1.4: Articles and Essays

Bensimon, E. M. (2018, October 16). Reclaiming Racial Justice in Equity, Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning, 50(3-4), 95-98.

Reclaiming Racial Justice in Equity. Estela Mara Bensimon is Dean's Professor in Educational Equity and Founding Director of the Center for Urban Education. In 2017, she was elected to the National Academy of Education and presented with the 2017 Social Justice in Education Award by the American Education Research Association (AERA); she is the 2018 AERA Division J Research Award recipient. Her opinion pieces have been published in Inside Higher Education, Denver Post, Sacramento Bee, and Zocalo. In January 2018, Governor Jerry Brown appointed Dr. Bensimon to the Education Commission of the States.

Cheng, S. (2023). Leveraging OER and Open Pedagogy to Promote EDI in the Classroom. Sheridan College.

This research paper is the author’s capstone project for the 2022-2023 SPARC Open Education Leadership Program that she participated in. The paper explores how OER and open pedagogy can help promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) for students in the classroom.

Ginwright, S. (2022, February 16). Letting Go of Myths, Embracing Truths. Yes! Magazine.

By first transforming and reimagining ourselves, we all have an opportunity before us to truly transform our organizations and reimagine our work.

Golom, F.D. (2018, February). Reframing the Dominant Diversity Discourse: Alternate Conversations for Creating Whole System Change. Metropolitan Universities, 29(1), 11-27.

Diversity and inclusion (D&I) efforts in higher education are decades old, yet progress continues to be slow and elusive for many campuses. Recent events in colleges and universities across the United States suggest that long-standing challenges related to access, equity and inclusion remain as entrenched and intractable as they have ever been, resulting in campus environments that may be unwelcoming or hostile to faculty, staff and students from underrepresented groups. One reason for the partial success of university D&I programs is that they overemphasize individual actors, attitudes and behaviors while neglecting the systemic, organizational cultures in which those actors reside. Drawing on the organization development and change literatures, this paper offers three alternate perspectives for reframing campus diversity work, arguing that all D&I initiatives must consider the (a) contextual, (b) multilevel and (c) systemic nature of change if they are to be robust and successful.

Gorski, P. & Swalwell, K. (2015, March). Equity Literacy for All. Educational Leadership, 34-40.

Schools can commit to a more robust multiculturalism by putting equity, rather than culture, at the center of the diversity conversation.

Griffin, K. A. (2018, April 23). Addressing STEM Culture and Climate to Increase Diversity in STEM Disciplines. Higher Education Today.

National and private organizations have invested millions of dollars in science diversity programs designed to shift patterns of representation in science, technology, engineering, and math—the so-called STEM fields—in and beyond college. However, minoritized* populations continue to be underrepresented in STEM disciplines. According to the National Center for Science and Engineering Statics, while over a third of black, Latino, and Native American students enter college with an interest in studying STEM, only 16 percent go on to obtain bachelor’s degrees in these fields. Our limited progress may be rooted in how we are viewing and approaching the problem. Thought leaders, policymakers, and practitioners have engaged in two largely separate conversations as they have tried to increase STEM diversity. One conversation has focused specifically on the culture within these disciplines, noting how exclusionary norms and values translate to an unwelcoming environment. The other conversation has focused on college campuses more broadly, unpacking how inconsistent institutional commitments to diversity, acts of discrimination, and encounters with microaggressions in academic and non-academic spaces translate to hostile climates for women and men of color. We must attend to both STEM culture and institutional climate to cultivate more inclusive learning environments and increase diversity.

Hoffman, M. & Morrow, J. (2002). Investigating “Sense of Belonging” in First-Year College Students. Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, 4, 227-256.

A great deal of emphasis in higher education is centered on questions such as, “Why do students leave college and how can we get them to stay?” Although researchers have pointed to the import of “sense of belonging” in departure decisions, a measure of students' subjective sense of affiliation and identification with the university community has not been developed. The following is an empirical measure of “sense of belonging” which sheds light on factors that contribute to retention. Gaining greater clarity regarding factors important to the development of “sense of belonging” can help institutional policy planners evaluate the effectiveness of retention programs on their campuses, design more effective intervention strategies, and identify students at risk for departure.

Johnson, E. (2020, January 2). Students' Sense of Belonging Varies by Identity, Institution. Inside Higher Education.

New research highlights the differences in students’ sense of belonging by race, institution type and first-generation status.

McKinsey & Company. (2022, August 17). What is diversity, equity, and inclusion? McKinsey & Company.

Consulting group McKinsey & Company defines and discusses DEI.

Phillips, K. W. (2014, October 1). How Diversity Makes Us Smarter. Scientific American.

Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working.

Rezvani, S. & and Gordon, S. A. (2021, November 1). How Sharing Our Stories Builds Inclusion. Harvard Business Review.

It’s time for the conversation around inclusion and diversity to take a human-centric approach. It’s not just about the numbers — it’s about the people. Storytelling, one of the most universal human experiences, gives us a rare chance to look through new lenses. And perspective-taking is a life skill, not just a workplace one. Companies that prioritize inclusion will emerge from crisis stronger, and stories are one major vehicle to help them get there. Inclusion consultants Selena Rezvani and Stacey A. Gordon offer steps to implement a story-based approach to DEI where employees are encouraged to tell their stories, own them, and consider how they impact their day-to-day experiences at work.

Samuel, A. & Robertson, T. (2021, October 13). Don’t Let Hybrid Work Set Back Your DEI Efforts. Harvard Business Review.

Hybrid work is likely to exacerbate diversity and equity challenges — and gains — that we saw during the era of remote work. By measuring five aspects of the hybrid workplace — 1) who’s spending time working at the office versus at home; 2) who gets to choose when to be in the office; 3) who gets promoted; 4) how remote management tactics are used; and 5) who is engaged — talent managers can ensure that career advancements and employee benefits accrue equitably.

Stanford Diversity and First-Gen Office and SPARQ. (n.d.) Higher Ed Diversity and Inclusion Collection. Stanford University.

Science-powered activities for promoting equity in colleges and universities.