Driving Change Through Diversity And Globalization: Transformative Leadership in the Academy - Softcover

Anderson, James A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1579220991 ISBN 13: 9781579220990

Publisher: Routledge, 2008

Synopsis

The demands of the 21st century are challenging higher education to pursue greater excellence and improve national competitiveness. Among the challenges are the demographic changes that require enhancing institutional capacity to serve diverse populations; and societal needs to educate students to become effective global citizens and leaders. Success will be directly correlated with the degree to which institutions embed diversity and globalism at the very heart of their activities and evaluate the impact of this investment. The goal of this book is to stimulate campuses to frame and then address substantive questions that yield usable data about the degree to which diversity enriches the educational experience. It offers a set of constructs to answer such questions as: How do we know that the learning and social environment of a campus prepares its students to challenge stereotypes, or become good citizens in a pluralistic society? Do our diversity efforts in the disciplines develop students' relational abilities and critical thinking skills? This book sets out the challenges and considerations that must be addressed by administrative leaders, by faculty, by trustees, and others who shape the vision and direction of the institution. It offers a theoretical framework that places the diversity discussion into a learning-centered context. While charging institutional leaders with the responsibility for organizational change, it stresses the critical role of faculty in changing the teaching and learning paradigm, diversifying or transforming the curriculum, and empowering the voices of diverse students. It calls for strategically linking diversity and globalism to teaching and learning outcomes. The book offers numerous examples of institutional and faculty initiatives that have successfully used diversity and collaborative pedagogies to create inclusiveness, and elevate the quality of teaching, research agendas, and students' learning.

About this title

Review

"Faculty will profit from reading this book because student success in the twenty-first century is at the heart of their vocation. If Anderson is correct, and I think he is, diversity and globalism is central to that success. The great value of this book is the delineation of the scopre of the work needed and the introduction to the many efforts that have been undertaken."-- (01/01/2011)

"On rare occasions one finds a book that reframes prior visions. Such books one does not merely read, but one returns to study. Anderson's Driving Change is such a book. The first three chapters provide a framework for understanding diversity and globalization, which moves beyond the limits of affirmative action, ethnic studies, and overseas study tours. The theoretical discussion is rooted in the premise that universities' (read also society's) ability to work with diversity and globalization will determine the nature of their futures. Following a discussion of principles, Anderson moves from theory to practice, giving illustrations of campuses that have embraced some facet of this new vision applying it either in terms of teaching strategies and methods, curricular organization, and/or student development. The fact that Anderson is able to draw on working applications gives credence to his theoretical propositions."-- (10/01/2008)

"Along with solid insights and vision, he suggests some tools for incorporating inclusiveness into the fabric and the curriculum of institutions of higher education."--Black Issues in Higher Education (10/01/2008)

"The key to a college or university meeting 21st-century demands for greater excellence and improved national competitiveness, Anderson argues, is the ability to successfully incorporate diversity and globalism in the institution's basic philosophy and infrastructure. He offers a practical handbook to these challenges [and] calls for leaders to move beyond the current level of discourse about diversity and begin the work of changing the teaching and learning paradigm, transforming the curriculum, and empowering the voices of diverse students."-- (05/01/2008)

"Drawing on his many years of teaching and research about teaching and learning, as well as his broad experience at levels in higher education institutions, Anderson presents a guidebook for transformational change in our institutions. However, rather than simply espousing lofty ideals, Anderson's book presents both thorough analyses of the challenges as well as practical examples and recommendations for successful implementation."-- (07/01/2007)

About the Author

James A. Anderson is Vice President for Student Success and the Vice-Provost for Institutional Assessment and Diversity at the University at Albany. He is also Professor of Psychology.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 1579220991
• ISBN 13: 9781579220990
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208