Higher Education Teachers’ Confidence In Their Diversity And Inclusion Competencies

Higher education (HE) institutions have become more diverse learning environments, as more and more diverse students (in terms of nationality, age, disability, educational or professional background, etc.) are enrolled in academic programs. For HE teachers this reality could sometimes become very challenging, thus diversity and inclusion (DI) competencies are needed. Studies on HE competencies frameworks were generally carried out, however research related to DI competencies for HE teachers is still lacking. The current study seeks to explore the HE institutions teachers’ level of confidence in their DI competencies. A quantitative study based on 141 HE teachers from four HE institutions in four different countries was conducted. Results show that there are differences between the teachers’ level of confidence in their DI competencies considering variables such as institution, frequency of teaching international students, diversity training attendance. Recommendations for improving DI competencies for teachers in HE are also included in the conclusions.