Race is a socially constructed concept that refers to groups of people who are categorized by physical characteristics (e.g., skin color/complexion, facial features). Individuals may racially identify with a single race or as bi- or multiracial. It is important to note racial groups are not monoliths and that the significance and meaning of race varies across individuals within each racial group. Ethnicity, a related socially-constructed concept often used interchangeably with race, refers to a group individuals who share characteristics such as ancestry/heritage, country of origin, language, religion, forms of dress, and food. Over the past three decades, the enrollment of racial and ethnic minority students has increased in U.S. colleges and universities, particularly at predominately White institutions (PWI; Fischer, 2007). This change in student demographics has implications for teaching and learning, ranging from developing syllabi and course content that reflect the diversity in students’ racial and ethnic backgrounds to being prepared to engage in “difficult dialogues”/“hot” moments in the classroom. Research confirms that students from minoritized racial and ethnic groups often endure unfavorable classroom experiences and describe the classroom climate as hostile (e.g., Rankin & Reason, 2005). These experiences sometimes result in negative academic (e.g., GPA) and social (e.g., extracurricular activities) outcomes. We support and encourage faculty and other instructors to think about ways they can cultivate an inclusive social and learning environment for students from all racial and ethnic backgrounds. Gender identity refers to an individual’s sense of self as male, female, a combination of both, or neither and influences how individuals think and act according to their gendered selves (Wood & Eagly, 2015). In many societies gender defaults to man or woman, but there are genders that exist outside of those assigned at birth. Additionally, some individuals may have an external appearance (e.g., hairstyle, clothing, voice) and behaviors that may not align with socially-defined characteristics associated with being either masculine or feminine (i.e., gender expression). College students have become increasingly more vocal about gender-based experiences in the classroom and the broader campus environment. Student advocacy has brought to light important gender-related issues such as the importance of acknowledging and using preferred gender pronouns/labels and the need for gender-inclusive bathrooms. Conversations around gender have also revealed that some students, faculty, and university staff face challenges related to their gender identity and/or expression. For example, women report experiences of discrimination and stigma in STEM (science, technology, math, and science) courses from faculty and their peers at higher rates than men (Ramsey, Betz, & Sekaquaptewa, 2013). Gender non-conforming students have described feeling anxious and frustrated about being “outed” in the classroom and having to constantly explain their identity (Schmalz, 2015). In regards to faculty-related gender issues, examinations of teaching evaluations provide evidence that women faculty receive disproportionate negative ratings and include written feedback containing comments that reinforce gender stereotypes (e.g., physical appearance, style of dress; Mengel, Sauermann, & Zölitz, 2017). It is important to be aware and respectful of the different ways individuals choose to identify and express their gender. The citations below, as well as other campus resources, can aid in developing and promoting gender-inclusive learning environments. Socioeconomic status is a position in a socially-ranked system determined by an individual’s education, income, and occupation/occupational prestige. A student’s socioeconomic status is usually linked to their parent(s)/guardian(s) level of education, income, and occupational prestige. Social class as a social identity relates to the importance/significance and affect/emotions associated with an individual’s membership/self-categorization within a social class group (e.g., working class). An individual's socioeconomic status does not always align with their social class identification. In the U.S., for example, those who identify as middle class vary on every indicator of socioeconomic status (e.g., level of education). Relatedly, because college is a period of transition that can result in a change in one’s socioeconomic status, many students may not be ready to commit to a particular social class self-label. First generation college students are students for whom neither parent/guardian ever enrolled in college as well as those whose parent(s)/guardian(s) attended some college but did not earn a bachelor's degree (Ward, Siegel, & Davenport, 2012). Research (e.g., Ward, Siegel, & Davenport, 2012) shows that students from less