Education Commons^™

Postgraduate University Students’ Experiences And Attitudes Toward Culturally Diverse Learning Environments, Orhan Sahin, Louise Jenkins

The Qualitative Report

In this paper we investigate the attitudes that Australian domestic university students hold toward cultural diversity on a large, metropolitan university campus. We employed a qualitative approach incorporating five individual semistructured interviews, and a focus group in order to gather data on the participants’ attitudes toward cultural diversity, and the contributing influences on these attitudes. The findings of this study indicate that the participants’ attitudes were impacted significantly by past and present experiences of cultural diversity, and the immersion in a culturally diverse university campus. The research contextualizes how these life experiences are responsible for shaping attitudes toward cultural diversity …

Research-Based Course Re-Design For Human Relations In A Multicultural Society, Academic Years 2010-2012, Elizabeth J. Sandell

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

Intercultural competence is one way to describe how individuals and groups understand and adapt their behavior to cultural differences. University students can increase their intercultural competence by understanding behaviors and by experiencing cultural differences. One way to do this is by participating in a course, such as Human Relations in a Multicultural Society. The course's objective was to help students in understanding their own cultural roots, as well as those of other culture groups. This study responded to questions about the impact of multicultural education on intercultural competence among undergraduates. The data set included more than 130 students who took …

Editorial: Black Bear Pride Means Protecting Students From Hate Speech, Liz Theriault

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2019, Rep. Lawrence Lockman arrived at the University of Maine campus to give a keynote presentation at the “Crisis at the Border; A Citizen’s Guide to Resisting Racist Immigration Policies in Maine” event, organized by the UMaine College Republicans. It did not take long for many UMaine students and alumni to condemn this visit, citing evidence of violent, discriminatory and hateful statements made by Lockman in the past. The controversy stirred up by Rep. Lockman’s visit is a perfect example for how UMaine, its students and its administration need to take a moment to reassess how …

Women's Resource Center To Undergo Name Change, Leela Stockley

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

The Office of Diversity and Inclusion, a subsidiary office within the Division of Student Life, expects to soon change the name and administrative structure of its Women’s Resource Center (WRC). These changes are anticipated to come through a process of organizational restructuring in the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which has just this year acquired administrative control over the formerly unaffiliated WRC.

Reconsidering "Diversity" In College Applications, Brawley Benson

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

My high school used to give out class awards. In all subjects, students were recognized for their outstanding performance during the year and presented a trophy, and usually a relevant book. During one of these annual award ceremonies, my English teacher said, “We have no way to measure intelligence, but grades are the closest we can come.” When I think about the word “diversity” in the college context, I ask myself what it means and how it is measured — much like how I questioned my teacher’s understanding of grades as the closest measure of intelligence. Diversity is obviously something …

Diversity Week And Islamic Awareness Week Bring Community Together, Allya Uteuova

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

Students and members of the University of Maine community came together to celebrate the differences and similarities that make up our campus during Diversity Week and Islamic Awareness Week, March 27–31, 2017. Put on by the Office of Multicultural Student Life, Diversity Week started back in 2014. So, what exactly is diversity? When people hear this word, they often associate it with multiculturalism. Diversity is the make up of a group of people who have different characteristics. These characteristics can differ in socioeconomic backgrounds, abilities, countries, races, genders and religions. Multiculturalism is the difference between cultures. It is meant to …

Diversity Week Highlights Many Walks Of Life Across Umaine Community, Josh Fabel

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

According to Director of Multicultural Student Life, Silvestre Guzman, Diversity Week has occurred on the UMaine campus for at least eight years, and has become a popular string of events within the past few years. This year, the week was comprised of many smaller events that occurred everyday such as meditation, karaoke and a couple of educational seminars on different diversity topics, such as religion. The events were put together with the assistance of the Caribbean Club, The Student Heritage Alliance Council and the Muslim Students Association as well as other heritage groups on campus.

