Talking about Diversity: The Faculty Role

Susan Swayze, Ph.D. (swayze@gwu.edu) Educational Research, Department of Educational Leadership

Rick Jakeman, Ed.D. (rjakeman@gwu.edu) Higher Education Administration, Department of Educational Leadership

Students’ exposure to diversity contributes to academic and social growth. “The actual experience students have with diversity consistently and meaningfully affect important learning and democracy outcomes of a college education” (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002, p. 358).

Pedagogy, policy, and practices that utilize diversity and diversity resources benefit student learning and development (Lee, 2012).

Understanding the campus environment from different racial backgrounds is important to fostering the educational benefits of diverse learning environments, especially in classroom and extracurricular settings (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Penderson, & Allen, 1999, p. 2)

Black and White students engage course material in different ways, with White students twice as likely than Black students to discuss race, or experiences of racism. It is unclear how this second-hand account of experiences with race or racism affects student course interactions or the classroom experience for Black students (Pitt & Packard, 2012). Students rely on habits, routines, and stereotypes to form views of diversity in education. This thinking may result in barriers to education, chilly campus climates, and marginalization of minority students in graduate education. Therefore, in order to create inclusive campus climates, it is assumed that intense resources are needed to influence students’ perceptions of diversity (Hurtado, 2007).

Theory of Diversity and Learning

Findings: Talking about Diversity

The study utilized the theory of diversity and learning (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002) as an interpretive lens.

The theory posits “the actual experience students have with diversity consistently and meaningfully affects important learning and democracy outcomes of a college education” (Gurin et al., 2002, p. 358) and provides the clearest view of how students’ interactions with diverse peers and the effectiveness of institutional practices shape what happens to student learning during college.

Our university is proud to be a diverse community made up of students, faculty, staff, and administrators that represent a large variety of communities. As such discussions of diversity and inclusion are likely to occur in and out of the classroom. In the classroom, it is important that all students feel comfortable while participating in conversations on the topics on race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, sexuality, and sexual orientation.

To that end, we suggest the following guiding principles: • Be a patient listener – remain professional, respectful, and courteous. • Take comments to be well meaning – we all come from different places and experiences. • If you have a strong differing opinion, be gracious with your comments. • Appeal to the faculty member when you feel uncomfortable with a discussion.

In sum, treat your colleagues in class like you would want to be treated so that we can have fruitful discussions that broaden our thinking.

Safe Classroom Syllabus Statement

Methodology

Given the complex nature of diverse learning environments, basic interpretive qualitative research design (Merriam, 2002) was employed. Data was collected using one-time, audio-taped, semi-structured interviews with graduate students. Interviews followed an interview protocol that was developed based on the literature and pilot testing. The interview protocol consisted of 20 questions, lasting from 40-60 minutes.

Data analysis used Saldana’s (2009) first and second cycle coding method. This process allowed for the development of open codes to identify constructs, as well as theoretical codes to track and link constructs found in the data. Data was analyzed using thematic analysis techniques and with the theory of diversity and learning as an interpretive lens. The sample consisted of 17 minority graduate enrolled in at least 6 credit hours during the Spring 2013 semester. Students self-identified as non-White and/or LGBT. Students were pursuing a graduate degree in higher education administration at a large urban university in the Mid-Atlantic.

Faculty Recommendations

Engaging students in classroom discussions about diversity is not easy. Faculty and students bring their own experiences into the classroom environment that can contribute to success or stress when diversity topics are discussed.

We offer faculty the following recommendations: 1. Faculty shape classroom culture—be intentional with your pedagogical approach. 2. Faculty should be cognizant that some students may feel vulnerable engaging in classroom discussions about diversity. 3. Faculty should model inclusive and safe classroom etiquette—language, tone, interaction, and listening.

4. Faculty should include a safe classrooms statement in their course syllabus.

Key Literature Points

1. Students described classroom discussions as risky and stressful.

I think that in the classroom it has been particularly frustrating … the professor has not taken the opportunity to really challenge or push the envelope with students who have made comments. So, I felt charged to do that. I don’t know in what situations other students feel charged to defend things in that way. In some instances has been draining. It’s very, very taxing. While I enjoy contributing to somebody’s learning experience, after awhile, I just realize that I personally just hit my mark where I’m just done. I need this to not be a conversation anymore or the narrative anymore. So in that regard, it has been draining.

I have a hard time sharing my opinions in class anyway because discussions, even though we sort of laid down ground rules at the very beginning of the class like … ‘We’re going to respect other people’s opinions,’ but everyone tends to have the same opinion. And, whenever you try to express a different opinion, it gets a little bit hostile. … [The students] jump in very quickly. They are very set in their beliefs … it feels a little bit hostile to me.

2. Classrooms can be safe places to discuss diversity. However, each classroom has its own culture.

If someone makes a comment—particularly we had a student that was from a rural part of the country and had certain assumptions about urban minorities, for example. If there was something that was said, it was a comfortable enough environment to say, ‘Well, you can’t say that. That’s a gross generalization.’ And, you could correct someone if they were making a statement that was overgeneralized. You felt comfortable calling them out about it and it was typically received well. I don’t feel that anyone in the classroom took it personally when someone would disagree with their opinion, particularly when stereotype or generalizations are made about a certain population that one may not have experience with. It was very much okay to say, ‘Well, that’s not my experience with that group and maybe you might be overstretching or generalizing or stereotyping a bit,’ and it was usually well received.

I will say that I don’t know that you always get to know the professors as well, for whatever reason. And, just being honest, given that for me I’m in the [doctoral] program, I don’t want to tick off any of the professors that I have and so I think that might be a deterrent. You’re not necessarily going to take that conversation in a direction that may or may not jeopardize your relationship with the professor, not knowing whether you’re going to have them again because it’s a very small department or whether they’re going to be maybe sitting on your dissertation group or something like that. So you’re going to want to make sure that you’re going to build that relationship in a very positive direction.

3. Faculty have the ability to influence classroom discussion and classroom climate.

I feel like the professors have done a good job to bring up the discussions about race or talk about it. Also, I feel like it's very cool to see a professor who knows how to manage a classroom when there is sometimes something very heated come up about race and how they can sometimes defuse it and bring back the conversation to be very tolerant. I saw that one time and I thought—I was like, wow, that's really, really cool when I saw a professor do that because they bring it back down not to people to be adversary but more of like, ‘Let's bring this down and talk about this civilly and try to think about it objectively as much as possible.’

Minority students face barriers to education, “chilly” campus climates, and marginalization as academic outsiders in graduate education (Ferguson, 1992; Cuyjet, 1998). As graduate students are typically employed, have family roles, and/or spend time off-campus, the classroom serves as a primary academic involvement and retention space (Tinto, 2007). It is in this space that students must interact with each other and faculty, and hold discussions on higher education topics. The purpose of the study was to investigate the experiences how minority (non-White and LGBT) graduate students perceived the faculty role in discussions of diversity in the classroom.

Purpose

Identity 13 non-White* students 6 LGBT* students

Gender 10 female students 7 male students

Degree Pursued 6 master’s degree 11 doctoral degree

*2 students self-identified as both non-White and LGBT