What is diversity competence?

Diversity competence is the ability of the instructor to avoid ascriptions, to perceive students as individuals, to interact and communicate with students in an appreciative and respectful manner, to create a sense of openness towards their individual approaches to the subject and to integrate this didactically, and to anticipate these issues when planning a course. [1]

In the following, you will first find a short introduction to diversity studies, including a brief overview of various terms related to this topic. We then show you how aspects of diversity can be taken into account in your teaching practices. You can begin by critically examining your own field of research for issues related to diversity. Finally, we offer some tips on how to check your level of diversity sensitivity.

Diversity Studies

"Diversity covers a range of more or less clearly defined core dimensions. These are gender, health, ethnic and social origin, worldview, age and sexual identity." [2]

Diversity studies as a field of research originally emerged from the American civil rights movement. It is concerned with social inequalities and power structures. [3] It often delves into more dimensions of diversity than the core dimensions listed above. For example, TU Dresden's Diversity Monitoring uses 14 categories.

In Germany, diversity studies rarely exists as an independent field, but rather as an interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary area of research that examines other fields through the lens of diversity studies. At  TU Dresden, for example, there is a Chair of  American Studies with a focus on Diversity Studies at the Institute of English and American Studies. [4]

Diversity and equality in higher education instruction

It is assumed that we accommodate diversity among students. The heterogeneity of the student body is to be seen as an opportunity rather than an obstacle. In order to exploit this potential, individuals must be treated without prejudice, barriers must be removed and individual problems must be addressed. [5]

The TU Dresden is also placing increased emphasis on the consideration of diversity in all areas of the university. In the university’s Diversity Strategy 2030, the key areas of “studies” and “research and teaching” were identified and some overarching goals were set for TU Dresden.

Diversity dimensions & intersectionality

The aforementioned core dimensions of diversity (gender, health status, ethnic and social origin, worldview, age and sexual identity) certainly do not constitute an exhaustive list. Rather, they are intended to serve as a foundation that you as an instructor can keep in mind when planning and teaching a course.

We see every individual as a combination of various diversity dimensions. It is not enough to consider these individually. Rather, it is important to link them at the individual and societal level. This approach, described by the term intersectionality, is a central research topic of diversity studies. [6]

What can you do?

In terms of diversity-sensitive teaching, it can be useful to isolate potential barriers or issues from the diversity categories related to your course, to anticipate them, and to address them before they negatively impact a student’s learning process. [7]

A good example is making studying more flexible. Making it possible to complete a degree program on a part-time basis addresses the needs of many different diversity categories, including students with caregiving responsibilities, those who have already begun a career, and students with illnesses.

Prejudice, especially unconscious prejudice or bias, quickly leads to discriminatory behavior. For example, an American study found that professors were significantly more likely to respond to inquiries when the sender seemed to be a white male.[8]

Participation in structural measures and professional trainings are among the most promising ways to reduce unconscious bias in the long term (see the Center for Continuing Education). [9]

Field of research

In order to incorporate diversity specifically within your area of instruction, it can also be helpful to consider your field of research and your discipline from a perspective of diversity. This includes, among other things, a critical examination of the history and the current state of your field of research.

For example, you may ask yourself:

• What role did my field/area of expertise play during the Nazi era? How was the knowledge from my field instrumentalized in history?
• What was the relationship between my subject and colonialism? Are issues being reinterpreted from a postcolonial perspective?
• What about gender equality? Were/are there pioneering female, trans or intersex researchers active in the field and how are they received in the field today?
• What were the life circumstances of key figures of the discipline? How relevant was their research during their lifetimes?

Such consideration of these issues not only triggers new ideas for instruction and research, but it also offers an opportunity to sensitize both you and your students to the topics at hand (and their social implications). By specifically addressing these and similar topics, you create incentives for your students to be responsible with the knowledge they have acquired, which in turn can have a positive effect on the learning process.