Does Global Citizenship Education Predict Identification With All Humanity?, Alpha Amber Scott Belt

Dissertations

Scholars and leaders agree institutions of higher education must prepare students to live, work and thrive in a global community. Nevertheless, there remains much discourse and debate surrounding what it actually means to be a global citizen, and what are the appropriate learning opportunities that will best serve to achieve this goal. This quantitative study examined whether or not participation in global citizenship education opportunities predicts how a student identifies him- or herself in relation to all humanity as measured using the Identification with All Humanity (IWAH) scale (McFarland et al., 2012). Four research questions were examined 1) does participation …

Factors Influencing The Institutionalization Of Diversity In Higher Education, Kelly S. Meier

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

To understand the impact of diversity in higher education, it is important to consider the critical role that diversity plays in the educational process. This requires a broader understanding of the influence diversity can have on the curricular, co-curricular, and interpersonal experience of a developing college student (Denson & Chang, 2009). Strategies for anchoring diversity as a core value or relating it to the inner workings of an institution are in demand (Chun & Evans, 2008). The purpose of this study was to identify highly actualized diversity initiatives and practices that can be replicated at other institutions meeting the sample …

A Study Of Two Generations Of Culturally Diverse Community College Students Views On Leader Attributes In Self And Others, Paula Jeanine Hodkowski

Educational Foundations & Leadership Theses & Dissertations

One community college mission is preparing students for the expectations and opportunities of the workplace including roles as collaborators and leaders. Increasingly, representatives from “cultures” of generation, gender, and diverse ethnicities are gaining an education in community colleges. Research supports that cultural aspects and views of others impact an individual's leader identity.

The purpose of this quantitative, non-experimental study was to determine if participants representing millennial and generation X self-report leader behaviors of “modeling the way” and “enabling others to act”; and rate leader traits in others responding to “fits my image of a leader;” And to determine if their …

Application Of The Interactional Model Of Cultural Diversity To Identify Diversity Climate Factors Associated With Organizational Effectiveness In Accredited U.S. Physical Therapist Education Programs, Elizabeth Francis Giles

Health Services Research Dissertations

Accredited U.S. physical therapist education programs are responsible for the preparation of its graduates to provide culturally sensitive care to meet the physical therapy needs of an increasingly diverse population. While the importance of workforce diversity has been articulated, the effect of diversity climate on organizational effectiveness within accredited U.S. physical therapist education programs has not been described. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Interactional Model of Cultural Diversity (IMCD, Cox, 1993) as a theoretical framework to identify diversity climate factors associated with organizational effectiveness in accredited U.S. physical therapist education programs. A descriptive, …

Garden City: Multicultural Issues In Adult Education, Hector Martinez, Debra J. Bolton

Educational Considerations

Kansas adult education is faced with the growing challenge to prepare its programs for serving the needs of a socioculturally diverse student population. It is imperative that Adult Basic Education (ABE) programs develop effective learning techniques for multicultural student populations. These issues continue to be important topics for educators, administrators, and politicians.

Every Tribe, Language, People, And Nation, Syd Hielema

Pro Rege

This article was originally an address presented by Dr. Hielema at the Heartland Christian Educators’ Convention at Dordt College, October 2005.

Students' Perceptions Of Instructors' Identities: Effects And Interventions, Jeannie Ludlow, Laurie Rodgers, Mary Wrighten

Faculty Research & Creative Activity

This study resulted from the authors' interest in how students' perceptions of faculty identity (primarily race/ethnicity, gender, sexuality, age, and academic rank) influence students' learning and instructors' classroom experiences. We focused on courses that fulfill the "cultural diversity" general education requirements at Bowling Green State University. The three courses that most students in the College of Arts and Sciences take to fulfill this requirement are ACS 250 Cultural Pluralism in the U.S., ETHN 101 Introduction to Ethnic Studies, and WS 200 Introduction to Women's Studies. Combined, these courses serve approximately 1400 students each semester.

Immigrants Talk About Life In Maine, Ernest J. Scheyder

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

What's it like to be an immigrant in Maine? Is it any different being a woman? These and other questions were the topic of this week's installment of the Women in the Curriculum Lunch Series entitled "Immigrant women's stories in Maine: Students present their findings from oral history." The speech was Wednesday afternoon in the Bangor Room of Memorial Union.

Guidance And Counseling Issues In South Africa's Non-Racial Schools, Joyce Hickson, Donna Pascoe

Perspectives In Learning

Guidance teachers and school counselors in non-racial schools in South Africa need to assess the relevance of their services for individuals from different cultures. The importance of providing relevant crosscultural guidance and counseling in school settings has been underscored by numerous empirical studies which indicate that traditional psychotherapy and counseling are often inappropriate for meeting the needs of culturally different clients. Atkinson, Morten, and Sue (1993) assert that despite recognition that cultural diversity requires multicultural rather than monocultural counseling practices, the systematic study of cross-cultural communication only took root in the late twentieth century. Only recently has the term “counseling” …