CIICPD 2023

Austria: University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, Hagenberg

HEAD DIVE into Diversity Management: An innovative approach to assess critical incidents in higher education

Martina Gaisch, Victoria Rammer Higher Education Research and Development / Diversity Management

Summary: The third chapter discusses two innovative concepts, namely the HEAD (Higher Education Awareness for Diversity) Wheel and the DIVE (describe, interpret, verify, evaluate) Strategy to better understand how to evaluate critical incidents. Taking into account the five diversity aspects of the HEAD Wheel (demographic, cognitive, disciplinary, functional, and institutional), critical incidents may be interpreted within a broader diversity framework that allows educators to make more informed decisions. By framing the intersectional intertwining of the relevant diversity aspects along the lines of a wheel, a visualisation of the multi-faceted components is sought. In doing so, the dynamic interplay of the diversity aspects crucial for the evaluation of critical incidents are more clearly identified. Second, the DIVE Strategy is introduced with the aim of looking beyond the surface of an observable behaviour that results in particularly ineffective performance. Such a perspective allows for the identification and reflection of cases of implicit bias. Both concepts have the potential to transcend current narrative descriptions of diversity management and intercultural competence by enriching each other in innovative ways. Keywords: critical incidents, DIVE Strategy, diversity, HEAD Wheel, intercultural competence

For detailed analysis and a list of references, see Chapter 3, page 109–126.

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