By analyzing the biographies of well-known researchers, you also offer students the opportunity to find new role models. To be a role model, the one essentially has to fulfill two conditions: They must serve as a positive model for a better version of ourselves and they must bear a certain resemblance to us. Gender can play an important role in this, but other diversity categories can contribute as well. [10] It is therefore critical to include researchers with diverse backgrounds.

Self-reflection

A simple way to take immediate action is to use the tool of self-reflection. Take some time and try to answer the following questions. The goal here is to become aware of your own views on diversity and what you consider normal.

• What motivated me to pursue an academic career?
• Who were my role models? Were they similar to me?
• What topics were problematic in my studies?
• What experiences have I had with discrimination?
• Does the gender ratio among my colleagues roughly reflect that in my courses?
• Have I ever had to interrupt my studies/professional life for a longer period of time due to health reasons?
• Did my parents go to university? Did my parents support me as a student?
• In my courses, have I considered compatibility with different religions?

You will notice that many students face situations similar to your experiences. However, many students will also have issues that you have never experienced or issues that you will have difficulty understanding. Therefore, we also recommend that you take a closer look at your privilege.

To help students who are brave enough to approach you with problems, we have compiled a list of counseling services for students under Practical Tips.

We also encourage you to take the Diversity Literacy Self-Assessment for a further exploration of the topic if you have not already done so.

It can also be very helpful to seek outside help when reflecting on these topics. The Center for Quality Analysis at TU Dresden (ZQA) regularly conducts course evaluations. If you have not yet taken advantage of this, it is a good way to get additional feedback. You can find more information here (Information on course evaluation).

Finally, you should ask yourself how you can incorporate student diversity into your course without stigmatizing students or explicitly asking about it. This can be done with tools such as participatory teaching methods or assignments in which students can reflect on their experiences with diversity or discrimination.

Related literature

Diversity Monitoring at TUD:
https://tu-dresden.de/ing/informatik/ai/mci/forschung/forschungsgebiete/diversity-monitoring?set_language=de

More information on diversity studies and its history:
Steven Vertovec (2019): Routledge International Handbook of Diversity Studies.

Diversitätsgerechte Lehre an Hochschulen:
Nicole Auferkorte-Michaelis, Frank Linde (2018): Diversität lernen und lehren – ein Hochschulbuch

A guide to systematic self-reflection (in german): https://www.qualifizierungdigital.de/_medien/downloads/Methodenkoffer-_Lernfoerderliche_Reflexionsfragen_27_11_2014.pdf

Quellen

[1] Rohr/Ouden/Rottlaender (2016), p. 78f

[2] Diversity-Strategie TU Dresden (2016), p. 7

[3] Vgl. Schwalbach (2010), p. 26f

[4] Vgl. Diversity Toolbox FU Berlin (2017) https://www.genderdiversitylehre.fu-berlin.de/en/toolbox/teaching-and-study-content/studies/index.html

[5] Diversity-Strategie TU Dresden (2016), p. 9ff

[6] Vgl. Walgenbach (2012)

[7] Vgl. Auferkorte-Michaelis/Linde (2018) p. 342ff

[8] Milkman, Katherine L. and Akinola, Modupe and Chugh, Dolly, What Happens Before? A Field Experiment Exploring How Pay and Representation Differentially Shape Bias on the Pathway into Organizations (2014) https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2063742

[9] League of European Research Universities
Implicit bias in academia: a challenge to the meritocratic principle and to women's careers—and what to do about it. (2018) https://www.leru.org/files/implicit-bias-in-academia-full-paper.pdf

[10]   Cheryan, S., Siy, J. O., Vichayapai, M., Drury, B. J., & Kim, S. (2011). Do Female and Male Role Models Who Embody STEM Stereotypes Hinder Women’s Anticipated Success in STEM? Social Psychological and Personality Science, 2(6), 656–664. https://doi.org/10.1177/1948550611405218