How Diverse Is Diversity? An Exploration of References to Diversity in the Recent Literature in STEM Higher Education

Autor/inn/en	Bruijnzeel, Amber; Yazilitas, Demet; Smeets, Ionica; De Bruyckere, Pedro; Cramer, Julia
Titel	How Diverse Is Diversity? An Exploration of References to Diversity in the Recent Literature in STEM Higher Education
Quelle	In: European Journal of STEM Education, 7 (2022) 1, Artikel 12 (13 Seiten) PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	2468-1954
Schlagwörter	STEM Education; Educational Research; Disproportionate Representation; Minority Group Students; Minority Group Teachers; Diversity (Faculty); Student Diversity; Gender Differences; Student Characteristics; Teacher Characteristics; Higher Education; College Faculty; College Students + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? STEM; Bildungsforschung; Pädagogische Forschung; Geschlechterkonflikt; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Fakultät; Collegestudent
Abstract	Since STEM knowledge and skills are increasingly being sought after in our information and technology driven economies, it is pivotal that ideas and human resources that foster these economies also reflect the STEM population. Although it is evident from earlier research that specific demographics are clearly underrepresented, little is known about who constitutes as 'diverse', which makes it challenging to develop and assess effective policies aimed at increasing diversity in STEM. Through content analysis, we explore in recent STEM education literature, which groups of students and faculty are referenced in relation to diversity, i.e., groups that are underrepresented. The results reveal 180 uniquely defined references to underrepresented groups in STEM. Our main results show that across articles, the majority of the references to diversity are related to gender (69%), and a considerable portion of references (12%) can be classified under 'other unspecified minorities'. Consequently, the analyzed articles portray a narrow understanding of diversity, and a variety of groups remain unspecified when it comes to background characteristics. To change this, clear definitions of the target groups are necessary and more consensus among the research community about the justifications to include or exclude these groups is needed. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01