Learning and diversity in educational contexts

Diversity in Education

Many colleges and universities have made statements that they believe that there is value in a diverse student body. What is meant by a "diverse student body" is that there is no one race or ethnicity which comprises the whole of the school population. Instead, the school's student body will be a mixture of African-American, Asian-American, Caucasian-American, Native American, and any other race or ethnicity that can possibly exist. By bringing together people from every race, sexual preference, and religion the hope is to establish a population who will be open to new experiences and new cultures. Instead of an isolated group only used to people who look like themselves, students will have a wider range of experiences and exposures to groups who they may have not interacted with before in their lifetimes. Besides creating a population of persons within the student body itself who are less resistant to other types of people, a diverse student body will also help students prepare for life outside of college in an increasingly diverse world.

In the university setting of the past decades, the predominant race of the student body was Caucasian. There was also a predomination of men in the university setting and a very small minority of the population was female. Thus not only were ethnic considerations heavily biased, but so was gender. Fifty years later, most institutions of higher learning are comprised of a large assortment of racial, ethnic, and religious types. However, there are still some communities where the population has a majority of one type of heritage. In such atmospheres, the student body is actually losing out by a lack of interaction with different cultural and personal perspectives. The only way to grow as an individual is through the gaining of knowledge, either by first-hand experience or through education. Within the college or university setting, that knowledge can be gained both within and without the classroom. According to Joan Scott (1991), "The university is the best place from which to search for a different understanding of what a community might be" (page 89). Students are encouraged to interact with one another in clubs, sports, and other such situations.

In my past experiences, I have dealt with occasions where I have been both part of the majority culture and then part of the minority culture. One period that particularly comes to mind was when I volunteered as a tutor in an underprivileged part of my hometown. Within that atmosphere, my ethnicity was the minority and all my students belonged to the same ethnic group. All the students were of the same racial group, as were their parents and neighbors and teachers. I was absolutely the odd person out in this community. At first, I was not fully trusted by either the students or their parents because I did not "belong" in that community. It was only after proving that I could help their children improve academically that I was accepted more. However, even after more than a year with the children, I was still viewed with mistrust or difference when I went into a neighborhood shop and encountered those who did not know me. When another child entered our tutorial group, if they were not a member of the community's majority, they were also othered by the students in our group. Only over time would the children release their preconceived racial and social viewpoints and accept the new member as a person who belonged.