Diversity and Change Agents in Higher Education
The latest issue of the journal “Social Inclusion”, edited by Liudvika Leišytė, Rosemary Deem, and Ivana Načinović Braje includes 16 articles that examine how various stakeholders at universities – including students – address and shape issues of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, thereby contribute to the process of organizational transformation at universities.
In the editorial of the issue, Liudvika Leišytė, Rosemary Deem, and Ivana Načinović Braje provide an overview of the articles, which cover a wide range of topics, from political measures to the role of various stakeholders in Europe and beyond.
In addition, two contributions are based on the findings of our projects:
- How can faculty and students use an intersectional approach to become agents of change and promote the participation of all student groups? In their article “Intersectionality at German Universities: Empowering Teaching Staff as Change Agents With Higher Education Didactic Workshops”, Julia Mergner, Sude Pekşen, and Liudvika Leišytė present a case study of a higher education didactic workshop conducted as part of the InterHEd project, which was designed to raise awareness of intersectional perspectives in teaching.
- Which role do early-career researchers play as an internal stakeholder group in university decision-making bodies across different countries? To what extent do they feel that their voices are being heard? The article “Early Career Researchers as Stakeholders in University Decision-Making in Europe: Comparative Perspectives” addresses these questions using case studies and interviews from seven European and East Mediterranean countries, which were conducted as part of the COST Action VOICES.
The special issue has been published in open access.