Diversity Management at German Universities
Jutta Rump; Imke Buß; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm; Petra Schorat-Waly
The term "diversity" stands for the difference of people in terms of visible and non-visible characteristics such as gender, nationality, culture, different age groups, world view, religion, sexual orientation as well as people with disabilities. Diversity management is increasingly finding its way into German universities. Originating in the U.S., the approach spread to Germany from the late 1990s, starting with large international companies. The diversity management approach is essentially a strategic field of action that aims to use people's different experiences, competencies, needs and positions to manage diversity and be able to act in an institutional perspective (Linde and Auferkorte-Michaelis 2013). The strategic orientation of German diversity concepts can be viewed from two different angles: on the one hand from the economically oriented "business perspective" and on the other hand from the (human) rights oriented "equity perspective" (Krell 2009). Linde and Auferkorte-Michaelis (2013) note that in the practice of universities, corresponding measures are each thought of together in a balancing act, or even one is used to advertise the other. Meanwhile, diversity at universities is more than a component of personnel policy. It is "not only the subject of research in various disciplines, such as business administration, political science, or sociology, but the university's diversity concepts themselves have become the subject of university research and development and competition (ibid., p. 2 f.).
The institutional embedding of diversity management in the structures of German universities is very diverse. The topic is located with the women's and equal opportunity officers (e.g., University of Frankfurt), in prorectorates with officers assigned to them (e.g., UDE Essen), in separate departments responsible for DiM (e.g., PH Heidelberg), and above all in staff units established as part of the excellence process (e.g., RWTH Aachen), which are responsible for conceptually preparing the process of managing diversity, supporting it, or implementing it together with various university stakeholders (Leicht-Scholten 2012). On the part of academia, professorships (e.g. TU Berlin), pilot projects or entire centers (e.g. HU Berlin) have been established (ibid.).
Opening up higher education to new, highly heterogeneous target groups and dealing constructively with inequalities are important political and social goals in higher education ("Hochschule für alle", HRK 2009) in order to enable educational success based on equal opportunities. Demographic change, the internationalization of universities, new qualification initiatives and concepts for extra-occupational studies as well as lifelong, academic learning demand an appreciative approach to diversity in studying and teaching and make diversity competence an important resource for the corresponding concepts in higher education (Linde and Auferkorte-Michaelis 2013). In contrast to gender-responsive teaching, the specific perspective on diversity in teaching has not yet been implemented much. In inequality research, the work of Lars Schmitt and El-Mafaalani (cited in Linde and Auferkorte-Michaelis 2013) provide insights into structural conflicts and the various forms of social inequality experienced by students of non-academic origin in higher education (ibid.). Buß (2010) and Spelsberg (2013), cited by Linde and Auferkorte-Michaelis (2013) are authors of the few higher education didactic conceptual publications on diversity in teaching and learning (ibid.). Diversity also means complexity, which often leads to the creation of stereotypes and conflicts. Diversity should draw attention to differences between people without this leading to the categorization of social groups and thus to stereotyping processes and conflicts. According to Linde and Auferkorte-Michaelis (2013), this reflects the ambivalence inherent in this construct: on the one hand, students want to fit into the academic community and not be perceived as "different." On the other hand, they have a clear desire for instructors to address them as individuals with specific needs, interests, and motivations. If instructors succeed in adapting to this, it will be rewarded by sustained student engagement ("academic engagement") with the deep learning strategies that often accompany it.
In the current educational policy discussion, diversity and the pedagogical approach of inclusion are seen in a very close connection (ibid.). The broad understanding of both diversity and inclusion means for inclusion as a concept of dealing with diversity to appropriately address the diversity of learners in individual and institutional interactions. It does not only refer to the joint teaching of people with and without disabilities, but focuses on the diversity of all learners, which must be taken into account in an appropriate manner. Thus, it is no longer just about prioritizing "non-traditional" students or special groupings that can be categorized according to a wide variety of criteria, but "toward understanding the nuanced experiences of all students within highly diverse student groups" (ibid., p. 5). The move toward inclusion goes hand in hand with a high demand for dealing with diversity and calls for an adjustment of the system itself (ibid.). For higher education institutions, this means that students will no longer be required to adapt unilaterally, as has been the case in the past, but that there will likewise be a gradual adaptation of educational offerings to the needs of students (ibid., p. 6).
Literature
Hochschulrektorenkonferenz HRK, Die Stimme der Hochschulen (ed.) (2009): A university for all. Recommendation of the 6th General Assembly on 21.4.2009 on studying with disabilities/chronic illness. Bonn. Available online at www.hrk.de/fileadmin/redaktion/hrk/02-Dokumente/02-01-Beschluesse/
Resolution_HS_All.pdf, last checked 08.12.2015.
Krell, G. (2009): Diversity Management: equal opportunities (not only) as a competitive factor, 01.01.2009. Available online at www.bremerforum-diversity.de/pdf/Prof.Dr.GertraudeKrell.pdf, last checked 15.03.2017.
Leicht-Scholten, C. (2009): Diversity management at German universities-an approach. In: Hochschulrektorenkonferenz HRK, Die Stimme der Hochschulen (ed.): Eine Hochschule für alle. Recommendation of the 6th General Assembly on 21.4.2009 on studying with disabilities/chronic illness. Bonn, pp. 8-12. Available online at www.hrk-nexus.de/fileadmin/redaktion/hrk-nexus/07-Downloads/07-02-Publikationen/
nexus-Broschuere-Diversitaet.pdf, last checked 08.12.2015.
Linde, F.; Auferkorte-Michaelis, N. (2013): Diversity-appropriate teaching and learning. Available online at www.fbi.fh-koeln.de/institut/personen/linde/publikationen/
Diversitaetsgerecht_Lehren_und_Lernen_2013_11_20.pdf, last checked 08.12.2015.
Citation
Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra (2017): Diversity and diversity management at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www. hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
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