Humanizing Learning Outcomes for Diversity Requirement Courses: Advocating for and Supporting Social Justice Education

Abstract

Research I universities are increasingly requiring a “diversity” course as part of the general education curriculum. In this chapter, the authors explore how diversity requirement course (DRC) proposals are framed at their institution and share how instructors at their university are framing their own student learning outcomes for these courses: from the perspective of multiculturalism or from the perspective of social justice? The authors describe how a lens of multicultural education frames discussions of diversity as appreciation, awareness, and tolerance, and contend that this approach alone is not sufficient to meet either the intent of DRC initiatives or the goals of equity and inclusion in academia. The authors argue that social justice education (SJE) is a more appropriate instructional framework for DRCs, as it is a humanizing approach that necessitates the crafting of student learning outcomes which specifically address actionable strategies toward opposing marginalization. The authors include selected results from a campus-wide DRC outcomes survey and separate focus group feedback, emphasizing the critical assessment and campus climate aspects of these data. Finally, the authors examine how their faculty development programs and resources are currently assisting DRC instructors with identifying and meeting their needs, and how other faculty developers can expand their support structures in the future to align with the philosophy of SJE.

Citation

West, C.L. and Sandoval, C.L. (2020), "Humanizing Learning Outcomes for Diversity Requirement Courses: Advocating for and Supporting Social Justice Education", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M.S. (Ed.) Developing and Supporting Multiculturalism and Leadership Development: International Perspectives on Humanizing Higher Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 30), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 15-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000030004