Student Perceptions of DEI in Conservation: An Assessment of an Undergraduate Course
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.56103/nactaj.v68i1.160Keywords:
diversity, ecology, curriculum, inclusionAbstract
Few undergraduate courses in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) majors provide meaningful focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) or addressing biases in science. Embracing DEIJ during this stage is essential for equipping students to participate constructively in solutions to these longstanding challenges, especially as the career landscape continues to evolve. This study focuses on a course designed to address this gap by providing students with the opportunity to critically reflect on the founding principles of conservation, to understand the long term impacts that colonialism, racism, and sexism have had on the field, and to introduce students to diverse perspectives (i.e. other ways of knowing; indigenous perspectives), thus providing a more holistic understanding of the structures and influences on modern conservation. Overall, we found that students responded very positively to the course and showed strong interest in these topics, including how addressing DEIJ could impact and improve the conservation field. Our experience suggests a broad desire among students for more DEIJ content that gives them a more holistic understanding of the conservation field and provides inclusive practices that address the long-standing issues in our field.
Downloads
References
Arif, S., Massey, M.D.B., Klinard, N., Charbonneau, J., Jabre, L., Martins, A.B., Gaitor, D., Kirton, R., Albury, C., & Nanglu, K. (2021). Ten simple rules for supporting historically underrepresented students in science. PLOS Computational Biology, 17(9), e1009313. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1009313
Bailey, K., Morales, N., & Newberry, M. (2020). Inclusive conservation requires amplifying experiences of diverse scientists. Nature: Ecology and Evolution, 4, 1294-1295. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-01313-y
Bouie, J. (2018, June 5). How the Enlightenment created modern race thinking and why we should confront it. Slate. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/taking-the-enlightenment-seriously-requires-talking-about-race.html
Chaudhury, A., & Colla, S. (2021). Next steps in dismantling discrimination: Lessons from ecology and conservation science. Conservation Letters, 14, e12774. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12774
Cronin, M.R., Alonzo, S.H., Adamczak, S.K., Baker, D.N., Beltran, R.S., Borker, A.L., Favilla, A.B., Gatins, R., Goetz, L.C., Hack, N., Harenčár, J.G., Howard, E.A., Kustra, M.C., Maguiña, R., Martinez-Estevez, L., Mehta, R.S., Parker, I.M., Reid, K., Roberts, M.B… & Zavaleta, E.S. (2021). Anti-racist interventions to transform ecology, evolution and conservation biology departments. Nature Ecology & Evolution 5, 1213–1223. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-021-01522-z
Gould, R.K., Phukan, I., Mendoza, M.E., Ardoin, N.M., & Panikkar, B. (2018). Seizing opportunities to diversify conservation. Conservation Letters, 11, e12431. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12431
Jaschik, S. (2021, October 31). All student groups care about diversity. Inside Higher Education. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2021/11/01/all-student-groups-want-diversity-campus
Jones, L., Castellanos, J., & Cole,D. (2002). Examining the ethnic minority student experience at predominantly white institutions: A case study. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 1(1), 19-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1538192702001001
Kelderman, E. (2023, March 14). Race on Campus: College DEI Efforts Are Widespread, Poorly Funded, and Ineffective. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/race-on-campus/2023-03-14
Lin, K.J. (2018). Minority faculty role in retaining minority nursing students: An integrative review. International Journal of Nursing and Critical Care, 2(1).
Moreau, C. S., Darby, A. M., Demery, A. J. C., Arcila Hernández, L. M., & Meaders, C. L. (2022). A framework for educating and empowering students by teaching about history and consequences of bias in STEM. Pathogens and Disease, 80(1), ftac006. https://doi.org/10.1093/femspd/ftac006
Naiknavare, R., & Maisel, K. (2022). Discussion-based DEI education to help create inclusive and open BME research lab environments. Biomedical Engineering Education, 2(2), 189-195. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43683-022-00074-3
Reese, A. J. (2020). An undergraduate elective course that introduces topics of diversity, equity, and inclusion into discussions of science. Journal of microbiology & biology education, 21(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1128/jmbe.v21i1.1947
Romansky, L., Garrod, M., Brown, K., & Deo, K. (2021, May 27). How to measure inclusion in the workplace. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved July 25, 2023, from https://hbr.org/2021/05/how-to-measure-inclusion-in-the-workplace
Schusler, T.M., Espedido, C.B., Rivera, B.K., Hernández, M., Howerton, A.M., Sepp, K., Engel, M.D., Marcos, J., & Chaudhary, V.B. (2021). Students of colour views on racial equity in environmental sustainability. Nature Sustainability, 4, 975–982 . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-021-00759-7
Super, L., Hofmann, A., Leung, C., Ho, M., Harrower, E., Adreak, N., & Manesh, Z.R. (2021). Fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion in large, first-year classes: Using reflective practice questions to promote universal design for learning in ecology and evolution lessons. Ecology and Evolution, 11, 3464– 3472. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6960
