Visible and Hidden Dimensions of Student Diversity

¶ … Visible and Hidden Dimensions of Student Diversity

The use of Multimedia in educational contexts is producing a growing opportunity to improve the accommodation of diversity. So demonstrates the MyPlace project, identified as "The Place for Diversity Multimedia Analysis." In the course of such analysis, we find that there are several distinct values to embracing this type of identity-driven diversity in an educational community.

The visible dimensions of diversity are typically characterized as relating to race, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation. Here, it is expected that an educational institution will make use of the literature, technology and cultural resources at its disposal to ensure that all groups are equally represented and, at the very least, ensure that no groups are actively or passively excluded. Legal terms relating to Affirmative Action are perhaps the most visible regulatory considerations relating to diversity in American education. To the point, a recent Supreme Court decision on student admission to the University of Michigan reflected this stance, offering real and applicable precedent that today reverberates in the collective movement to improve conditions for an ethnically diverse range of Americans.

In 2000, Gratz v Bollinger began the long process of defending the Constitutionality of Affirmative Action as a factor in shaping admission criteria for potential students. Under the premise that ethnic diversity could be considered a suitable goal for a university in selecting the members of its student body, a federal court found in favor of the University's reliance upon the practice. After being nullified the following year by a contrary decision in Grutter v Bollinger, then subsequently overturned once again on appeal, the University's policy was ultimately vindicated in the United States Supreme Court. In a landmark 5-4 decision, the highest court upheld "the University of Michigan Law School's policy, ruling that race can be one of many factors considered by colleges when selecting their students because it furthers 'a compelling interest in obtaining the educational benefits that flow from a diverse student body.'" (Brunner, 1)

With respect to these 'educational benefits,' our findings would suggest that diversity carries hidden dimensions beyond those visible dimensions of race, ethnicity or other. According to Boyer (1990), the multiculturalism which is a defining characteristic of our nation is also increasingly becoming a challenging aspect of our schools and one which demands direct conditioning if we are to some day soon help to bring our schools up to speed with the collective cultural needs of students and faculty. This is especially so at the university level, where to many around the world, America is still a draw for its varied, nuanced and promising college system. In particular, Boyer argues that it is necessary to establish a community which is purposeful, open, just, disciplined, caring and celebrative. The collective effect of these conditions would be the development of a community and setting in which diversity is seen as an opportunity for learning for all as opposed to an obstacle to educating. At the university, therefore, it should be a policy and priority to help students of a diverse array of ethnic and cultural backgrounds find one another in a potentially large and diffuse population; by helping to standardize cultural appreciation groups correspondent to all nationalities and ethnicities represented on a campus, by establishing campus-wide cultural appreciation events, performances or meet-ups, by helping to promote social engagement between common parties and by helping to promote social engagement amongst different cultural groups. All of these functions can help to magnify the impact from these positive hidden dimensions of diversity.

This should simultaneously be seen as a priority where curricular content is concerned as well. To this point, Farstrup's (2002) article discusses the need to increasingly open up our literacy training to the understanding of linguistic and cultural differences that are ever-more common in America's schools. To our discussion, this offers suggestions regarding the need to offer educational training content that is culturally sensitive and diverse. Other sources considered have helped to shift the perspective of this research less toward contending with diversity and more toward regarding it as an opportunity and an advantage in education. The article by Farstrup concerns internationally comprised initiatives to improve overall diversity standards in education. Reflecting at yet a higher tier of orientation the demand to establish a genuine diversity at every level in order to benefit a diverse body of learning aspirants, the article details the efforts by the International Reading Association to improve diversity within its own organization, comprised of highly-qualified literacy educators and administrators.