Inclusion and Belonging in Irish Higher Education for Black and Minority Ethnic Students

Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as an analytical prism, this study interrogates the sense of belonging and inclusion experienced by Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students on one higher education campus in Ireland. The most important story told within the study is as simple as it is complicated. The simple part is that the BME students felt that the campus was inclusive and that they experienced a sense of belonging. The complicated part is that the findings are premised in a normative assumption of whiteness as evidenced by numerous and incremental moments of exclusion in the daily experience of microaggressions, the mispronunciation of name, curriculum and pedagogical exclusions. The article uses this case to reflect on how the higher education experience can be made more inclusive by developing a race consciousness to embrace campus diversity, minimise microaggressions and create inclusive learning environments. Suggestions for inclusive practice are considered in the conclusion

Belonging at ITB: The use of photovoice methodology (PVM) to investigate inclusion and exclusion at ITB based on ethnicity and nationality from a student perspective

The aim of this research is to sensitise readers to issues of inclusion and exclusion on campus at ITB in order to deepen our capacity to empathise with our students in a meaningful, accessible and evocative way in relation to ethnicity and/or nationality. Using Photovoice Methodology (PVM), the objective is to investigate the use of space and place that students occupy on campus. The outcomes of the research through images and text reveal surroundings on campus that students find inclusive and exclusive. The paper begins with a review of the literature salient to the topic. Then follows a description of PVM as a site of social import for inclusion and belonging at ITB so that the students could express inclusion and exclusion from their perspectives. The analysis, findings and discussion interrogates the images and text to reveal patterns, draw conclusions and provide recommendations on how the campus of ITB can be more inclusive for all students

Diversity in the Workplace

According to the preliminary report from the central statistics office concerning the Census 20021 net immigration continues to rise. Net immigration (the balance between inward and outward migration) is estimated to have reached 28,800 in the year to April 2002. The number of immigrants is estimated to have increased to 47,500 in the year to April 2002. The main features of these figures are: Nearly half of all immigrants originated from outside the EU and USA. 50% of the immigrants were aged 25-44 years. Returning Irish immigrants continue to be the largest immigrant group, though this share has been declining steadily from its 1999 level of 55 per cent. 35% are nationals of countries other than the EU and USA. This compares with over 26% in the previous year. UK nationals represent 11% of immigrants compared with 13% for the rest of the EU. All counties benefited from the combined effect of inward and internal migration flows during 1996-2002. The greatest gains were recorded in Meath, Kildare, Westmeath, Wexford and Laois. Immigrant workers, the traveling community, single parent households, older workers, women in the workplace, workers of colour, workers with limited educational experience, persons with disabilities and dual career families all represent in real terms how diverse the Irish workplace has become. Workplace diversity is a multifaceted issue as outlined above. It is a hope and aspiration that most people hold the belief that every human being is of equal worth, entitled to the same privileges and opportunities, without regard to race, gender, disability or age. This fundamental belief has led to changes in management practices primarily relating to the recruitment, training and retention of employees who reflect the changing face of the Irish workforce

Zoned Out: How Residential Zoning Policy and Housing Are Linked to Schooling in Connecticut

In Connecticut, the majority of low-income children, unlike their higher-income peers, are enrolled in the poorest performing public schools, which leads to economically segregated school district populations. These observations raise important questions about the external barriers that prevent economic diversity in Connecticut’s schools. The study identifies housing policy – specifically, restrictive zoning practices – as an external barrier and raises two questions: Does restrictive zoning correlate with the price of single-family homes? Is residential zoning policy associated with school district performance? Employing a cross-sectional, quantitative approach, this study examines the consequences of housing policy on public school district performance. Data are collected on municipal-level zoning ordinances for 166 municipalities in Connecticut and on statewide standardized exam scores by school district. The findings suggest that restrictive residential zoning policies that limit the development of economically diverse housing correlate with school district performance. The results do not suggest strong correlations between restrictive zoning and housing cost; however the findings suggest the less restrictive the municipal zoning policy, the lower the school district performance on state exams. These findings recognize a housing policy that contributes to the economic segregation of Connecticut public schools and arguably to the significant difference in performance among public schools

Building MultiStories: A Framework to Diversify the Curriculum in Higher Education

