College
Marks 10 Years of Focus on Diversity in Practice
It
used to be known as the Task Force for Multicultural Education.
Now it’s called the Dean’s Council for Diversity. But
no matter how you label it, the group represents the University
of Georgia College of Education’s commitment to fostering
the understanding of and respect for cultural differences that has
become an integral part of the school’s teaching and research
mission over the past decade.
“Perhaps the biggest impact (of multicultural education) has
come from awareness raising – what we teach, what we say,”
said Janette Hill, an associate professor in instructional technology
This has come in many ways – the newsletter, the seminars,
and the library to name a few. I know that my involvement
with the MCTF and now the Dean’s Council on Diversity has
enabled me to re-examine and change what I do in my own practice.
I know this has happened for others, too”
Members of the Dean’s Council – 35 faculty, staff, and
students – were recently reminded of their panel’s
roots when it was noted during an annual retreat that it was the
10th anniversary of the College’s Multicultural Education
Initiative.
“My goal this year is to locate our work in the center of
routine discussions which take place in the college. Diversity cannot
be a separate topic,” said Louis Castenell, dean of the College
of Education.
Ten years ago, the administration and faculty of the College of
Education agreed to make multiculturalism an emphasis in all aspects
of the college. In 1994, the first college-wide conference on multiculturalism
on the UGA campus was held.
“We
were the only college with a dedicated agenda, a formally adopted
mission statement about increasing our effort in multicultural
education,” said Jenny Oliver, director of academic initiatives
and one of the founding members of effort.
“I think the most significant thing about this initiative
is that it has opened up ideological space to discuss issues and
to question, even challenge certain policies and practices,”
said Talmadge Guy, an associate professor of adult education and
another founding member. “On the other hand, 10 years
out, I think there’s still a great deal remaining to be done.
The work is only partly successful and in some ways superficially
so; but the work does continue.”
Many faculty cite self examination of their programs on issues of
diversity as the most valuable contribution of the multicultural
initiative.
“Many
departments had retreats, study groups, speakers, intensive work
sessions, and great debates about how and where to include issues
of diversity in our courses, program requirements, field experiences,
and research processes,” said JoBeth Allen, professor
of language education and another founding member. “This work
will impact every student and faculty member in our programs for
years to come.”
Hill said the multicultural education conferences held a few years
ago were of particular benefit for students. “It not
only provided them with a way to talk about their work, it also
enabled them to meet a lot of leaders from other multiculturalism/diversity
initiatives outside of UGA.”
The effort is clearly reflected in today’s education curriculum.
The College not only complied with the UGA requirement
for undergraduates, but extended a cultural diversity requirement
to the graduate curriculum as well. By 1999, the College had more
than 80 courses whose primary focus was on issues of diversity.
“It was very important to us, especially in teacher education,
to do a good job of preparing culturally competent educators,”
said Oliver, “So, not only do you know how to teach
the lesson but you also know how culture affects the teaching and
learning process.”
The COE’s multicultural initiative has also included the recruitment
and retention of faculty, staff and students of color; faculty and
staff development; research, resource development; and review and
revision of curriculum to include diverse perspectives.
The multicultural initiative also led to the establishment in 1994
of “mini-grants” to provide incentive, help initiate,
and support departmental efforts in multicultural education. Former
Dean Russell Yeany allocated $10,000 in mini-grants for the 1994-95
academic year to be awarded in a competitive application process.
By 2000, 47 mini-grants have been awarded to college faculty, staff
and students to support all-day departmental training on diversity;
conference presentations at state, national and international conferences;
refereed journal articles; seed money to provide baseline data for
competing for larger grants; development of CD-rom instructional
materials; development of instructional videos and teacher guides;
and the establishment of a multicultural library classroom in the
College.
“The grants enabled the research to be conducted – and
then the resulting reports added to our overall knowledge base,”
said Hill.
Now faculty in the College of Education are looking at initiatives
with a larger vision. “We’ve been through several periods
of self-reflection, keeping us contemporary and more in keeping
with cutting-edge issues in diversity,” said Oliver.
Monday, April 12, 2004
WRITER: Michael Childs,
706/542-5889, mchilds@coe.uga.edu
CONTACT: Jenny Oliver, 706/583-8145,
jpo@coe.uga.edu