“I can’t define it, but I know what it feels like”:

Student Conceptions of Inclusivity at Middlebury

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Fall Faculty Forum- October, 2018

Shawna Shapiro

Writing and Rhetoric, Linguistics

sshapiro@middlebury.edu

The “Why”

• Ongoing conversations on our campus
• What are we really talking about?�
• National conversations (and survey design)�
• Linguists love unpacking discourse!�

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The “What”

· Phase 1: (preliminary) �“Students’ experiences engaging across difference”

• Online survey (80 participants)
• Individual interviews (19 participants) �(see Inside HE article for more on this phase)

Phase 2: piloting- informal, unrecorded interviews� (30 participants)

Phase 3: formal, recorded interviews, with IRB approval (19+ participants)

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The “How”

• Student-to-student interviews
• Phenomenological
• start with lived experience, rather than abstraction
• “consensus” not the main goal
• Focus on dynamics inside and outside the classroom
• Inductive approach to analysis (“grounded theory”)

Key finding: Inclusivity is both simple and complicated

“[It’s] an environment in which each student is respected and embraced by their peers.”

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Inclusivity is connected to

Welcome

Belonging

Caring

Authenticity

Privilege

Diversity

Identities

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Inclusivity is not just about being “comfortable”

“If you are stuck in a bubble, there is no room to grow as a person.”

”Leaning into discomfort plays a role in inclusivity. Just because something is an awkward moment…We shouldn’t shy away from it, but instead lean into that discomfort with a baseline of an open mind.”

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But students must be ‘set up’ to engage discomfort productively

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• “We need to “see the person as a person and not just a clump of ideas.”

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• “Be more open to understanding someone’s views by getting to know them and where they come from and why they may have those views.”

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• “The fear of ostracization is terrifying … of being the only one �and a social outcast.”�

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Cultivating Communit(ies)

• Acknowledging the difficult social dynamics (also see Campus article 10/4/18)
• Many students don’t feel that they “fit the Middlebury mold”
• Social segregation and stratification is experienced�by all sorts of students�
• Engaging in ongoing get-to-know-yous (not just during orientation/Day 1)
• Classroom activities and assignments that invite personal sharing
• Opportunities to “branch out” and meet new friends after first year�
• Naming what we see/know (especially in terms of privilege)
• “Acknowledging that not everyone comes from the same background educationally…and not everyone had access to the same resources growing up, so people come in with different levels of preparation for this school.”

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‘Doing’ difference

• Set appropriate expectations (not changing minds, but�connecting, understanding, building empathy)�
• Consider the best set-up and help develop the necessary skill set.
• Don’t assume that anyone already knows how to do this (including faculty!!)�
• Offer opportunities for trouble-shooting.
• How do we “talk WITH--not just AT each other”?
• How do we “call out” someone in a way that’s not dehumanizing?
• How do we slow down enough to do any of this?

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Lingering questions

1. Is “inclusivity” the best word to capture this phenomenon? �Is the word itself inherently exclusionary?�
2. Does this research support what we’re doing (and/or planning to do) as an institution?�
3. What does actual “culture shift” look like in higher education, and how do we map out a roadmap for getting there?

Thank you!!!

Especially to the RAs who’ve worked on this project!

Bryan Diaz

Abla Lallaam

Casey Lilley

Jed Sass

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For more about my work, and link to this ppt:�http://sites.middlebury.edu/shapiro/