Human Diversity At Kennedy King College Fall 2012 DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 1 Prepared by Robert Rollings, spring 2014

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 2 Human Diversity is defined by distinctions including.. Age Citizenship Education Ethnicity Gender Health Language Marital status National origin Physical attributes Disabilities Race Religion Sexual orientation, Socio-economic status Veteran status Political beliefs …and many other differences in cultural expression and tradition.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 3 In Fall 2012, Kennedy King College conducted an online survey to measure success in its general education goal of student understanding of and respect for human diversity. 751 students participated The objective of this report is to locate problem spots and possible methods by which KKC can improve its operations and outcomes with regard to Human Diversity. Human Diversity

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 4 Students overall perceive KKC as slightly less discriminatory than their previous experience. Never Always Occasionally Frequently Responses to these questions interpreted in isolation would also seem to indicate that overall student experience with discrimination is quite low.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 5 This remained the case when minority group responses were isolated by pertinent kinds of discrimination The only exception was transgender students regarding gender discrimination. The College should have increasing non-traditional gender identities in the 21 st century on its radar. Never Occasionally Frequently Always

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 6 KKC students overall rated themselves extremely highly in diversity and tolerance. Math ability and knowledge about the cultural background of others were the only areas in which over 10% of students admitted any weakness. The survey did not query how students rated themselves in honest self-assessment. However, nearly all of them described themselves as strong in everything! Self-description relates to experience in complicated ways.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 7 Students report only occasional discrimination on average, but they may have been interpreting that question to mean overt individual discrimination. An array of other responses suggest a clear conclusion: KKC students experience subtle and institutional discrimination as an everyday part of their lives.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 8 Over 1/3 and report discrimination from our own offices. Over 1/2 feel there are expectations about their academic performance based on some aspect of their identity. Over 1/3 feel a need to minimize some unchangeable aspect of themselves to fit in.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 9 Our own categories of administration can be discriminatory or exclusionary in ways we do not intend Ethnicity Official KKC Statistics from District Office Over 6% of survey respondents identified as multi-racial, but official CCC statistics only allow students to select one Race. Results from KKC Survey Official CCC statistics make the choice of being Hispanic exclusive of being Black, White, or any other group. How do the limited options for ethnicity constrain and create identities for our students?

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 10 Our own categories of administration can be discriminatory or exclusionary in ways we do not intend Official KKC Statistics from District Office Results from KKC Survey However, such categories do not exist in current CCC statistics. Human Diversity survey results suggest that our data collection standards may be eliding certain minority groups from visibility. Over 1% of survey respondents identified as transgendered rather than male or female, and more may have identified with other labels which have increased in visibility in recent decades had they been available on the survey.

There is a gulf between student openness to difference and actual experience with difference.

7% of respondents reported little or no interaction with Black or African American people at KKC. Considering that only 10% of all respondents were non-Black, what does this say about racial interactions on campus?

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 13 The ethnic composition of where respondents grew up, where they went to high school, their friends before KKC, and their friends since coming to KKC remains staggeringly consistent. All or nearly all white Mostly white Half white & half people of color Mostly people of color All or nearly all people of color Each of these responses correlates directly with the other three with a p<

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 14 Students who report having had more hostile interactions with or felt threatened or insulted by persons from other ethnic or racial groups answered questions indicating that they are less comfortable and familiar with human diversity in general. More specifically, they are more likely to… …report little to no interaction with Blacks …report more frequent experience of discrimination based on all aspects of their identity …report more frequent discomfort with people of every axis of difference surveyed, including race, sexuality, religion, language, and age …believe that emphasizing diversity contributes to disunity on campus …express an inability to remain friends with someone who came out with a different sexuality …believe that women should not be taken as seriously as men in the classroom …believe that speaking languages other than English should not be encouraged in the U.S. …report that KKC students resent others diverse from themselves and that KKC does not promote respect for diversity …believe that discrimination based on diversity is no longer a problem in Chicago p<.01 for all correlations

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 15 Although several causal interpretations are possible, it is reasonable to hypothesize that participating in clubs or any student activity will expose students to people different from themselves, and these experiences lead students to be more accepting and understanding of difference. These same students report feeling pressured to participate in diversity- related activities. Attempting to induce these students to attend such activities may thus be a poor strategy. These same students are also less likely to have ever participated in social clubs or other forms of students engagement.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 16 Never Daily A few times per week A few times per month A few times per year A majority of students report participating in clubs or volunteer activities no more than a few times a year prior to enrolling at KKC. A third reported having never participated in clubs. Student engagement is a measurable variable around which actionable strategies can be formed. Kennedy King College’s initiative toward student engagement may therefore be an initiative toward respect for diversity as well.

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 17 Students who have completed more credit hours at Kennedy King College correlated with higher… …desire to learn about other groups, to teach about their own, and to bridge gaps among groups …enjoyment of classes that emphasize contributions from other cultures and agreement with the Human Diversity course requirement …time spent among a broader array of ethnic, religious, and age groups p<.05 for all correlations It is unclear to what extent students have become more attuned to issues of diversity by attending KKC and to what extent those hostile to diversity are less likely to continue their studies. However, we can forward the more optimistic proposition that students learn more tolerant attitudes at this college as a testable hypothesis, to be gauged by questions in the next Human Diversity survey.

Actionable Steps DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY 18 Promote student engagement in activities among diverse groups in order to facilitate discussion and learning among them Consider means by which to measure the gender, racial, and other categories which current metrics may elide from visibility Determine strategies to decrease student perception of expectations put on them because of invidious distinctions Questions to Ask for the Next Study Over 1/3 of respondents report discrimination from our offices; what kinds of discrimination are they experiencing, and what can we do about it? Do experiences at KKC create measurable differences in attitudes toward diversity? Do Human Diversity classes in specific create measurable differences in these attitudes? Where prejudice exists, what causes or correlated factors can KKC identify and address through teaching or other institutional resources?

DRAFT - FOR DISCUSSION ONLY19 What are Your Ideas?