Diversity Training is Just Teaching

Abstract

Diversity trainings are efforts to teach about issues related to diversity in instructional contexts. These educational programs vary greatly in approach and scope. While some trainings merely seek to raise awareness about bias, others aim to empower trainees with the motivations and skills necessary to reduce social inequality. In this chapter, we show how conceptualizing diversity training as teaching brings clarity to when diversity trainings will “work”. We discuss how straightforward predictions of whether a diversity training will succeed can be made by examining a diversity training’s educational goals, educational content, teaching practices, and the educational needs of its trainees. Finally, we close with recommendations that diversity training researchers and practitioners can apply right now to teach diversity better.