Abstract: Service-learning can be used as a teaching tool to promote social justice, and its implementation can encourage both students’ personal development and social engagement. In this article, I illustrate how service-learning can help students become more self-aware, appreciative of diversity, and agents of social change. This process involves students reaching out to marginalized populations through community placements, reaching in through detailed reflection and introspection about their attitudes and experiences, and reaching around their communities through advocacy and activism to address social problems that are evident at field sites. I include supporting qualitative data that document how these experiences impacted students’ personal growth and civic participation.

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Abstract: Special education master’s degrees are proliferating, most probably in response to the requirement for all special education teachers to be highly qualified. The aim of the study is to evaluate the 10- year Master’s Degree “Educating in Diversity” (MDED) at the University of La Laguna (ULL) and to examine the extent to which the development of diversity competencies in graduates is related to their perceptions of the overall quality of the postgraduate program. Two hundred and eight University students and 235 part-time faculty members evaluated the basic program indicators. Finally, MDED results gathered from 135 postgraduates and 707 beneficiaries indicate high levels of purpose achievement and satisfaction with the program, the faculty, and the curricular content. The framework for improvement in which the MDED is viewed as compatible with national and regional evaluation and accrediting agencies is discussed.

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Abstract: In this study, the practices and views of lecturers who teach inclusive education to trainee primary school teachers are examined in relation to their own inclusive teaching practices as they pertain to working with students with a disability. This examination draws on interview data gleaned from nine university lecturers. These data provide important information about inclusive education practices in higher education institutions generally and, in particular, education faculties. The results of the data analysis indicate that even though all the lecturers self identify as inclusive educators and adopt various inclusive teaching and assessment practices, barriers exist that impede inclusive practice in tertiary settings. Recommendations for future research and training conclude the paper.

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Abstract: There are many challenges facing those educators who strive to ensure that their pre-service teachers understand the issues surrounding equity and social justice. In response to these challenges, and in response to the interests, questions, and concerns of the faculty in a School of Education, two professors worked collaboratively with administrators, faculty, and staff to organize Professional Forums. These Professional Forums were designed to support and engage faculty in the re-visioning of their courses as well as their pedagogical practices for pre-service teachers, with the specific goal of enhancing students’ understanding of equity, social justice and global issues. In this article, we share our objectives, structures, expectations, and outcomes for the six different Professional Forums we designed and implemented over a two-year period.

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Abstract: This article presents a retrospective understanding of self-study by re-living a study abroad experience through critical reflection. It will explain and clarify how reflection and self-study of the personal experiences of a graduate student can enhance the meaning of inclusion. This paper begins with a brief conceptualization of self-study, introduces the details of an international study abroad experience, and then systematically explores three distinct phases in the reflective process. The aim is to clarify and explain the value and importance of self-study for graduate students by demonstrating its application. While one side of the coin represents those educators who encourage the reflection process, the other side of the coin represents those students experiencing self-study.

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Abstract: The Lawrence King murder and other tragedies surrounding transgender youth have prompted a national discussion about the need for schools to be more supportive and inclusive of transgender students. In this multi-authored reflection, the authors describe a series of three introductory activities in an undergraduate educational studies course aimed at cultivating critical consciousness about transgender students. The instructor and students discussed their viewing of televised interviews featuring transgender individuals and participated in a gallery walk and a role-playing activity. These activities cultivated students’ critical awareness of the experiences of transgender students and strategies for creating trans- inclusive classrooms and schools.

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Abstract: Engagement is related to important student outcomes such as persistence, retention, and grades. It is key to all students’ learning, but it may be particularly important for culturally diverse students who may have fewer models and other resources for keeping themselves engaged. As the institutions of higher education become increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse, instructors are challenged to engage a more diverse student population. This paper describes how three university instructors applied the Center for Research on Education, Diversity, and Excellence (CREDE) Standards for Effective Pedagogy to their instruction in courses of general psychology, educational psychology, and statistics in order to increase students’ cognitive and social engagement. The CREDE Standards are strategies of instruction that incorporate small group discussions and making connections between students’ prior experiences and abstract concepts.

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Abstract: The positive effects of diversity coursework on college students are uncontested and the majority of institutions now require some form of diversity content. However, not all students engage in this content in the same way, and heterosexual White male students may show ardent resistance to diversity courses and the faculty teaching them. Faculty of color disproportionately teach diversity courses, and some White faculty may avoid teaching about topics of human difference altogether. This article shares the results of a phenomenological study with 92 undergraduate White heterosexual male participants at 10 institutions throughout the United States. Data analysis reveals participant perceptions of the lack of depth in required diversity courses, of the need to weave diversity throughout the major course of study, and of the skills and behaviors of faculty teaching diversity content. Recommendations to incorporate the teaching of diversity and pedagogical strategies for faculty are offered.

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Abstract: Emotional labor accompanying academic work is often gendered and racialized, and such labor may be heightened for those teaching diversity courses. This article reports on interviews with 38 faculty members teaching diversity courses required as part of general education programs at three predominantly White liberal arts colleges in the Southeastern U.S. Findings detail the types and examples of emotional labor performed, as well as faculty members’ rhetorical framing of the concept as either an expectation or choice and their attempts to set boundaries around emotional work or opt out of performing it altogether. This study leads to implications for faculty and graduate student training and socialization, as well as implications for institutional leaders to acknowledge, value, and limit emotional labor.

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