Diversity and inclusivity can help us build the society we are looking for. In education, workplaces, and even in our community.
One of the main things about diversity and inclusivity is that it helps us create an equitable society as it encourages respect for various cultures, perspectives, morals, and many more. Adding on, this also can help develop understanding about diferent perspectives, cross-cultural promotion, stereotypes, etc.
Understanding Diversity and Inclusivity
Diversity and inclusivity might mean the same thing, but they are quite diferent from each other. As depicted in the image above, diversity is where everyone has unique capabilities, morals, beliefs, etc. and are diferent from each other while inclusivity is including all those unique people by treating them equally.
These two concepts could help in any environment and most importantly in education and workplaces. Both places are where diferent kinds of people meet and learn about new things. While learning these things, their characters develop and they make new friends, ultimately promoting diversity and inclusivity.
Even though these concepts are already built-in within the system, students, adults, etc should include these in their daily lives too. This would help develop their character and make their environment open-minded and balanced.
What diversity and inclusivity mean in education?
These concepts should be used in every environment, but how does it help in academics? According to Entab’s website, it states that, “Promoting inclusive education and diversity in schools can improve academic performance by providing a learning environment that is welcoming and supportive of all students.”
Diversity and inclusivity help the student to develop empathy, understanding, and cultural competence, which thereby improves academic performance, as they can be open-minded, reasonable, and have a balanced view on any topic. This enhances cultural competence as the student will be familiar with various cultures and will understand the values of them.
More than cultural competence, this builds innovation and creativity where the student is exposed to divergent perspectives and ideas where they can help come up with solutions for any problem, or even experiment with a new design. Their communication skills will be strong as they develop social skills.
With all of the skills developed, it also improves critical thinking skills, cultural awareness, global competitiveness and many more. These will help them to succeed and flourish in the developing world we live in.
To conclude
Everyone might be diferent and unique but when together, you come even stronger than ever. That’s why for the respect, understanding, and empathy of our students, we foster a diverse and inclusive environment to help them become the greatest examples for the next generation.
I am a student of Indus International School Hyderabad.
