Peeling the Onion: Diversity and Inclusion for All Students in All Classrooms
Dyanis Popova and Gresilda A. Tilley-Lubbs
Virginia Tech
Abstract: The presentation addresses the various facets of diversity with special emphasis on
the participants engaging in activities that allow them to recognize and understand their own
“invisible” diversity. The basic premise of the presentation focuses on developing an awareness
of one’s own cultural perspectives in order to better understand the multiple diverse cultural
perspectives encountered in the classroom (Banks & Banks, 2013). The session begins with an
exercise that guides participants through constructing definitions and descriptions of diversity in
terms of nationality, race/ethnicity, religion, exceptionality/non-exceptionality, social class, age,
and gender. Working in small groups, participants will define and describe their own diversity,
both within the macroculture of the United States and the microcultures of their own
backgrounds. Following an interactive presentation regarding common misconceptions about
diverse students, participants will use case studies to examine manifestations of both invisible
and visible diversity within classrooms. This activity will allow participants to discuss how the
cultural differences and similarities all students bring to the educational experience can enhance
the learning environment for all class members. Lastly, participants will work in groups to
design their own plan of action for developing practices that demonstrate inclusive excellence in
their own classrooms.
Literature Review
American university classrooms have become increasingly diverse based on demographic changes and
increasing awareness of the multiple facets that shape cultural perspective. Conversely, the faculty who
teach these courses has remained fairly consistent with diversity having little representation among those
who deliver the courses.
Between 1980 and 2008, the White population of the United States declined from 80% to about
66%, and as of 2007, 14% of the general population was born outside the country (Aud, Fox, &
Kemal-Remani, 2010). This student diversity however, is not reflected in teachers and
administrators as approximately 85% of K-12 teachers are White (Feistritzer, Griffin &
Linnajarvi, 2011). [Consequently] . . . teachers and students . . . inhabit different worlds, without
full comprehension of or appreciation for each other’s lived experiences and realities (Gay,
2011; Sleeter, 2001) . . . which in turn presents its own challenges in the classroom.
. . . . Teachers may not yet have had direct contact with diverse persons and may potentially
bring distorted perceptions and opinions into the classroom, which may in turn affect
pedagogical efficacy, i.e. their ability to effectively convey lesson content to every student in the
class. Teachers may view their life experiences as social norms, thus applying deficit notions to
students from marginalized groups (Ford & Quinn, 2010; Sharma, 2007; Silverman, 2010), and
as Ladson-Billings (1995) notes, the potential for cultural mismatches, real or perceived, may
impede student learning and real-world applications of lesson content, potentially bringing
distorted perceptions and opinions into the classroom, which may in turn affect pedagogical
efficacy, i.e. their ability to effectively convey lesson content to every student in the class
(Popova, unpublished manuscript).
Even though many instructors may not have had personal experiences with diversity, they may
still have good intentions regarding the diverse students in their classrooms. Consequently, they may
enact “color-blind or culture-blind ideologies, unprepared to confront the influence of history, politics,
and economics on their students and classrooms (Liggett & Finley, 2009 in Popova, unpublished
manuscript). By so doing, they negate the challenges their diverse students may face on a daily basis and
the way these challenges affect their learning experiences in the classroom. Even though many
institutions have adopted models of inclusive excellence (Williams, Berge, & McClendon, 2005) at the
administrative level, faculty continue to struggle with ways to create classrooms that in practice embrace
inclusive excellence.
Objectives
Upon completion of the session, participants will be able to:




Define and describe various aspects of diversity;
Identify reasons regarding the importance of recognizing and appreciating diversity in the classroom;
Develop strategies for implementing the movement from “doing diversity” to enacting diversity in
the classroom setting; and
Apply practices for inclusive excellence in the classroom.
Description
The presentation addresses the various facets of diversity with special emphasis on the participants
engaging in activities that allow them to recognize and understand their own “invisible” diversity. The
basic premise of the presentation focuses on developing an awareness of one’s own cultural perspective
in order to better understand the multiple diverse cultural perspectives encountered in the classroom
(Banks & Banks, 2013). The session begins with an exercise that guides participants through constructing
definitions and descriptions of diversity in terms of nationality, race/ethnicity, religion,
exceptionality/non-exceptionality, social class, age, and gender. Working in small groups, participants
will define and describe their own diversity, both within the macroculture of the United States and the
microcultures of their own backgrounds. Following an interactive presentation regarding common
misconceptions about diverse students, participants will use case studies to examine manifestations of
both invisible and visible diversity within classrooms. This activity will allow participants to discuss how
the cultural differences and similarities all students bring to the educational experience enhance the
learning environment for all class members. Lastly, participants will work in groups to design their own
plan of action for developing practices that demonstrate inclusive excellence in their own classrooms.
References
Aud, S., Fox, M., and Kewal-Ramani, A. (2010). Status and trends in the
education of racial and ethnic groups (NCES 2010-015). U.S. Department
of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC:
U.S. Government Printing Office.
Banks, J. A. & Banks, C. A. M. (2013). Multicultural education: Characteristics and goals. In J. A. Banks & C. A.
M. Banks (Eds.), Multicultural education: Issues and perspectives (8th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley &
Sons, Inc.
Feistritzer, C. E., Griffin, S., & Linnajarvi, A. L. (2011). Profile of teachers in the
U.S. 2011. National Center for Education Information. Washington, DC:
Library of Congress.
Ford, T. L. & Quinn, L. (2010). First year teacher education candidates: What are
their perceptions about multicultural education? Multicultural Education,
17(4), 18-24.
Gay, G. (2011). Acting on beliefs in teacher education for cultural diversity.
Journal of Teacher Education, 61(1-2), 143-152.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy.
American Education Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491.
Liggett, T. & Finley, S. (2009). Upsetting the apple cart: Issues of diversity in preservice teacher education. Multicultural Education, 16(4), 33-38.
Popova, D. (2012). The way forward: Integrating multicultural education into teacher education programs.
(Unpublished manuscript). Virginia Tech.
Sharma, S. (2007). The education of culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Journal of College Teaching and Learning, 4(11), 19-29.
Silverman, S. K. (2010). What is diversity? An inquiry into pre-service teacher
beliefs. American Educational Research Journal, 47(2), 292-329.
Sleeter, C. E. (2001). Preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools: Research
and the overwhelming presence of whiteness. Journal of Teacher Education, 52(2), 94-106.
Williams, D. A., Berger, J. B., & McClendon, S. A. (2005). Toward a model of inclusive excellence and change in
post-secondary institutions. Association of American Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from
http://www.aacu.org/inclusive_excellence/documents/williams_et_al.pdf