Racially inclusive climates within degree programs and increasing student of color enrollment: An examination of environmental/sustainability programs.

Abstract

Students of color remain severely underrepresented in many science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines, including environmental fields. Although there is a growing body of research on predictors of selecting a STEM major, generally, much less is know about factors, especially at the program level, that predict the enrollment of students of color into specific STEM degree programs. Additionally, theoretical frameworks and higher education research on college major choice have yet to consider whether the climate for racial/ethnic diversity specifically within academic degree programs may affect the enrollment of students of color in those programs. Given this theoretical and empirical gap, this study set out to investigate whether an inclusive climate for diversity within a degree program may contribute to an increasing enrollment of students of color in interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability (IES) degree programs. Using a national sample of 343 IES degree programs and extending dimensions of an inclusive campus climate for racial/ethnic diversity to degree programs, findings show that IES degree programs with a more inclusive curriculum and greater student compositional diversity are significantly more likely to report an increasing enrollment of students of color. Implications of the findings for broadening participation and understanding diverse students’ college major/career choice are examined.

Learning and Teaching Through the Online Environmental Justice Atlas: From Empowering Activists to Motivating Students

“…Moreover, we have claimed that the EJAtlas has the potential to address some key concerns emerging in sustainability studies in higher education—the demotivating “remoteness” students might feel from tangible, on‐the‐ground issues and activism, the lack of diverse voices present in course material (Garibay et al. 2016; Garibay and Vincent 2018), and the difficult balance to strike between theory and practice (Weber and Hermanson 2015). We have also suggested that while the debate on the use of new technologies for teaching has focused on the ability of these interactive tools to develop capabilities and improve productivity (Mayes et al.…”

“…While further research is needed, this initial results suggest that the EJatlas has the potential to address some key concerns emerging in sustainability studies in higher education—the demotivating “remoteness” students might feel from tangible, on‐the‐ground issues and activism, the lack of diverse voices present in course material (Garibay et al. 2016; Garibay and Vincent 2018) (particularly voices from the frontlines of environmental injustices and resistance movements), and the difficult balance to strike between theory and practice (Weber and Hermanson 2015). The Atlas offers a platform that students and educators can use to help bridge these gaps—by providing a way for students to tangibly engage with important environmental resistance movements, visibilizing diverse, frontline voices and experiences, and connecting the theoretical to the practical via a range of opportunities for promoting environmental justice work outside of the classroom including advocacy, documentation, networking, and solidarity‐building (Weber and Hermanson 2015).…”

“…It has been pointed out that there is a notable lack of diverse voices in mainstream environmental education programs and course materials (Bonta 2008; Garibay et al. 2016; Garibay and Vincent 2018), which risks reinforcing the invisible nature of power dynamics and social roots behind our current environmental challenges. Lack of engaged attention to tangible environmental justice issues can cause a sense of demotivation and what Val Plumwood (2002) calls epistemic remoteness among students—a central characteristic of the “crisis of relationships” behind socio‐ecological destruction (Weber and Hermanson 2015).…”

“…Yet, among this broader improvement and development of tools for sustainability education, there is a noted lack of resources for and inclusion of environmental justice curricula that is attendant to issues of racism, poverty, capitalism, and inequalities (Garibay et al. 2016), reflective of the historical exclusion of marginalized communities from mainstream environmentalism (Garibay and Vincent 2018).…”

“…(2016), diversifying perspectives in curriculum can improve students’ civic behavior and cognitive development while diminishing prejudices toward marginalized groups. Furthermore, interdisciplinary environmental and sustainability programs in the United States with more diverse voices included in their curricula tend to increase enrolment of minority students (Garibay and Vincent 2018), suggesting that use of a pedagogical tool like the EJAtlas can have real implications for Bonta's (2008) call to diversify the educational pipeline into environmental work. Moreover, literature on environmental justice education tends to focus on debates and experiences in the United States (Garibay et al.…”