Students' attitudes toward diversity in higher education: Findings from a scoping review

Samantha Marangell, Beatrice Venturin, Chi Baik
The University of Melbourne, Australia
Sally Baker
The University of New South Wales, Australia
Gwilym Croucher and Sophie Arkoudis
The University of Melbourne, Australia

To inform future research and enhance intercultural learning in higher education, this article presents findings from a scoping review of international evidence on students' attitudes about the importance of diverse people and beliefs in higher education settings. A final sample of 56 studies were analysed for patterns in their methodological approaches, contexts, aims, and results. Findings suggest that students' conceptualisations of diversity are wider than a focus only on culture, race, or ethnicity, and that students across multiple contexts believe that diversity is an inherent, beneficial part of the learning experience. However, there were inconsistent results related to students' beliefs about the efficacy of diversity practices.
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Authors: Dr Samantha Marangell (corresponding author) is a lecturer at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Melbourne, Australia. Her current research explores the student experience of higher education and students' intercultural experiences at university. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7710-966X Email: samantha.marangell@unimelb.edu.au Dr Beatrice Venturin is a Senior Tutor in Applied Linguistics in the Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research focuses on the roles of emotions and identity in language learning and bilingualism. She also works on diversity and inclusion in higher education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1580-4557 Email: beatrice.venturin@unimelb.edu.au Professor Chi Baik is a Professor of Higher Education in the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research explores factors influencing the educational experiences and outcomes of students from diverse backgrounds in higher education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0480-5522 Email: cbaik@unimelb.edu.au Dr Sally Baker is currently an Associate Professor of Migration and Education at the Australian National University, Australia. She is interested in equity in higher education, particularly the educational access, pathways, and experiences of students with forced migration backgrounds. Sally is the founder of the Refugee Education Special Interest Group (http://www.refugee-education.org/). ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9143-5816 Email: sally.baker@anu.edu.au Dr Gwilym Croucher is an Associate Professor at the Centre for the Study of Higher Education at The University of Melbourne, Australia. A former Fulbright Scholar, his research focuses on different aspects of the political economy of higher education. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1674-9035 Email: gscrou@unimelb.edu.au Professor Sophie Arkoudis is a Professor of Higher Education in the Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education, The University of Melbourne, Australia. Her research program spans English language teaching and assessment in higher education, student employability, quality of teaching and learning, academic workforce and internationalising the curriculum. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3654-3694 Email: s.arkoudis@unimelb.edu.au Please cite as: Marangell, S., Venturin, B., Baik, C., Baker, S., Croucher, G. & Arkoudis, S. (2024). Students' attitudes toward diversity in higher education: Findings from a scoping review. Issues in Educational Research, 34(1), 97-122. http://www.iier.org.au/iier34/marangell.pdf