Abstract
Research on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in higher education generally places the responsibility of DEI work on students and administrators. There is little research on the role of faculty in advancing DEI work within their classrooms. Since the majority of student learning occurs within a classroom setting with faculty as instructors, it is vital that we take a deep look at faculty and their role in incorporating and advancing campus DEI goals. The objective of this research study is to critically evaluate college faculty experiences in navigating diversity, equity, and inclusion in their classrooms, teaching, methods, and teaching material in order to understand how faculty can be better included in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts on college campuses. By understanding faculty experiences with creating and maintaining inclusive classroom environments for students, we can better understand how faculty should be supported in making DEI a reality in their classrooms which contributes to advancing campus wide DEI goals. In this qualitative study, faculty were surveyed about their understanding of DEI concepts and how they use DEI in their pedagogical practices. Grounded theory was used to analyze survey responses. The results of this study show that some faculty create and maintain diverse, equitable, and inclusive classrooms through strategic, research-backed, pedagogical strategies and personal development, even while not always understanding DEI concepts. Other faculty do not show a strong understanding of DEI concepts, so it is unlikely they are able to create or maintain diverse, equitable, and inclusive classrooms for students.
The responses in this study show that although professors appear to support DEI, they do not completely understand these concepts and how to apply them pedagogically. Because of this, education and professional development is highly recommended to help faculty master DEI concepts so that they can better serve students.