Appreciating Diversity: Transforming Learning Communities

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Appreciating Diversity Transforming Learning
Communities

• Enhancing Student Success Conference 2008
• Dianne Kirby Teresa Dluzewska, Luce Andrews
• Student Support Services, University of Newcastle

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• Social justice and equity leads to diversity in
  Higher Education
• Proactive diversity management requires a range
  of top down and bottom up approaches
• We want to share a pilot project contributing to
  an inclusive university culture and a campus
  climate that values diversity
• How can we listen to student perspectives and
  share university discourses about diversity?
• We must become the change we want to see Gandhi

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• Diversity as an educational asset
• A diversity lens as a learning tool
• Diverse peer interactions enrich learning
  communities
• Flow on effects for belonging and success
• Increase in self confidence critical thinking
• Prepares graduates for work, leadership roles,
  democratic global citizenship
• Community cannot feed on itself, it can only
  flourish with the coming of others from beyond,
  their unknown brothers and sisters Howard Thurman

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Student Support Services as collaboratorsThe
residences as a community building
institution Edwards Hall
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• Edwards Hall residents
• 374 students, most under 21 years of age
• 44 new residents
• Equal gender split
• 75 from domestic rural areas
• 25 international students
• Most populous countries are USA, China, Korea,
  Japan, Zimbabwe, Great Britain, Malaysia, South
  Africa, France and Singapore.

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• Intergroup contact theory - close contact with
  different groups reduces uncertainty, fear
  prejudice
• 25 years of research in American colleges -
• students who attend diversity workshops express
  more positive attitudes about difference
• Few programs in Australian universities
• This project situates students in international,
  national and local contexts to reflect on social
  justice, equity and diversity issues

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• UNESCO World Declaration on Higher Education
• Article 3 - Equity of access
• In keeping with Article 26.1 of the Universal
  Declaration of Human Rights . no discrimination
  can be accepted in granting access to higher
  education on grounds of race, gender, language or
  religion, or economic, cultural or social
  distinctions, or physical disabilities.
• Australian Equity Policy Framework for Higher
  Education
• University of Newcastle Strategic Plans, Policies
  and Programs

Diversity The art of thinking independently
together Malcolm Forbes
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• Development of a media resource and workshop
  package
• Staff consultations vpod messages valuing
  diversity as a cultural norm
• Student focus group recruitment (n18)
• Workshop program Cultural, gender, sexual and
  economic differences
• Two principles
• Engagement in Human Rights Education values
  awareness
• Motivations for social justice rest on a
  continuum Goodman (2000)
• for me you me for us

When we lose the right to be different, we lose
the right to be free Charles Evans Hughes
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• Workshop delivery
• safe space modelling respect
• open free dialogue
• intergroup contact same and different,
• positive emotions collective empathy
• personal exploration experiential learning
• factual information
• self reflection
• socialising sharing food
• speakers group as a learning community
• Content
• seven short seminars
• Method
• information folders, structured activities,
  personal awareness exercises, role plays, games,
  film clips, speakers, group discussions

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Example of small group activity Gender
segmentation

• A divide remains between traditional male and
  female fields of study.
• Women in Engineering IT
• What challenges might women in engineering
  courses face?
• Men in Health and Education
• What challenges might men in education or nursing
  face?
• What might help these students?

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Pre measures A Diversity Training Survey (21
item 5 pt likert scale) A greater sense of
belonging at Edwards Hall than on campus. 89
spent time with students from different
backgrounds. 68 said they were aware of their
own prejudices 79 willing to act for the rights
of others Pedersens Attitude thermometer
Students rated their attitude to people
different from themselves ranging from extremely
unfavourable (0) to extremely favourable (100).
80-90 range for all but 3 who nominated
50.

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Workshop evaluations

• 100 felt able to participate enjoyed the
  workshop
• 89 thought the program was interesting would
  recommend it to their peers
• 94 learnt more about diversity
• 84 agreed that reflecting about diversity will
  help them succeed with their studies
• 100 would use the knowledge and skills.
• 100 agreed that the cultural and sexual
  diversity sessions were useful.
• The economic diversity session was considered
  least useful. This was the last session of the
  day.
• Several students responded to an invitation to
  act as peer mentors in the future.

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• Post workshop survey
• Could you write half a page outlining if the
  workshop contributed to changing any of your
  thoughts, feelings or behaviours?
• I had never really stopped to think about all
  of this for so much time. The more I heard
  talked to other people, the more I realised that
  I really didnt know much.
• I have tried to stop myself saying gay when
  something is stupid or crap. I didnt think about
  it before but it must be hard for people to hear
  that all the time, kind of gay equals bad
• Any ideas youd like to share about how to create
  a welcoming campus community for all next year?
• Have some basic signs around campus and on the
  web in other languages
• Cover places with posters about all types of
  different groups and good messages

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• Benefits
• A local resource to share future applicability
• Insights from student feedback potential to
  involve them in future planning
• Peer connection at Edwards Hall
• Cultivating a positive climate for diversity
• Trial of models for diversity education
• Limitations
• LT group follow up
• A larger cohort quantitative study eg
  behaviour change, self report social
  desirability
• Flow on effects
• A broader vision for change eg staff interest
  embedding diversity perspectives into the
  curriculum
• Community capacity building eg hearing from
  leaders teachers
• Ally program
• Contribution to leadership program graduate
  attributes
• Become a sector leader in diversity education
• The diversity training field demonstrates that
  it is ripe for collaborative action research
  (Paluck, 2006)