Diversity awareness in your teaching practice means that you actively, consciously and respectfully consider and respond to the diversity of your student group. In practice, this means that:

• you communicate with and treat your students inclusively;
• you create a safe and inclusive learning environment for your students;
• you develop clear, recognisable and accessible study materials for your students;
• your teaching contents tune in with diversity as a social reality
• you help your students acquire the competencies they need to function in a diverse society and ditto professional field.

There is no such thing as ‘the typical student’; a group of students is by definition diverse. Consequently, our approach to diversity is broad, based on visible and invisible characteristics: gender, migration background, skin colour, social background, sexual orientation, disability, religion, world-view, age, ethnicity, nationality, prior education, mother tongue/language spoken at home, home situation, etc. 

Take a look at the diversity figures of generation students at Ghent University

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to diversity awareness in teaching. Rather, a diversity-aware approach actively engages with the diversity in society and the student group.  What is more, a diversity-aware approach treats diversity as an enrichment of the learning process of all students. While diversity emphasises the differences among people, inclusion centres on creating a learning environment where every student feels safe, respected and valued, allowing them to contribute effectively.    

Diversity-aware Teaching: Significance 

A basic requirement for learning is promoting a sense of belonging. Students who feel a sense of belonging at university are more successful at social and academic integration, will make more study progress and are less likely to drop out. Students from minority groups traditionally have a lower sense of belonging. Their background or home environment causes them to feel ‘different’. They might not readily identify with the majority perspective, either. An inclusive learning environment and a diversity-aware approach can strengthen the sense of belonging for all students, giving each of them a sufficient chance at academic success. 

Putting Diversity Awareness into Your Teaching Practice

Click on the interactive elements for more information.

 

Self-check

Use this checklist to review all the tips and tricks to determine how aware you are of diversity in the classroom.

Training Sessions

If you want to find out more about diversity awareness in teaching,  sign up for these training sessions:

Diversity Awareness in Your Teaching Practice (in Dutch)

Study Materials: How to Make them Transparent, Workable and Recognisable for all Students (in Dutch)

 

Want to Know More? 

This Education Tip and checklist are based, among other things, on the following sources:

• Banks, J.A. (2016). Cultural Diversity and Education. New York: Routlegde.
• Carroll, J. (2015). Tools for teaching in an educationally mobile world. London: Routlegde.
• Colak, F.Z., Van Praag, L. & Nicaise, I. (2020): 'Oh, this is really great work - especially for a Turk': a critical race theory analysis of Turkish Belgian students' discrimination experiences, Race Ethnicity and Education, DOI: 10.1080/13613324.2020.1842351
• Crosling, G., Heagney, M., & Thomas, L. (2009). Improving Student Retention in Higher Education: Improving Teaching and Learning. Australian Universities' Review, 51(2), 9.
• Geldof, D. (2013). Superdiversiteit. Hoe migratie onze samenleving verandert. Leuven: ACCO
• Hockings, C. (2010). Inclusive learning and teaching in higher education: a synthesis of research. Available online at: https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/knowledge-hub/inclusive-learning-and-teaching-higher-education-synthesis-research
• Leask, B., & Carroll, J. (2013). Learning and Teaching Across Cultures. Good Practice Principles and Quick Guides. Melbourne: International Education Association of Australia (IEAA).
• Parson, L., & Ozaki, C. C. (2022). Teaching and Learning for Social Justice and Equity in Higher Education. 
• Pulinx, R., Schrooten, M., & Emmers, E. (red.) (2021). Diversiteit in het hoger onderwijs. Brussel: ASP
• Romein, D. (2018). Creating a Safe and Inclusive Learning Space. Universiteit Leiden: ICLON. https://www.highereducationteachingandlearningguide.nl/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Creating-a-safe-and-inclusive-learning-space.pdf
• Thomas, L. (2016). Developing Inclusive Learning to Improve the Engagement, Belonging, Retention, and Success of Students from Diverse Groups. In M. Shah, A. Bennett,  E. Southgate (Eds.), Widening Higher Education Participation (pp. 135-159). Chandos Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100213-1.00009-3
• Wolff, R. & de Jong, M. (2018). Doceren voor een inclusieve klas. Een literatuurstudie ter voorbereiding op docenttrainingen in het hoger (beroeps) onderwijs. https://www.inholland.nl/onderzoek/publicaties/doceren-voor-een-inclusieve-klas/