Nowadays, diversity and inclusion can be seen very naturally. The exchange of cultures is very common, especially when it comes to international schools or at the university level, where you can find a great diversity among people. But, are diversity and inclusion really important in the educational field? The answer is yes. Those institutions that do not have a certain diversity of students do not have such good results compared to those that do. But, why is this so? We will show you more details on the subject below.
Diversity and inclusion in education
In the educational field, the focus should be on everything that promotes creativity, as this will allow students to have a better performance. It is not a secret that studying is the key to a civilized society. For this reason, certain things should be constantly updated at the educational level. It should not be denied the fact that today’s students are not the same as 50 years ago when the customs and knowledge were not the same as the ones that we have nowadays. Not only does technology evolve, but students also do it.
As time goes by, more and more diversity can be seen in the educational field, and more inclusion has been demonstrated little by little. But what is the difference between both concepts?
To begin with, it should be clear that diversity means the different characteristics among individuals. In the educational field, diversity refers to the differences among students. But it is not only a physical diversity such as skin color, hair, eyes, and certain features. Diversity also refers to their origin, native language, accent, culture, customs, religion and beliefs. This is how diversity can be seen at first sight, as well as it is not always so evident until the moment you have a conversation.
Now, what is inclusion? It is about not discriminating people for being different, that is, inclusion means precisely that: to include. Nowadays, we have worked to generate comfortable environments in which we give the opportunity to any person to be part of it. In this way, we create an environment of inclusion where everyone understands each other despite our differences and we move forward for a common goal.
In the educational field, diversity and inclusion can be seen more and more naturally, where everyone is focused on graduating to obtain their academic degree. There are others who also practice a sport where motivation and teamwork unites them all.
Benefits of diversity and inclusion in the educational environment
It is true that more and more diversity and inclusion can be seen in the educational environment, but is it really beneficial for everyone? This is a very important question and in fact, yes, it is! Diversity and inclusion bring many benefits, for example, improving creativity. It has been determined that in those environments where diversity flows there is an improvement in the levels of creativity and thus academic performance improves.
A creative environment is constantly full of new ideas, which is undoubtedly very important for any student. That is why those environments full of diversity are those that have a greater flow of ideas and end up being the most ingenious and intuitive. For this reason, better results have been demonstrated.
On the other hand, cultural exchange can be a very interesting experience for people. Here, they have the opportunity to receive and share new knowledge, that is, new different thoughts that motivate curiosity and, therefore, stimulate creativity.
Inclusion does not seek change, its objective is teamwork.
Although people are different and that does not change, it does not mean that they cannot coexist in the same environment. Although a Christian and an atheist have totally opposite beliefs, there will always be something that will unite them, maybe for different reasons, but sometimes the objectives coincide. Differences do not have to be a problem; it is simply a matter of respecting the beliefs of others where you do not seek to change the thinking of another person. It is about accepting them as they are; just as you also have the right to be respected for thinking differently.
When it comes to the truth, no one can be absolutely right. In our world everything is relative; there are many mysteries and different explanations, which will depend on the interpretation of each person.
