The impact of poor inclusion efforts on students

Students of colour are no strangers to discrimination and their experiences are often overlooked. This leads them to feel lonely and often helpless as they navigate their student experience. Elijah recounts an incident where he reports a teacher for discriminatory speech. Instead of being supported, he is told that nothing can be done. But perhaps even more troubling than a lack of support is performative support. Elijah shares that there are examples of colleges showcasing people of colour in their college advertisements or creating programmes for students of colour to receive funding when in reality, there is no meaningful action taken to support them.

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What can educators do to promote inclusion and diversity in their schools?

Elijah shares that it is essential that purposeful efforts are made by educators to give minority students and students of colour the opportunity to speak and let their voice be heard. Here, Elijah draws from his experience with the Men of Color Leadership Programme led by Dr Clifford Meeks at Portland Community College. The Men of Color Programme empowers their students of colour by:

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1. Providing a safe space for minority students to gather. Elijah shares that asking questions and checking in on student sentiment is crucial. Simple questions such as, ‘Do you feel like you are supported?’ and ‘If not, what can we do to be better?’ can go a long way.
2. Have the openness and the willingness to listen to their struggles. Asking questions is important but truly listening to students is where the real difference is made. Elijah shares that Dr. Meeks often has long conversations with his students where they simply discuss their experiences and share the challenges they’re facing. With him listening, they feel like they’re not alone in their struggles.
3. Co-create solutions with students. Dr. Meeks doesn’t come in with a plan he created for his students but instead he picks apart their experience together with them. They observe what problems crop up the most in their discussions and work together to find solutions.
4. Build bridges with people in positions of authority. Students, especially minority students, may not always have access to school leadership or people in positions of authority as they’re a smaller segment of the student body. Therefore, if a programme or club can be formed around them and leadership is willing to acknowledge their struggles and work with them, progress can be made to improve their experience.
5. Give them accessibility to the same opportunities as others. Students of colour are often disadvantaged and may not have the resources or connections to pursue opportunities. Deliberate effort must be made to provide these students with access to the same opportunities.

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Inclusion is so crucial because not only does it make a difference in the life of one student when an educator like Dr. Meeks stands up for them and asks ‘How can I help you?’. Listening to them and helping them succeed will breed compassion and enable them down the line to pay it forward and ask another student, ‘How can I help you?’. This creates a chain of support and a community of people who feel empowered to make a difference.

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StudentPulse helps advance diversity and inclusion efforts in schools

StudentPulse is on a mission to empower educational institutions to better understand students’ needs by combining microsurveys with real-time data analytics. Using StudentPulse, educators can advance their inclusion efforts by:

• Reaching out to minority students with microsurveys designed to understand student sentiment on diversity and inclusion. This can also include asking students their opinions on what can be improved to support them.
• Directing students to access and leverage relevant support. For example, if a student indicates in their survey that they feel a low sense of belonging in school and they need help, students can automatically be connected to the appropriate resources, programmes or counsellor. This allows students to get help on an individual level, at the exact time when help is needed.
• Regularly tracking progress against inclusion goals. For example, if a university has inclusion goals and programmes to promote fair treatment, psychological safety and belonging, Student Pulse can be deployed at regular intervals to capture snapshots of student sentiment on the progress of these goals. Data from these microsurveys will be immediately and automatically analysed, patterns and potential issue areas highlighted and recommended actions to improve provided.

To learn more about StudentPulse, feel free to reach out to our team today here or click here to listen to the full version of our podcast with Elijah on the importance of advocating for diversity and inclusion in education. For more resources on fostering racial inclusion in schools, head on over to NCORE https://www.ncore.ou.edu/en/.

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