Increasing Inclusion & Affirmation within Educational Environments: A Socio-ecological Model Approach

Workshop Presentation
Katherine Soule  

The Socio-ecological Model (SEM) is a broad framework that promotes understanding of social change by highlighting the multi-faceted and varied levels of intervention required to create change. According to Glanz (2019) the social ecological model can help educational institutions understand the factors that affect human behavior and provide direction in creating successful programs and interventions. The social ecological model emphasizes “multiple levels of influence (such as individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and public policy) and the idea that behaviors both shape and are shaped by social, built, and natural environments” (2019, para. 1).This interactive workshop will explore how this model may provide educational leaders with a framework for understanding and addressing principles of inclusion and affirmation of diversity by considering various levels of influence that their efforts should address to create inclusivity and affirmation. Additionally, this workshop will encourage leaders to consider how their current efforts work (or do not work) for a wide-range of diversity and inclusion efforts and to explore what adaptations to current practices could be made to improve existing efforts. Through consideration and adaptation of the socio-ecological model's levels of influence presented in this workshop, educational leaders may increase the effectiveness of their inclusion and affirmation efforts.