Diversity crosses through and impacts all of the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders. As an element common to all aspects of leadership it supports academic press and is foundational to productive culture.
Education leaders must be aware of the breadth and depth of diversity in the school system. This course describes key concepts, and references guiding legislation, initiatives, and contemporary research related to honoring diversity, promoting human rights, and preventing discrimination and harassment.
Engaging in this course will help individuals reflect on personal experiences with diversity and will provide participation in practical activities that assist in understanding the leader’s role in relation to diversity and ensuring that diversity is recognized and acknowledged at the school site.
This course is aligned with Standard 3: Equity and Cultural Responsiveness of the PSEL standards (NBPEA, 2015) which states that:
Effective educational leaders strive for equity of educational opportunity and culturally responsive practices to promote each student’s academic success and well-being.”
(NPBEA, 2015)
Lesson topics in this course include:
- Understanding diversity
- Culturally responsive pedagogy
- Promoting human rights in schools
- Diversity practices in schools
- Multicultural Education
- Closing the achievement gap in schools
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, you will be able to:
- Plan for and build bridges to align the behaviors and learning in the school to the cultural and linguistic practices of its students and the community.
- Support culturally responsive pedagogy in institutional, personal and instructional dimensions.
- Work with faculty to shape culturally contextualized learning.
- Follow and reinforce applicable regulations and guideline respecting human rights in education.
- Implement strategies to address bullying and disciplinary issues related to diversity.
- Implement strategies in support of multicultural education schoolwide and in the classroom.
Lessons contain exercises that you will be asked to complete, and resources you can use for continuous learning. Use a personal journal to record your completed exercises and document your learning in this course. This guide can assist you with creating your personal journal. Your school district facilitator may request you submit your personal journal to show proof of course completion. Direction on where to submit your finished journal will be provided by your district facilitator, should they require it.
Select a lesson from the table of contents below to begin your learning. Lessons do not need to be completed in sequence. The pre-test and post-test are optional. If you would like to receive a certificate of completion, you must mark each lesson as complete.