system that commodifies diversity. We explore the reality of this through autoethnographic accounts of our journeys into, through, and beyond, Scottish universities, informed by critical and creative methodologies discussed by Pruyn and Huerta-Charles (2018).

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