Abstract
Design programs (DP) are in a period of immense disruption due to student demographic changes, economic pressures, and approaches to student learning. These swirling forces are driving DP to consider and pursue systemic organizational changes to fulfill their missions and remain financially viable. Historically, DP has pursued missions and curriculums that embrace multicultural paradigms that promote inclusivity and produce graduates who serve the economy and as social agents and activists. However, through privileged hegemonic pedagogy, these same entities have perpetuated “symbolic racism” that denies existing racial inequality patterns and sent implicit messages to minorities about what constitutes valid knowledge and who are the dominant classes. Organizational change is a process that each DP has to undergo to meet changing expectations and reach meet its stakeholders’ expectations. The success of change efforts within higher education rests upon an individual faculty’s attributes (e.g., beliefs, values, attitudes) and the change context. By developing a better understanding of the variables affecting change readiness among faculty in response to impending equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) change efforts, DPs may better plan for and implement necessary change efforts. This paper examines how the concept of change readiness can be used as a lens to understand faculty’s responses to EDI and better equip administrators in implementing and facilitating systemic institutional change. Questions investigated include how does organizational culture, climate, dynamics, and motivational needs influence individual faculty change readiness when faced with EDI challenges? How can developing a more nuanced understanding of faculty readiness inform EDI change efforts?
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Change Readiness, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Organizational Change, Higher Education, Pedagogy