Building MultiStories is a collaborative process by academic staff, library staff and students to identify changes to curricula, to resources and to assessments that consider alternative epistemologies and diverse knowledge sources. Please find the Interactive Version here: https://view.genial.ly/618a80bf90bb540dcc7849d3/presentation-building-multistoriesa-framewor

Knowledge and Value Development in Management Consulting

The relationship between management consultants and their clients plays a key part in the success of consulting firms. To develop an understanding of the dynamics of the clientconsultant relationship, the authors reviewed literature in the areas of intangible professional services, impression management, perception and the interaction process. A model is proposed and the authors use a case study to emphasise areas highlighted by the literature. The authors contend that impression management, aided by positive perception and the development of the client-consultant relationship, is an important motivational force in securing consulting projects. It upholds the model for understanding the client-consultant relationship

Building MultiStories: Embedding the library services for inclusive teaching and learning in a diverse curriculum.

There is an expanding shift in the academy to pedagogical developments that aim to address the shortage of custodians of knowledge from Black and ethnic minorities as a contributing factor in sustaining systemic racism and stereotypes in higher education. Further to this, Appleton states that decolonising will only take place and be successful if there are real structural changes in the module, programme, inside the classroom and across the university to create equity and fairness of experience and outcome for every student irrespective of their background. Building MultiStories is constructed as a process whereby staff and students, together, work to identify changes to their curricula, to resources and to assessments that consider alternative epistemologies. The initial pilot took the approach of embedding information literacy teaching from the library services into a business module, \u27Diversity in the Workplace’, to develop the skillset of the students, to search for, discover, and critically analyse resources through the lens of diversification. This enabled them to interact with potentially new materials and knowledges and to reflect on this. A ‘Discover Diversity’ library collection, will be further expanded based on the students\u27 recommendations

Belonging on Campus: An exploratory study of the continuities, the contradictions and the consequences for Black and Minority Ethnic students in higher education

What we know about Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students, on campus depends on where we look. Limited research exists documenting the lived experiences of BME students in Irish higher education institutions and an understanding of the components of the campus environment that affect a sense of belonging for BME students remains elusive. My overarching understanding of inclusion in the context of this research relates to students who have self-identified as being from ethnically and culturally diverse minority backgrounds and is situated in their experience of the campus as a place of belonging and inclusion at Technological University Dublin, Blanchardstown Campus. My research highlights the prominence of Eurocentric curricula and a predominantly White academy which characterise the continuities of White privilege in this study, assimilation as means of fitting in (the contradictions) and underestimating the impact of misrecognition based on name and appearance along with the cumulative effects of experiencing microaggressions on a daily or weekly basis (the consequences). In arriving at my conceptual framework through a bricolage research approach, a number of theoretical perspectives were adopted. Scholarship under review considered the impact of social geographies of inclusion and belonging, critical race theory (CRT), and the psychological impact of racial-ethnic microaggressions. My research is applied and is located within a framework underpinned by inclusion. Utilising photovoice methodology (PVM) and thematic analysis, the key findings presented emphasise contradictory ways in which the campus includes and excludes BME students. The participants’ narratives suggest that the campus is diverse and inclusive while also experiencing it as discriminatory and exclusive. Combining the components of my research permits me to establish conceptual links between the findings, to synthesise evidence into conceptual conclusions and to demonstrate an understanding of the academic content in which my research is located in the chapters that follow. The findings inform an overarching narrative that recommends a campus wide environment assessment underpinned by a culturally conscious campus with brave spaces, to advance the belonging and inclusion of our diverse student population. The conclusions of my study demonstrate a lack of recognition of the ethnic and cultural differences that students bring to our classrooms; the need to connect our content, teaching and assessment for BME students; to increase our understanding of the points of pain and frustration that our students experience daily or weekly on campus, and to strengthen the academy to become ethnically literate educators. My research has implications for curriculum design and pedagogical reforms. It invokes creative controversy. The conclusions and recommendations provided advocate for a change in the cultural paradigm that currently influences the university. This requires the dissemination of the findings of my research at a local level and beyond, to raise awareness and to inform students and staff that only when a campus is truly inclusive, can it make a claim to excellence

Belonging on Campus: An exploratory study of the continuities, the contradictions and the consequences for Black and Minority Ethnic students in higher education

