The Case for Educational Programming Related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Joe Cuseo & Aaron Thompson

March 7, 2022

The growing diversity in America’s population and in its postsecondary campuses represents an unprecedented learning opportunity for today’s college students. Unfortunately, accompanying this growing diversity is a growing white supremacist and white nationalist movement. The confluence of these two trends underscores the need for campuses to infuse diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) into the college experience in order to A: capitalize on the learning benefits of an increasingly diverse student body, B: increase the likelihood that students will learn to be deeper thinkers, communicate better, and increase their problem solving skills, and C: counteract prejudicial ideologies being promulgated by an increasing presence of white supremacist groups. To best rise to these challenges, it is vital to implement a DEI program that is strong in both content and delivery.

Content for a DEI Educational Program
We recommend the following topics as core content of a substantive DEI educational program, which may delivered through the curriculum and/or co-curriculum.

What is Diversity? Equity? Inclusion?
Diversity is not just defined as differences in the population but also as an enthusiastic appreciation of multiple perspectives accompanied by an intentional commitment to use diverse groups and cultures as a source for learning for all members of the campus community. Inclusion refers to integrating and engaging all students by creating and implementing practices and policies designed to ensure that all groups on campus feel included, welcomed and valued, particularly marginalized cultural groups. Equity may be defined as an intentional effort to level the playing field for groups that have been treated unfairly as a result of historic and current systemic discrimination, ensuring that they now receive opportunities to participate equally with advantaged or privileged groups. (“Equity” should be distinguished from “equality”—which means to treat all groups the same, even if some groups have unfair advantages over others.) In other words, equity is meeting students where they are and giving them what they need to advance to their highest level possible.

Benefits of Diversity
Combat the view that diversity is just a political or “PC” issue pertaining to some groups. Instead, it’s is an educational process that benefits all students by deepening learning, promoting critical thinking, sharpening self-awareness, enhancing emotional intelligence, and cultivating intercultural competencies essential for career success in the twenty-first century.

Implicit Bias and Stereotypes
Identify how bias and stereotyping contribute to prejudice, and explore strategies for reducing implicit biases and ways to interact with members of diverse groups in an appreciative, culturally competent manner.

Race & Racism
Define race and racism. Identify the historical roots and underlying psychological causes that have led to racist beliefs and continue to preserve or perpetuate racism today.

Systemic Racism
Note how racism is manifested in ways that go beyond individuals holding racial beliefs and includes structural or systemic forms of racism that pervade societal systems—such as such housing, education, employment, and criminal justice—which contributes to systemic institutional discrimination.

Anti-Racism
Articulate the difference between being “non-racist”—one who does not personally profess or practice racism and “anti-racist”—one who takes an active role in opposing racism practiced by individuals and institutions. Include strategies for challenging and countering individuals who make racist remarks and engage in racial microaggressions, and explore ways in which individuals may take collective action to promote social justice and changing societal systems that serve to preserve or perpetuate racial inequities. It is also the process of implementing practices and policies in an intentional effort to dismantle institutional barriers that have historically disenfranchised students based on their race.

The Process of DEI Program Delivery
Effective DEI education not only involves incorporating relevant content in the curriculum and/or co-curriculum; it also involves utilizing culturally-inclusive learning processes to deliver that content in ways that motivate and engage students from all cultural backgrounds. We suggest that the following two “connections” are critical elements of a culturally inclusive learning process, whether that process takes place in the context of the curriculum or co-curriculum.

1. The Teacher-Student Connection
Teacher-student rapport may be viewed as a precondition or prerequisite for student engagement in the learning process, particularly when that process involves DEI content. We offer the following as top-two culturally inclusive strategies for building rapport with students.

Learn students’ names. This practice acknowledges students’ individuality and provides them with personal validation—the feeling of being recognized as individuals and sensing that the instructor cares about them and their ideas. Personal validation is important for all students, and particularly important for students who are underrepresented on campus.

Provide students with opportunities to share their personal histories. Students’ diverse cultural backgrounds cannot be appreciated and utilized as an educational asset if the instructor isn’t aware what those experiences are. When instructors learn about their students’ different personal backgrounds and journeys, they can then use this information to make personal connections with their students and make relevant connections between what they’re teaching and their students’ lives.

2. The Student-Student (Peer-to-Peer Connection)
When diverse students feel connected with each other and develop a sense of belongingness in the same community, a learning environment is created that’s conducive to engaging in open and honest discussions of diversity. Here are our top-two recommendations for doing so.

Intentionally form collaborative learning teams composed of students from diverse backgrounds. Studies show that when members of different racial groups work in teams toward a common goal, racial prejudice decreases and formation of interracial friendships increases. Additionally, collaboration among students from different cultural backgrounds enhances critical and creative thinking by exposing them to diverse perspectives.

Encourage diverse students to seek commonalities in their experiences and perspectives. Creating opportunities for students to learn about and from their cultural differences is an effective educational practice; however, it should not come at the expense of acknowledging and appreciating their shared life experiences and challenges. If students are not mindful of sources of unity that co-exist with diversity, DEI efforts can inadvertently intensify or magnify intergroup divisiveness and separatism. To minimize this risk, when students are placed in diverse learning groups, encourage them to focus not only on cultural differences that divide them but also on universal experiences that unite them. Remind them to focus on both the variations and the themes—the common denominators that traverse or transcend diversity and testify to our shared humanity.

Dr. Joe Cuseo and Dr. Aaron Thompson are co-authors on a multitude of publications on the college experience, diversity, and more. Explore their latest publication: Diversity, Anti-Racism and the College Experience

The Case for Educational Programming Related to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

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