ERIC Number: EJ1179866
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0363-4523
EISSN: N/A
Defining Diversity: An Analysis of Student Stakeholders' Perceptions of a Diversity-Focused Learning Outcome
Kvam, Dani S.; Considine, Jennifer R.; Palmeri, Tony
Communication Education, v67 n3 p287-307 2018
This study investigates stakeholder perceptions of a communication studies department's diversity-focused learning outcome. Drawing from critical communication pedagogy and based on thematic analysis, we argue that the language of our department's diversity-focused learning outcome (similar to two of the National Communication Association's learning outcomes) allows current and former students to privilege some understandings of the skills and knowledge necessary for communicating in a diverse world over others. The corpus of data for this study includes student-authored self-reflective essays about our diversity-focused learning outcome and focus-group interviews with current and former students. Drawing on Eisenberg's concept of strategic ambiguity and Freire's notion of the banking model of education, we suggest that engaging students in dialogues about diversity-focused learning outcomes may help students understand both how and why to accomplish those outcomes. This study offers an entry point for discussing ways in which we present, implement, teach, and assess our learning outcomes about diversity in communication studies.
Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Stakeholders, Communication (Thought Transfer), Departments, Cultural Pluralism, Cultural Differences, Reflection, Essays, Focus Groups, Student Educational Objectives, Communication Skills, Coding, Ideology, World Views, Values, Racial Identification, Ethnicity, Sexual Identity, Age Groups, Generational Differences, Cultural Awareness, Attitude Change, Undergraduate Students, Interviews
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A