Valuing Diversity: A Well-Intended but Empty Promise (original) (raw)
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The six stages of the concerns-based adoption model (CBAM) (G. Hall, R. Wallace, and W. Dossett, 1973) are the context for examining how one school sought to implement an inclusive vision of diversity within a gifted school program. The CBAM model informed the leadership style of the principal, but was not actually articulated as the model that the school would follow. The six stages are: (1) informational; (2) personal; (3) management; (4) consequence; (5) collaboration; and (6) refocusing. The informational stage involves a general awareness of the issues. In the second stage the administration and faculty began a focused process of examining student needs. The management stage of organization and implementation developed over 2 years and resulted in a stage of "consequence," in which some results became evident. In stage 5, the culmination of the faculty's work meshed with a formal review of the school's progress during the 10 years of the entire progress. Refocusing then involved the application of recommendations and issues pertaining to all aspects of diversity. Over the CBAM life cycle of almost 10 years in this school, some lessons were evident. One is that misunderstandings are common. Another is that student experiences of racism, bias, and gender harassment are both real and imagined, but must be initially examined as though "real." The involvement of the middle third of the faculty, those with a "wait and see" disposition towards various diversity initiatives, was required to make any activity a success. The commitment of the middle third was enough to bring the more reticent third into the activity. Empirical data were needed to shape policy decisions, but the most important factor was always to keep the students' interests first. The implementation of the CBAM model in this school setting shows the real complexities of educating for student diversity. Four appendixes contain a list of the stages of concern about innovation, the report of the committee on cultural pluralism, and information about reports from the Standing Committee on Cultural Diversity and the Middle States Self Study. (Contains 33 references.) (SLD)
Learning About Race And Ethnic Diversity On Campus: A Critical Incident
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The research project utilized a critical incident survey to investigate two research questions regarding employee diversity on a large urban university campus: What types of racial and ethnic issues and concerns exist among the university’s faculty and staff? To what extent do members of the campus community perceive that their race and ethnicity related issues and concerns were successfully resolved?” Three general themes emerged from the data: no race or ethnicity related incidents to report; positive incidents embracing diversity; and negative or problematic issues. Introduction Over the last decade, many colleges and universities have initiated a variety of approaches to assist their organizations to become multicultural, e.g., forming a diversity council; adding new courses; hiring racially/ethnically diverse staff; providing racial-reconciliation and diversityrelated workshops for administrators, faculty, staff, and student leaders (Shireman, 2003). College campuses have there...
Faculty Experience with Diversity: A Case Study of Macalester College
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This study tested the belief that domestic racial/ethnic diversity in the classroom contributes to the preparation of students for civic responsibility, focusing on Macalester College, a small liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Macalester has committed significant resources to fulfilling its goals of multicultural recruitment and support of talented students, faculty, and staff of color and to establishing classes that reflect the range of social, artistic, scientific, and philosophical experiences of people nationwide. College faculty completed a Faculty Diversity Questionnaire in which they evaluated their experiences with diversity in the classroom and provided background information. Overall, faculty judged that domestic racial and ethnic diversity in the classroom was important in fulfilling Macalester's educational mission. Several educational outcomes were positively affected by the presence of multiple racial/ethnic groups in the classroom, including: broader sharing of experiences, the raising of new issues and perspectives, substantive discussion of racial/ethnic issues, confrontation of stereotypes, and development of a willingness to examine one's own perspectives and values. Faculty agreed that most white students benefit from racial diversity. Those who taught classes emphasizing race/ethnicity reported greater or equal benefit from classroom diversity than did those who only included content relevant to diversity. (Contains 6 references and 42 endnotes.) (SM) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document.
Analyzing an Urban University's Diversity Dilemma
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Lack of diversity in the teaching force is proving to be a grievous problem for our country. Across the nation the percentage of teachers of color in our schools remains stagnant as the percentage of students of color increases (Gay, Dingus & Jackson, 2003; Gordon, 2000; Gursky, 1999). Councils have been convened and conferences held to confront the issue (National
Johns Hopkins University, 2021
Independent schools in the Washington, DC area have undertaken a number of initiatives to foster a more diverse and inclusive school culture and environment. When it comes to the recruitment and retention of faculty and staff of color in these schools, however, schools have met with less success. While the number of students of color currently enrolled in DC area independent schools has exceeded 33 percent of the total enrollment, the number of faculty and administrators of color in these schools has consistently hovered around 20 percent. This qualitative, explanatory research aims to identify specific strategies and best practices that schools have employed and could use to attract and retain faculty and staff of color in independent schools. Attention is given to the culture at independent schools as well as to the gate keeping role played by the head of school. Social constructivism (Vygotsky, 1978) is the primary theoretical lens through which these issues will be explained.