Learning Communities
When Mobile Working Creates More Discrimination and Less Inclusion View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Marie Therese Claes
The research relates to a business university, with more than 2,400 employees, including more than 800 management and administrative staff. The institution has been dealing with the challenges of diversity and digitalization with the aim of achieving inclusion through mobile working. The organizational policy has been followed by ongoing scientific research on the study of culture change. The research includes topics such as leadership, dynamic group processes in virtual teams as well as intersection-al processes between gender and diversity categories, where new forms of inequity appear. On a personal level, career development, managing stress, accountability and duties appear as well. The results not only show a change in flexible working models before and during the Corona period, but also that the ideas of mobile working are changing fundamentally. Due to the increasing digitalization and hence control of working time, flexibility is actually lost and the effects are manifold. It be-comes apparent, for example, that undisturbed work and concentration on specific topics is hardly possible any more. Constant accessibility and visibility via MS teams, among other things, leads to excessive demands and stress, which cancels out the advantages of mobile working. Concentration on a task, adapted to a family schedule, as in the time before COVID and before extensive digitalization, is difficult to achieve. Self-determination over the organization of work is lost.
Fostering Diversity and Inclusivity: The Benefits of Classroom Learning Communities
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Carrie Wastal
A learning community, as Etienne Wenger (2014), Carissa Romero (2018), and David W. McMillan and David M. Chavis (1986) define it, creates inclusivity through a sense of belonging and social connectedness, which can impact student retention, student well-being, and academic performance. In their response to a divisive social environment, educators have refocused their attention on the positive aspects of the relationship among diversity, inclusivity, and community. We instructors want our classrooms to be safe and welcoming spaces for student voices and the exchange of ideas. This paper argues that inclusive classroom learning communities are essential for promoting equity and providing a supportive environment for all learners. However, building such communities is often challenging, especially in diverse classrooms with students from different educational and social backgrounds. The study begins by defining the classroom learning community and arguing for its importance in fostering inclusivity. Specifically, the it discusses the importance of developing a positive classroom culture, creating opportunities for meaningful student interaction, and providing support for students with diverse learning needs. The author, who trains graduate student teaching assistants and lecturers on pedagogy, draws on research-based best practices and share practical examples from experiences in First Year Writing classrooms. This study encourages deeper understanding of the elements of an inclusive classroom community. It also provides useful strategies and resources to support efforts in creating such communities across classrooms.
Sense of Belonging in Korean International Students in Higher Education
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Soyoul Song
This literature review highlights the intersecting experiences of Korean international students in higher education. Unfortunately, there is not much understanding of the experience of Korean international students in U.S. society as People of Color. Also due to their status as students, there is an assumption of a temporary experience impacting their ability to ground themselves in society even though they spent years living in the U.S. It also important to note that while Korean International students use the international experience and visa acquisition as an opportunity to integrate into the U.S. culture as a lifelong engagement, they are almost always treated like they have one foot out the door. They are in a perpetual state of uncertainty that never goes away. Due to this explicit separation, Korean international students feel a sense of ambiguity in their belonging within U.S. society. This creates a subcategory of minority students who are completely invisible to others who may share similar lived experiences. This puts Korean international students in an especially vulnerable position having to always keep their visa status in mind when navigating higher education systems and other systems at large. Punitive policies surrounding visas and limited access to resources such as monetary support and primary residence, often send the message that Korean international students do not belong. This can be especially detrimental to those that have goals around building a future in the U.S.
