Promoting Equity, Diversity and Social Justice Through Faculty-Led Transformative Projects

Abstract

We present a transformative professional development project with a focus on equity, diversity and social justice (EDSJ) to raise cultural awareness among faculty, increase agency, and promote positive change through transformative projects. Twenty-three faculty members from nine different colleges located at a Research I university were provided with critical cultural awareness workshops and then supported to develop transformative projects related to EDSJ. Based on focus group interviews and pre-post surveys, we identified four themes and five categories: two outcome-related ( Building Community and Transformative Actions) and two operational themes ( Barriers and Facilitators). We conclude that faculty-centered and transformative professional development projects could significantly benefit all those interested in establishing a culturally inclusive, positive and responsive climate. Our study also contributes to the emerging research on scholar activism and provides a practical model for implementation.

Incorporating equity, diversity, and inclusion in science: Lessons learned from an undergraduate seminar

“…We agree with Rodriguez et al's observations that raising consciousness among faculty members about the need to dismantle systemic discrimination based on race and gender in the university, particularly within the context of science, is not the final step. It is necessary to transform this understanding into some form of action, moving from passively listening to seminars on diversity to engaging in self-reflection and transformative practice (Rodriguez et al, 2021).…”

“…We agree with Rodriguez et al's observations that raising consciousness among faculty members about the need to dismantle systemic discrimination based on race and gender in the university, particularly within the context of science, is not the final step. It is necessary to transform this understanding into some form of action, moving from passively listening to seminars on diversity to engaging in self‐reflection and transformative practice (Rodriguez et al, 2021). While Rodriguez et al do this in an ambitious project developing and implementing a longitudinal professional development program for faculty at an R1 institution, our interest lies primarily in engaging in an in‐depth reflection about the decisions made by the authors on the ground—describing specific instances where we encountered unexpected reactions or resistance from faculty associated with the course, how we mitigated the tensions which cropped up to continue engaging in equity, diversity, and inclusion work, how we tried to enlist further support to ensure these efforts lived on beyond our involvement in the course, as well as what we would have done differently upon further reflection.…”

“…[they] enable or block students' understanding of particular social experiences and encourage or inhibit the ability of students from particular cultures to express their particular understanding of the world” (Kotzee, 2017). Even with top‐down support from institutions of higher education, equity, diversity, and inclusion content in the sciences may encounter considerable epistemic resistance because of the dominance of an “empirical‐analytic mindset valuing cause‐effect, problem–solution, and quantifiable evidence” (Goltz & Sotirin, 2014; Rodriguez et al, 2021). The rationale behind organizing this paper into “vignettes” or “stories” was thus to create an opportunity for us to recount, collectively make sense of, and ultimately amplify our experiences with the subtle ins and outs of microaggressions in a higher education setting.…”

A Phenomenon-Based Learning Enquiry: University Students’ Self-Leadership Actions on the Social Impact of Covid-19

“…From a transformative social justice perspective, dialogue spaces may advance opportunities to build collaboration where constructive transformation can be planned and endorsed. Students are thus afforded an opportunity to take on significant self-leadership roles with the potential to endure any noteworthy impact that goes beyond their academic programme (Rodriquez et al, 2021).…”

Authentic Assessments through the Lenses of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice in a Fully Online Course

“…Critical race theory serves as a powerful pedagogical strategy that aims to: account for the role of race and racism in education and works toward the elimination of racism as part of a larger goal of opposing or eliminating other forms of subordination based on gender, class, sexual orientation, language, and national origin. (Solórzano & Yosso, 2002, p. 25) More recent studies (Davis et al, 2021;Rodriguez et al, 2022) have highlighted that there is still a need in research and practice for creating equitable and inclusive learning environments, and that both critical theory and critical race theory play a crucial role in encouraging learning designers and educators to reconsider their practices. For instance, Davis et al (2021) pointed out that including different races and ethnicities and being mindful of them not being stereotypes is critical not only in learning activities but also when selecting images for learning materials, such as PowerPoints, to avoid racism and misrepresentation of African Americans, Asians, and other races.…”