In Pursuit of Transformative Diversity

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In Pursuit of Transformative Diversity

• July 26th 2006
• Rebecca Reno
• Research Associate, Kirwan Institute for the
  Study of Race and Ethnicity
• The Ohio State University
• http//www.kirwaninstitute.org/

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Diversity

• What do we mean by diversity?
• When does diversity matter?
• What is the current dominant public understanding
  of diversity?
• Why does diversity matter?
• How can we achieve Transformative Diversity in
  the Classroom?

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Defining Diversity
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What do we mean by diversity?

• Broad term
• Socially constructed
• Current divisions not natural
• Since they are socially constructed, they require
  deliberate, targeted interventions
• Not numerically alone (although important)
  Pursuing Transformative Diversity.
• What does a diverse classroom look like?

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When does diversity matter?

• Power
• Determines access to resources
• Persons position in relation to social
  structures can confer distinct advantage
  disadvantage
• When social arrangements limit it
• Past AND current institutions and structures
  impede access to the university

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Opportunity Structure
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Children and Schools
High Opportunity
Low Opportunity
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Effects of Low-Income Schools

• Low-income students attending middle-class
  schools perform higher, on average, than
  middle-class children attending high-poverty
  schools

Source The Century Foundation (2004). Can
Separate Be Equal? www.tcf.org
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SES Diversity

• For the 2004 incoming freshman at Ohio State, the
  median parental income was more than 75,000. In
  Ohio in 2004, the median family income was only
  42,240.
• 6.2 of these students' parents earned 25,000 or
  less. In contrast, 28.6 of Ohio's population
  earned below 25,000.
• Finally, 7 earned 200,000 or more, while only
  1.8 of Ohio's households earned 200,000 or
  more.

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Racial Diversity
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Faculty Diversity-2003
Population Data from the American Community
Survey, 2003. Faculty Data from the National
Center for Education Statistics, 2003.
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Diversity Data for Faculty and Staff- 2005

• At Ohio State, Black professors constitute only
  2 of the total, numbering only 23.
• In contrast, white professors hold 85 of the
  positions.
• 82.6 of professors are male, while only 17.4
  were female.
• Overall, across all faculty positions, Whites
  outnumber Black faculty 23 to 1, and Hispanic
  faculty 36 to 1

Source http//www.ohr.ohio-state.edu/MIAR/div/Uni
v05.PDF
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Retention at OSU
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Challenging the Dominant Public Understanding of
Diversity
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Framing Inequities

• Common explanations of inequities and disparity
• Personal/Cultural Failure The dominant,
  historical perspective in American society that
  emphasizes poverty as a result of personal or
  family failure to take advantage of opportunities
  or lack of motivation
• Structural Failures A frame that recognizes
  poverty as the result of inequitable access to
  opportunities necessary to generate wealth and
  succeed

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Current Status of Disparities

1 Table http//www.csmonitor.com/2003/0328/p01
s01-usju.html Source data US Census and US Labor
Department.
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Defining Merit its Impact on Diversity

• Meritocracy- Heavy weight on test scores in
  admissions leaves students to feel they are in
  school because they deserve to be there.
• Programs such as affirmative action seen as
  coming at the expense of excellence

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Responsibility of Public Education

• OSU, as a land grant institution shares a common
  public mission to advance knowledge, to promote
  understanding and to train leaders to serve
  society
• OSUs mission
• To advance the WELL-BEING of the people of Ohio
  and the global community through the creation and
  dissemination of knowledge.
• Two of the core values listed
• Open the WORLD to our students.
• Celebrate and learn from our DIVERSITY.

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Public Education in a Democracy

• Public education has a responsibility to the
  public- particularly to create and sustain a
  truly democratic society
• The U.S. Supreme Court has identified the
  objective of pubic education as the "inculcation
  of fundamental values necessary to the
  maintenance of a democratic political system."
  -Ambach v. Norwick, 441 U.S. 68, 76-77 (1979)

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Ohio States Core Values

• How do we open the world to students when our
  university is not reflective of the nation
  outside the school?
• Similarly, how can we experience and learn from
  diversity if we do not achieve both numerical AND
  transformative diversity?
• Need to examine and shift admission and classroom
  practices to achieve the universitys mission if
  diversity is a goal

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Diversity Matters
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Why at the University Level?