privileged and resourced backgrounds often face challenges academically and socially adjusting to college. Students who self-identify with lower socioeconomic groups report feeling less of a sense of belonging to the university culture and community, feeling less academically prepared, attend fewer office hours, and express more intentions of leaving school relative to their more affluent peers (Langhout, Rosselli, & Feinstein, 2007). When designing and developing courses, instructors can consider multiple approaches and modes of engagement that account for the differences in students’ pre-college educational resources and learning environments. Instructors can also take steps to create equitable and inclusive learning experiences such as making required material accessible and affordable (when possible) to all students. For example, textbooks and materials for many STEM courses are expensive and not affordable for all students. All Northwestern instructors can put books and other required reading material on reserve, students majoring in STEM may be eligible for Books for Cats, and instructors can upload required readings to their Canvas pages. Additionally, instructors can include course content that reflects the lived experiences of those from a variety of social class backgrounds.The Human Rights Campaign defines sexual orientation as an “inherent or immutable enduring emotional, romantic or sexual attraction to other people.” When people think of sexual orientation it is often in relation to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, and other non-heterosexual identities (LGBQ+*) community. However, sexual orientation also refers to the attraction between individuals of the opposite sex and/or gender (i.e., heterosexual/straight individuals). Current efforts to diversify the undergraduate student body include the recruitment of individuals who identify as LGBQ+. A current study revealed that approximately 7% of college students identify with a minoritized/non-heterosexual sexual orientation (Dunbar et al., 2017). Although LGBQ+ college students represent a relatively small percentage of college students, studies provide evidence that almost 50% of self-identified LGBQ+ students report not feeling accepted in the classroom and approximately 22% reported not seeing LGBQ+ people represented in course content and material (Rankin, 2003). Instructors who hold less than favorable or supportive views towards LGBQ+ issues may hold biases towards students with those identities and implicitly marginalize them in the classroom (Kuvalanka, Goldberg, & Oswald, 2013). According to Fletcher and Russell (2001), including LGBQ+ content in course curricula helps to promote more accepting attitudes of diverse sexual orientations and helps to reduce stigma towards LGBQ+ students, faculty, and university staff. The following are recommendations for faculty and instructors for creating LGBQ+ inclusive curriculum and classroom climate:
*We recognize that transgender is a gender identity, not a sexual orientation, and decided not to include it in the acronym, nor reference transgender in this section. We also acknowledge that the (+) usually indicates both additional minoritized genders and sexual orientations, but in this section it only represents other non-heterosexual sexual orientations. According to the U.S. Department of Education, a person with a disability (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities of that person; (2) has a record of such an impairment; or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. Recent National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) indicated that “11.3% of college students in the U.S. reported having a disability; of these 3.8% had visual disabilities, 5.0% had hearing impairments, 0.4% had speech impairments, 25.4% had orthopedic disabilities, 7.5% had learning disabilities, 11.0% had Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), 21.9% had a mental illness or depression, 17.3% had health impairments, and 7.8% indicated ‘other’" (Higbee, Katz, & Schultz, 2010). The number of students with disabilities on college campuses may actually be larger as some may choose not to disclose their disabilities for reasons such as the associated stigma with a disability and concerns with being seen as given “special” treatment (Kendall, 2016). The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that all physical spaces, curricula, and academic programs be accessible for students with all types of documented disabilities. In response to this requirement, educators began to implement inclusive models of teaching and learning such as universal access/design to enhance educational opportunities for all students. We encourage faculty and other instructors to explore different models and approaches that promote inclusion for students with disabilities. AccessibleNU has additional resources