What we know about Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) students, on campus depends on where we look. Limited research exists documenting the lived experiences of BME students in Irish higher education institutions and an understanding of the components of the campus environment that affect a sense of belonging for BME students remains elusive. My overarching understanding of inclusion in the context of this research relates to students who have self-identified as being from ethnically and culturally diverse minority backgrounds and is situated in their experience of the campus as a place of belonging and inclusion at Technological University Dublin, Blanchardstown Campus. My research highlights the prominence of Eurocentric curricula and a predominantly White academy which characterise the continuities of White privilege in this study, assimilation as means of fitting in (the contradictions) and underestimating the impact of misrecognition based on name and appearance along with the cumulative effects of experiencing microaggressions on a daily or weekly basis (the consequences). In arriving at my conceptual framework through a bricolage research approach, a number of theoretical perspectives were adopted. Scholarship under review considered the impact of social geographies of inclusion and belonging, critical race theory (CRT), and the psychological impact of racial-ethnic microaggressions. My research is applied and is located within a framework underpinned by inclusion. Utilising photovoice methodology (PVM) and thematic analysis, the key findings presented emphasise contradictory ways in which the campus includes and excludes BME students. The participants’ narratives suggest that the campus is diverse and inclusive while also experiencing it as discriminatory and exclusive. Combining the components of my research permits me to establish conceptual links between the findings, to synthesise evidence into conceptual conclusions and to demonstrate an understanding of the academic content in which my research is located in the chapters that follow. The findings inform an overarching narrative that recommends a campus wide environment assessment underpinned by a culturally conscious campus with brave spaces, to advance the belonging and inclusion of our diverse student population. The conclusions of my study demonstrate a lack of recognition of the ethnic and cultural differences that students bring to our classrooms; the need to connect our content, teaching and assessment for BME students; to increase our understanding of the points of pain and frustration that our students experience daily or weekly on campus, and to strengthen the academy to become ethnically literate educators. My research has implications for curriculum design and pedagogical reforms. It invokes creative controversy. The conclusions and recommendations provided advocate for a change in the cultural paradigm that currently influences the university. This requires the dissemination of the findings of my research at a local level and beyond, to raise awareness and to inform students and staff that only when a campus is truly inclusive, can it make a claim to excellence

CoCREATE: Collaborative Curriculum Reimagining and Enhancement Aiming to Transform Education

The establishment of TU Dublin in January 2019 provided a unique opportunity to create a bespoke curriculum framework for students, staff and stakeholders of TU Dublin, produced by the students, staff and stakeholders of TU Dublin. A curriculum framework is a set of guiding values that inform the design of teaching and learning activities within TU Dublin. A Teaching Fellowship Team, comprising eighteen teaching academics from across the three TU Dublin campuses and supported extensively by the Learning Teaching and Technology Centre (LTTC), was formed to collaboratively craft, in partnership with all stakeholders, a curriculum framework for TU Dublin. Working collaboratively under the project name CoCREATE (Collaborative Curriculum Reimagining and Enhancement Aiming to Transform Education) the Teaching Fellowship Team developed TU Dublin’s CoCREATED Curriculum Framework over eighteen months. The design and development of the CoCREATED Curriculum Framework was informed by consultation with all key stakeholders across all campuses, examination and synthesis of local, national and international best practice and policy, as well as relevant scholarly literature. The framework is underpinned by the core values and mission of TU Dublin, as well as local and national strategic plans. It provides a distinctive but tangible learning philosophy for all at TU Dublin. The framework is both considered, flexible and progressive so as to adapt to the diversity within TU Dublin, including accredited programmes, and is inclusive of all learners across the university. The four curriculum values of the TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework are: Step forward and try new things Use all of our talents; everyone has something to learn and something to teach Make our learning experience active, useful and related to the world Create the space and time to do work that matters This new, dynamic and evolving TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework characterises an innovative, responsive and caring learning environment for the diversity of our university’s student population across all programme levels. Simultaneously, it developed a synergy between staff, students, professional bodies, industry and community partners through a collaborative design process. It is as inspiring, distinctive and pioneering as Ireland’s first Technological University. The CoCREATED Curriculum Framework will support staff and students to develop a unique approach to teaching and learning, which will characterise a TU Dublin teaching and learning experience, and ultimately a TU Dublin graduate, in a competitive national and international higher education space. Going forward, the TU Dublin CoCREATED Curriculum Framework will empower the judicious creation of rich and diverse curricula across all disciplines and levels within TU Dublin, from apprenticeship, through undergraduate, to structured PhD