Up to four in 10 Australian university students, and close to half of humanities students at some institutions, do not feel free to express their views.
A report from the Menzies Research Institute, an independent thinktank associated with the centre-right Liberal Party, has revealed hitherto unpublished institutional-level statistics on students’ perceptions about their freedom of expression.
The report, by University of Sydney sociologist Salvatore Babones, analyses responses to a question about free speech in the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching suite of government-endorsed surveys.
The question, which has been included in the Student Experience Survey since 2021, seeks responses to the statement “I am free to express views”. Respondents can agree, agree strongly, disagree, disagree strongly, or neither agree nor disagree.
Aggregate results have been published for the past four years, and they show the agreement rate gradually deteriorating from about 77 per cent to 74 per cent. However, figures for each university have not previously been disclosed.