for faculty and other instructors on working with students with disabilities. There are nearly as many definitions of religion as there are religions. We borrow from the work of Bruce (2011) and define religion as “beliefs, actions and institutions which assume the existence of supernatural entities with powers of action, or impersonal powers or processes possessed of moral purpose” (p. 112). Religious identity is one’s sense of group membership and attachment to a religion and the significance of this membership to one’s self-concept (Peek, 2005). Some students, by choice or compliance, may express their religious identity by what they wear (e.g., hijab, crucifix, Star of David) while others may not feel compelled to make public their religious affiliation. Although there is an assumption that religion/religious affiliation is not a salient part of many emerging adults identities, especially those in college, a recent study (Lee, 2002) showed that 48% of the sample of college students reported having a stable religious beliefs and 38% reported an increase in their beliefs. Many U.S. colleges and universities were founded by religious institutions. Many of these institutions of higher education are now nonsectarian (e.g., Northwestern) but the remnants of their religious origins are still present on campus (e.g., Alice Millar Chapel) and in the ethos of the university (e.g., Northwestern’s motto/seal). Discourse around religion and individuals’ religious identity is not new in the context of higher education. However, the impact this particular social construct has on learning environments receives less attention relative to other constructs/identities such as race and gender. Educators and scholars argue that national and global events (e.g., church shootings, vandalism of places of worship) have made religion/religious identity salient in the higher education landscape (Peek, 2012) and often appear in the classroom, for example, via class discussions and/or when students are absent due to observing a religious holiday. Religious conversations can be challenging to participate in as well as facilitate. However, it is important to allow these discussions to occur in learning spaces where students are able to safely explore and challenge their beliefs. Many religious holidays occur during the academic year and students who observe these holidays may be absent for one or more of their courses. Faculty and other instructors should become familiar with Northwestern’s accommodations for religious holidays.Intersectionality acknowledges the unique experiences of individuals who are members of multiple minoritized socially- and culturally-constructed categories (Crenshaw, 1994) and is often used to examine how the multiple identities of individuals interact and relate to societal inequities and social injustice (Reimers & Stabb, 2015). Students have multiple social identities. Some students’ social identities are attached to multiple privileged groups (e.g., heterosexual White male), multiple marginalized groups (e.g., bisexual Latinx gender non-conformist), or both privileged (e.g., upper-middle class) and marginalized (e.g., Black) groups. For most individuals, their multiple identities do not function independently. Rather, the two identities interlock and relate to the overall functioning of the self. Social Identities Unpacking Teachers' Invisible Knapsacks: Social Identity and Privilege in Higher Education Bliuc, A. M., Ellis, R. A., Goodyear, P., & Hendres, D. M. (2011). The role of social identification as university student in learning: Relationships between students’ social identity, approaches to learning, and academic achievement. Educational Psychology, 31(5), 559-574. Lyons, E. M., Simms, N., Begolli, K. N., & Richland, L. E. (2018). Stereotype Threat Effects on Learning From a Cognitively Demanding Mathematics Lesson. Cognitive science, 42(2), 678-690. Torres, V., Howard-Hamilton, M. F., & Cooper, D. L. (2011). Identity development of diverse populations: Implications for teaching and administration in higher education: ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report (Vol. 12). John Wiley & Sons. Wilkins, S., Butt, M. M., Kratochvil, D., & Balakrishnan, M. S. (2016). The effects of social identification and organizational identification on student commitment, achievement and satisfaction in higher education. Studies in Higher Education, 41(12), 2232-2252. Race and Ethnicity Banks, J. A., Cookson, P., Gay, G., Hawley, W. D., Irvine, J. J., Nieto, S., ... & Stephan, W. G. (2001). Diversity within unity: Essential principles for teaching and learning in a multicultural society. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(3), 196-203. Hurtado, S., Milem, J., Clayton-Pedersen, A., & Allen, W. (1999). Enacting Diverse Learning Environments: Improving the Climate for Racial/Ethnic Diversity in Higher Education. ASHE-ERIC Higher Education Report, Vol. 26, No. 8. ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, One Dupont Circle, NW, Suite 630, Washington, DC 20036-1181. Lundberg, C. A., & Schreiner, L. A. (2004). Quality and frequency of faculty-student interaction as predictors of learning: An analysis by student race/ethnicity. Journal of College Student Development, 45(5), 549-565. Rankin, S. R., & Reason, R. D. (2005). Differing perceptions: How students of color and White students perceive campus climate for underrepresented groups. Journal of College Student Development, 46(1), 43-61. Gender Mengel, F., Sauermann, J., & Zölitz, U. (2017). Gender bias in teaching evaluations. Journal of the European Economic Association. Pryor, J. T. (2015). Out in the classroom: Transgender student experiences at a large public university. Journal of College Student Development, 56(5), 440-455. Ramsey, L. R., Betz, D. E., & Sekaquaptewa, D. (2013). The effects of an academic environment intervention on science identification among women in STEM. Social Psychology of Education, 16(3), 377-397. Wood, W., & Eagly, A. H. (2015). Two traditions of research on gender identity. Sex Roles, 73(11-12), 461-473. Socioeconomic Status and Social Class Langhout, R. D., Rosselli, F., & Feinstein, J. (2007). Assessing classism in academic settings. The Review of Higher Education, 30(2), 145-184. Thomas, V. & Azmitia, M. (2014). Does class matter? The centrality and meaning of social class identity in emerging adulthood. Identity, 14(3), 195-213. Walpole, M. (2003). Socioeconomic status and college: How SES affects college experiences and outcomes. The review of higher education, 27(1), 45-73. Ward, L., Siegel, M.J., & Davenport, Z. (2012). First-Generation college students: Understanding and improving the experience from recruitment to commencement. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Sexual Orientation Creating LGBTQ Curriculum and Classroom Resource Guide Dodge, A. M., & Crutcher, P. A. (2015). Inclusive classrooms for LGBTQ students. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 59(1), 95-105. Dunbar, M. S., Sontag-Padilla, L., Ramchand, R., Seelam, R., & Stein, B. D. (2017). Mental health service utilization among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning or queer college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61(3), 294-301. Fletcher, A. C., & Russell, S. T. (2001). Incorporating issues of sexual orientation in the classroom: Challenges and solutions. Family Relations, 50, 34 – 40. (Dis)abilities Brabazon, T. (2015). Enabling university: Impairment,(dis)ability and social justice in higher education. Springer. Higbee, J. L., Katz, R. E., & Schultz, J. L. (2010). Disability in higher education: redefining mainstreaming. In Proceedings of 2010 IABR & ITLC Conference. Orlando, FL: IABR. Hong, B. S. (2015). Qualitative analysis of the barriers college students with disabilities experience in higher education. Journal of College Student Development, 56(3), 209-226. Kendall, L. (2016). Higher education and disability: Exploring student experiences. Cogent Education, 3(1), 1256142. Religion Arweck, E. & Nesbitt, E. (2010). Young people's identity formation in mixed-faith families: continuity or discontinuity of religious traditions? Journal of Contemporary Religion, 25, 67-87. Bruce, S. (2011). Defining religion: a practical response. International review of sociology, 21(1), 107-120. Edwards, S. (2017). Intergroup dialogue & religious identity: Attempting to raise awareness of Christian privilege & religious oppression. Multicultural Education, 24(2), 18. Lee, J.J. (2002). Religion and college attendance: Change among students. The Review of Higher Education, 25, 369-384. Patel, E., Montero, J., Love, C., & Giess, M. E. (2016). Navigating conflicts related to religious and non-religious identity on campus. Journal of College and Character, 17(3), 190-196. Peek, L. (2005). Becoming Muslim: The development of a religious identity. Sociology of Religion, 66(3), 215-242. Intersectionality Clark, C., Sapon-Shevin, M., Brimhall-Vargas, M., McGhie, T., & Nieto, S. (2017). Critical multicultural education as an analytical point of entry into discussion of intersectional scholarship: A focus on race, as well as class, gender, sexuality, dis/ability, and family configuration. Taboo: The Journal of Culture and Education, 16(1), 9. Crenshaw, K. (1994). Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. In M. A. Fineman & R. Mykitiuk (Eds.), The public nature of private violence (pp. 93–118). New York: Routledge. Dee, T. S. (2005). A teacher like me: Does race, ethnicity, or gender matter?. American Economic Review, 95(2), 158-165. Reimers, F. A., & Stabb, S. D. (2015). Class at the intersection of race and gender: A 15-year content analysis. The Counseling Psychologist, 43(6), 794-821. |
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