Dreams of Equity: A Policy Discourse Analysis of Diversity Action Plans at Flagship Universities

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: Higher Education Policy: Influences on Students and Faculty

Abstract

This paper investigates how discourses circulating in diversity policies reflect and produce perceptions about diversity in higher education. This study, utilizing the method of policy discourse analysis, examines 22 diversity action plans issued at 22 U.S. flagship universities to understand how these policy documents frame diversity. Analysis revealed dominant discourses of access that construct images of the diverse person as an outsider; a marketplace discourse that commodifies diversity; and a discourse of equity that holds potential as a counter-narrative to inclusive excellence. Awareness of the discursive construction of diversity can help individuals engaged in the policy-making process to be more strategic in their efforts to inform change and achieve equity in U.S. higher education.

Author

• Susan V. Iverson, Manhattanville College