• At the time of adolescence, personal, social, and
  political identity is formed. (Erikson)
• A diverse and discontinuous environment can have
  a profound impact on an adolescents identity.
• Peer influence is critical.
• Subsequent follow-ups of these students,
  moreover, showed that the attitudes formed during
  the college experience were quite stable, even 50
  years later (Newcomb)

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Diversitys Effect on Attitudes

• Recent research shows that attending an
  integrated school with diversity an integral part
  of the curriculum leads to the following, for all
  students
• Reduced prejudice
• Increased perspective taking
• Opportunities to interact in deeper ways with
  those who are different
• Stronger commitment to multiculturalism and
  promoting racial understanding
• A long-term positive impact on cognitive
  development and academic growth

Chang, M. J. (Winter 1996). Who benefits from
racial diversity in higher education? Diversity
Digest. Conrad, B. D. (1988). Cooperative
learning and prejudice reduction. Social
Education, 52, 283-286. Mickelson, R. (2003). The
academic consequences of desegregation and
segregation. North Carolina Law Review, 81,
1513-1562. Astin, A. (March/April 1993).
Diversity and multiculturalism on the campus How
are students affected? Change.
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Diversitys Effect on Academic Achievement

• These same environmental characteristics have
  long-term positive impacts on students,
  including
• Higher completion rates of college
• Greater overall college satisfaction
• Higher college GPA
• Greater intellectual and social self-confidence
• Students learn more and think in deeper, more
  complex ways in a diverse educational
  environment.
• - Expert Report of Patricia Gurin for Grutter,
  et al. v. Bollinger, et al.

Chang, M. J. (Winter 1996). Who benefits from
racial diversity in higher education? Diversity
Digest. Conrad, B. D. (1988). Cooperative
learning and prejudice reduction. Social
Education, 52, 283-286. Mickelson, R. (2003). The
academic consequences of desegregation and
segregation. North Carolina Law Review, 81,
1513-1562. Astin, A. (March/April 1993).
Diversity and multiculturalism on the campus How
are students affected? Change.
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Corporate Government Support for Diversity

• 65 Fortune 500 companies and the U.S. military
  submitted amicus briefs in Grutter stating their
  need for employees who had exposure to widely
  diverse people, cultures, ideas and viewpoints.
• The Supreme Court ruled that integrated,
  equitable education is a necessity for the
  American economic system and national security

Bikson, T.K. Law, S.A. (1994). Global
preparedness and human resources. Santa Monica,
CA RAND Institute on Education and Training.
(Brief for Amici Curiae, 65 Leading American
Businesses in Support of Respondents, Grutter v.
Bollinger, 2003)
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Linked Fate Why We Should Care About Diversity
and Equity

• Why should those who are not marginalized care
  about diversity and equity?
• A nation and all its residents share a linked
  fate
• This issue is particularly important today
• To thrive, a nation must be competitive in the
  global economy
• Disparities make the region less competitive,
  nationally and globally

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Democratic Implications of Failing to Achieve
Diversity

• Universities as gatekeepers to our democracy
• Our inequitable arrangements are making it
  difficult, if not impossible to achieve either
  legitimate education or a true democracy
• Without full diversity we are not adequately
  preparing students for citizenship in our nation,
  or our global society
• Diversity is needed to do so- diversity as
  excellence

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Inequitable Higher Education as a Failure of True
Democracy

• Education is perhaps the most important crucible
  for remedying disparities, enhancing life
  opportunities, and promoting a genuine
  multiracial and multi-ethnic democracy.
• -john a. powell

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Achieving Transformative Diversity in the
Classroom
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Achieving Transformative Diversity

• Include the voices, viewpoints, and learning
  styles of all students

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Creating a Supportive Space

• Contact theory suggests in order to most
  effectively impact self-esteem and cultural
  fluency, there must be noncompetitive,
  collaborative contact between students with equal
  status from diverse backgrounds.

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Achieving Transformative Diversity in the
Classroom

• What is talked about in the classroom is not only
  important, but also how explore your comfort
  level discussing issues of diversity.
• Dont assume one person can speak for everyone
• Acknowledge everyones lived experiences
• Avoid tokenization. If it does occur, highlight
  within group difference
• If class is not diverse, think of creative ways
  to expose students to diversity

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Achieving Diversity in the Classroom

• Set explicit goals to achieve transformative
  diversity in the classroom
• Challenge students thinking and increase their
  cultural fluency
• Prepare student for their responsibilities in an
  interdependent world, making them better citizens
• Develop the attitudes and values necessary for
  participation in a democratic society.
• Support all students in reaching higher levels of
  academic achievement
• Educate and prepare students to work actively
  toward structural equality by providing the
  knowledge and skills for the redistribution of
  power and opportunity among diverse groups

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Resources

• Utilize university resources
• FTAD
• Support services for students (handout)
• Use movies, articles, activities to facilitate
  discussions around stereotypes and prejudice
• Crash
• Skin Deep
• Tatum, Beverly Daniel. (2003). Why Are All the
  Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? A
  Psychologist Explains the Development of Racial
  Identity. New York Basic Books.
• Privilege Exercise

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Go Beyond Diversity in the Classroom

• Achieving transformative diversity within a
  classroom is a critical first step, however it is
  a step
• To achieve true diversity within a classroom for
  the long-term, we must confront those structures
  that limit it in the first place

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Questions or Comments? For More Information
Visit Us On-Linewww.KirwanInstitute.org