An Intercultural Perspective and Practice at the University

Toward a more inclusive and intercultural learning environment

Over the past decade, the typical Dutch university classroom has turned into an international and ethnically diverse classroom. About 1/3 of the current students are either international or ethnic minority students. This comes with opportunities for more critical thinking and intercultural exchange, but also with challenges such as lower feelings of inclusion and worse (perceived) performance. However, empirical evidence is accumulating that these challenges can be (partially) overcome by adopting a so-called pluralist or intercultural approach. This approach acknowledges cultural differences as a resource for learning, instead of ignoring them (colour-blind approach) or considering them a deficit (assimilationist approach).  

Capitalizing on interdisciplinary insights from psychology, educational science, and communication science, the project developed and implemented a 3-year trajectory of change toward a more inclusive learning environment. It simultaneously targeted different levels (lecturers, students, curriculum and communication) by training lecturers' and students’ diversity knowledge and skills via multiple workshops, and by developing tools to critically assess and ultimately optimize the curriculum and communication in terms of their inclusivity and interculturalism. 

Workshops, curriculum and communication scans, and yearly monitor 

We implemented a multi-levelled trajectory of change toward an intercultural (pluralist) perspective and practice. The following workshops and tools have been developed and implemented: 

• Three workshops for lecturers that:
  • help them scrutinize their own cultural assumptions and foster taking a ‘culturally informed, not knowing’ stance
  • enhance their intercultural communication skills;
  • provide concrete hands-on tools to teach from a pluralist perspective.
• One workshop with an accompanying train-the-trainer program to enhance students’ diversity knowledge and reflexive skills, as well as to affirm how (their own) diverse backgrounds are a resource instead of deficit to learning.
• A curriculum scan that assessed the content and didactics of the first-year curriculum in the UvA FMG. This was done via document-analysis and interviews, thereby critically reflecting on how much non-WEIRD (White-Educated Industrialized-Rich-Democratic) perspectives and diversity-rich pedagogical practices are included.
• A communication scan that assessed FMG’s official communication on diversity. This was done via content coding of letters to students and of faculty websites. We formulated suggestions for an intercultural rather than (current) colour-blind approach to diversity.
• A yearly monitor assessing the UvA FMG diversity climate (2019-2022).
• A study testing the theoretical model among first-year students enrolled in the English (International) and Dutch-speaking tracks of the Psychology program.  

The content of these workshops and tools is based on the state-of-the-art empirical literature on diversity in education in both social and cultural psychology and educational sciences.  

Most activities took place during the Covid-pandemic, although most workshops were delivered in-person in periods when meeting was allowed. Since the pandemic asked so much from universities, staff and students already, it was quite a challenge to maintain attention and to get our tools and workshops implemented. The project nevertheless succeeded thanks to the policy-officer-team-member who closely followed-up with all (high level) UvA-stakeholders. 

Evaluation of workshops and tools: all project goals were met

The lecturer workshops and train-the-trainer program were very positively evaluated, both in terms of content, learning outcomes and way it was delivered. All will be included in the faculty’s BKO-training and are currently taught via the UvA TLC. The curriculum scan was very much welcomed by the FMG leadership, since it shows how little or much diversity there is in the content, didactics and teachers within each department’s curricula. The final report encouraged FMG Directors to further optimize and implement the tool.  

The communication scan mainly pointed to missed opportunities to communicate about diversity in an inclusive way. This was taken to heart by high-placed FMG policy officers who plan to work with our coding scheme in the future. 

All project goals were met; the interdisciplinarity of the team combined with a policy-officer made its success possible.

 Relevante publicaties  

• Celeste, L., Baysu, G., Phalet, K., Meeussen, L., & Kende, J. (2019). Can school diversity policies reduce belonging and achievement gaps between minority and majority youth? Multiculturalism, colorblindness, and assimilationism assessed. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 45(11), 1603-1618.
• Markus, H. R., Steele, C. M., & Steele, D. M. (2000). Colorblindness as a barrier to inclusion: Assimilation and nonimmigrant minorities. Daedalus, 129(4), 233-259.
• Schachner, M. K. (2019). From equality and inclusion to cultural pluralism–Evolution and effects of cultural diversity perspectives in schools. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 16(1), 1-17.
• Stephens, N. M., Fryberg, S. A., Markus, H. R., Johnson, C. S., & Covarrubias, R. (2012). Unseen disadvantage: how American universities' focus on independence undermines the academic performance of first-generation college students. Journal of personality and social psychology, 102(6), 1178.
• Strayhorn, T. L. (2018). College students' sense of belonging: A key to educational success for all students. Routledge.

Producten of presentaties over dit project  

• Diversity approaches matter in international classrooms: how a multicultural approach buffers against cultural misunderstandings and encourages inclusion and psychological safety, De Leersnyder, Gündemir & Ağırdağ, 2021