Globalization 4.0: Advancing equity and inclusion in international higher education institutions

This article first appeared in HETL Frontiers

Globalization 4.0: Advancing equity and inclusion in international higher

education institutions

Beena Giridharan and Patrick Blessinger

Introduction

In this volatile, super-connected, fast moving, and often chaotic world that is filled with uncertainty, the world-wide population looks towards higher education institutions and academia for solutions. The rapid advances in information technology and the internet have facilitated global communication and the outsourcing of services and production to a macro scale, leading to what is known as Globalization 4.0. Despite these developments, higher education still remains largely out of reach to large sections of populations in the global south. This article will examine how universities and higher education institutions can contribute and adapt to create higher education models that are more equitable and inclusive.

It is indisputable that we need the creativity, expertise, technology and financial resources from all of society to achieve the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) in every context. In particular, Goal 4 of the SDGs is targeted towards achieving inclusive and quality education for all. Embracing equity and inclusion in higher education necessitates providing educational opportunities to students from multiple backgrounds extending across the range of social, economic, ethnic, gender and physical and mental capabilities.

A recent article by Libing Wang (2023) advocates access, quality and equality to be included as part of the fundamental policy pillars of higher education, and goes further to recommend gross enrolment ratios (GERSs), learning outcomes, employment rates and other indicators to be incorporated, and even stratified as a measure to determine progress and equity among students from diverse backgrounds.

Incorporating Diversity in Higher Education Institutions

Many institutions are making distinct appointments such as: Chief Operating Officer for Diversity or Dean for Equity and Inclusion, which is commendable. However, diversity inclusion deserves much more than that. In an Ed Cast given at Harvard, Richard Reddick, (the first Associate Dean appointed at the University of Texas for equity, community engagement and outreach), in an interview with Jill Anderson, states that inclusion denotes going beyond just being able to show numbers, and genuinely occurs when institutions are able to get their employees to have a common shared valued experience (Anderson, 2019).

This means that employees have access to resources and rewards, and this is also reflected in the recruiting and retention of staff (Anderson, 2019). It implies that every individual has a responsibility to engage with one another in a university setting, providing the much needed reassurance that education is a levelling field and that gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation are impediments to progress in learning or work successes. This could be demonstrated in classrooms where professors assign students from diverse backgrounds in project groups, and when academics warmly welcome individuals from different disciplines and backgrounds in research collaborations, and senior executive view appointments and recognitions through a clear lens.

What Roles Can We Adopt to Facilitate Inclusion?

There are a number of strategies that academics and institutions could adopt for achieving sustainable change. MacAulay ( 2022) exhorts academics to take on the role of the reflexive professional which compels us to evaluate the inclusivity of our own classrooms and how our institutions treat marginalised individuals. This involves going beyond just registering the number of students from minority backgrounds. It is critical that we take sustainable steps to ensure authentic measures for classrooms and institutions to create more inclusive higher education environments.

Barnett (2020) recommends including social justice topics in the US higher education curriculum in a meaningful and impactful manner; her studies discovered that students who were introduced to curricula with more social justice elements demonstrated more active political participation compared to students who did not have that opportunity. Barnett ( 2020) suggests a nuanced approach to examine how social justice and other newer curricula may inspire student orientation towards diversity, equity and inclusion issues.

If institutional environments are able to frame student network creations on campus and universities could encourage more engagements between core and fringe students, negative peer interactions could be reduced. Barnett (2020) advocates for institutional leaders to actively create the culture and live the values surrounding issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

As teaching is a continual process of planning, reflecting and adapting, it is imperative that practitioners learn from their own teaching experiences to refine and develop their practice. This entails being a reflexive professional with the aptitude for increased awareness and understanding of our learners’ experiences to support inclusive learning in the classroom.

Students from lower-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds and associated lived experiences often develop unique skills and perspectives that can help them succeed in school and life. Research demonstrates that educators’ beliefs about students’ backgrounds could play a perspicacious role in shaping these understandings and, may extend an important opportunity to support students from lower- SES backgrounds.

In fact, the constructive abilities that students from lower SES backgrounds often bring to their education and the adverse impacts they often face could be attributed partly to the manner in which academic contexts overlook or dismiss the value of students’ lower SES backgrounds (Stephens, Fryberg, et al 2012). A study conducted by Silverman, Hernandez & Destin ( 2023) tested the potential role that educators take on in addressing this incongruity through the expression of “background-specific strengths beliefs” that recognize the value of the unique skills and perspectives that students often gain as a factor of their lower-SES backgrounds. Their study supports the social-psychological theory in relation to how important societal forces shape students’ beliefs and behaviors.

Conclusion

In summary, the article examines how higher education academics, universities and higher education senior executive can contribute and adapt to create higher education models that are more equitable and inclusive. It necessitates constantly evaluating the inclusivity of our classrooms and institutions to minorities and students from lower SES backgrounds. As informed educators, we need to assist in creating tomorrow’s leaders who are aware and ready to change the future of our workforce in order to create a more equitable society.

Beena Giridharan is a professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Health Sciences at the Curtin University Malaysia. Patrick Blessinger is President of the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association (HETL).

References:

Anderson, J. (2019). Colleges as Courageous Spaces, Retrieved 30 Nov 2023 at https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/edcast/19/10/colleges-courageous-spaces

Barnett, R. M (2020). Leading with meaning: Why diversity, equity, and inclusion matters in US higher education. Perspectives in Education, 38(2), 20-35. https://doi.org/10.18820/2519593X/pie.v38.i2.02

MacAulay, D. (2022). The Roles We Play: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Higher Education, Retrieved 1 Dec 2023 at https://www.mheducation.com/highered/ideas/articles/the-roles-we-play-diversity-equity-and-inclusion-in-higher-education

Silverman, D. M., Hernandez, I. A., & Destin, M. (2023). Educators’ Beliefs About Students’ Socioeconomic Backgrounds as a Pathway for Supporting Motivation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 49(2), 215-232. https://doi.org/10.1177/01461672211061945

Stephens, N. M., Fryberg S. A., Markus H. R., Johnson C. S., & Covarrubias R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: How American universities’ focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first- generation college students. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 102(6), 1178– 1197. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0027143

Wang. L. (2023) Equity, inclusion and the transformation of higher education. Retrieved 15 Nov 2023 at https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/equity-inclusion-and-transformation-higher-education

Suggested Citation:

Giridharan, B. and Blessinger, P. (2024). Globalization 4.0: Advancing equity and inclusion in international higher education institutions. Frontiers, Volume 2, Number 1.

Copyright ? [2024] Beena Giridharan and Patrick Blessinger

Disclaimer

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and as such do not necessarily represent the position(s) of other professionals or any institution.