Diversity and the Col-lege ExperienceAaron Thompson, PhD

Joe Cuseo, PhD

CHAPTER 2: MAJOR FORMS AND DIMENSIONS OF

DIVERSITY

Ethnic & Racial Diver-sity

America is rapidly becoming a more racially and ethnically

diverse nation.

Ethnic & Racial Diversity• By the middle of the 21st century, the

minority population will have grown from one-third of the U.S. population to more than one half (54%) with more than 60% of the nation’s chil-dren expected to be members of minor-ity groups.

Native Americans

• There is only one group who can truly be called American “natives;” they are American Indi-ans.

• All current white Ameri-cans are descendants of immigrants who migrated to the U.S. from other countries.

Hispanic Americans (Latinos)

• There are 48 million American citizens of His-panic origin (including the 3.8 million resi-dents of Puerto Rico), nearly half of whom re-side in California and Texas.

• Hispanics are the largest minority population in the U.S. (15%).

African Americans (Blacks)

• Although most of the nation’s immi-grants chose to come to the U.S. of their own accord, the vast majority of African Americans were brought to America against their will to per-form forced labor or be sold as slaves.

African Americans (Blacks)

• Today, African Americans now enjoy the same legal rights as whites in the U.S. However, it is important to remember that less than 50 years ago African Americans did not have the same human rights as other U.S. citizens.

Asian Americans

• Asians are America’s second-fastest growing minority group (after His-panics). The Asian population in the U.S. is projected to increase by 213% between 2000 and 2050, compared to a total population increase of 49% over the same time pe-riod.

GENDER & SEXUAL DIVERSITY

Women

• Although women are not a minority group in terms of their overall popu-lation, they have faced significant prejudice and discrimination throughout history.

Women• Women continue to experience in-

equities with respect to employment compensation.

• Women with graduate degrees earn only slightly more than men with high school diplomas; $41,995 for women vs. $40,822 for men (Rose & Hartmann, 2004).

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual & Transgender People

• Nearly 600,000 same-sex couples reside in the U.S.

• It is estimated that there are 6 – 9 million children in America who live in a house-hold where there are two gay or lesbian parents (Stein, Perrin, Potter, 2004).

Diversity in Income

• According to the U.S. Census, the wealthiest 20% of Americans control approximately 50% of the total American income; and the poorest 20% controls 4% of the nation’s income.

Diversity in Level of Edu-cation

• Although there is more racial and ethnic diversity among college stu-dents today than at any other time in the history of the U.S, the college enrollment rates for minority groups are still consistently lower than those of majority students.

Religious Diversity

• In the U.S., approximately 90% of Ameri-cans report having a religious prefer-ence (Gallup, 2004).

• While all of the world religions are repre-sented in the U.S., most Americans report they are Christians or Jews (Luhman, 2007).

Generational Diversity

• There are several generations cur-rently living and working side by side in the U.S.:– Traditional– Baby Boomer– Generation X– Generation Y (Millennial)

Traditional Generation

• Born during the years 1922-1945

• Influenced by the Great Depres-sion, World War I and II

Baby Boomer Generation

• Born during the years 1946-1964

• Influenced by the Vietnam War, Wa-tergate, and the human rights movement

Generation X• Born during the years 1965-1980

• Influenced by Sesame Street, MTV, AIDS, and soaring divorce rates

Generation Y “Millenni-als”

• Born during the years 1981-2002

• Influenced by 9/11, Columbine, and the collapse of Enron

9/11/01

Individual Diversity

Regardless of one’s group member-ship, each individual within a group has personal characteris-tics that make him or her unique.

Key Dimensions of Individual Diversity

• Personal Inter-ests

• Personal Values

• Self-Concept– Self-Esteem– Self-Efficacy

• Aptitudes or Talents

• Learning Styles– How we receive, per-

ceive, and process in-formation

• Personality Traits

Multiple Intelligences

• Based on studies of gifted and tal-ented indi-viduals, experts in different lines of work, and a variety of other sources, Howard Gardner (1983, 1993) has identified multiple types of human in-telligence.

Forms of Multiple Intelli-gence

• Linguistic Intelli-gence

• Logical-Mathemati-cal Intelligence

• Spatial Intelligence

• Musical Intelli-gence

• Interpersonal (Social) Intelligence

• Intrapersonal (Self) Intelligence

• Bodily-Kinesthetic (Psychomotor) Intel-ligence

• Naturalist Intelligence

Individual Learning Styles

• Learning styles refers to differ-ences in learning preferences: – Auditory– Visual– Kinesthetic

Choice of Major

Abilities (Intelli-gences)

LearningStyles

PersonalInterests

PersonalValues

Individual Personality Types

• One of the most well known categories of personality types was created by psychologist, John Holland (1985). He identified the following six types as being most relevant to an individ-ual’s career choice:

Individual Personality Types

• Realistic

• Investigative

• Artistic

• Social

• Enterprising

• Conventional