The concept of diversity in the university from the institutional policy and the beliefs of the teaching and research staff. Convergences and disagreements

Abstract

The institutional policies of higher education are promoting practices in the field of diversity in many regions of the world, but they are not doing so from univocal meanings nor probably in coordination with the understandings of diversity maintained by the different groups of the university community. From this initial hypothesis, the article is aimed at reviewing recent research on perspectives on diversity that derive, on the one hand, from the discourse of leaders and institutional documentation of universities and, on the other, from the information provided by teaching and research staff, in order to identify convergences and disagreements within the decision-making and practical fields, as well as between them. The results of the studies reviewed suggest that, in higher education, conceptions of diversity by high-level institutional leadership are partial and mostly non-critical, but are prioritized in their translation into practice with little resistance from faculty, whose beliefs about diversity are generally not characterized by too much consistency or commitment,  except in certain minorities that have the support of intermediate leaders, but whose effectiveness is sometimes blurred in institutional dynamics. Although, in general terms, Western university policies have long recognized intergroup differences and guide the implementation of diversity actions, there is still a lack of proactive leadership with a holistic and critical understanding of diversity that promotes a more shared knowledge and awareness in the university community about the needs of all vulnerable groups and individuals.