College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan

Educational institutions that prioritize diversity and inclusion initiatives can enhance students’ sense of involvement and belonging, irrespective of demographic differences. This study aims to explore how college students in Pakistan perceive their academic institutions’ support for diversity and...

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Main Authors: Maham Muzamil, Maria Shiraz, Farzana Iqbal, Gulzar H. Shah, Masha Asad Khan
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2024-12-01
Series:Cogent Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2426976
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author Maham Muzamil
Maria Shiraz
Farzana Iqbal
Gulzar H. Shah
Masha Asad Khan
author_facet Maham Muzamil
Maria Shiraz
Farzana Iqbal
Gulzar H. Shah
Masha Asad Khan
author_sort Maham Muzamil
collection DOAJ
description Educational institutions that prioritize diversity and inclusion initiatives can enhance students’ sense of involvement and belonging, irrespective of demographic differences. This study aims to explore how college students in Pakistan perceive their academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion. Convenience sampling was used to select 1004 students from among 595 colleges in Lahore City through primary data collection and a cross-sectional survey. We used ANOVA to evaluate how students perceived institutional support for diversity and inclusion in five different diversity categories. We conducted pairwise comparisons to identify significant differences in mean scores related to the characteristics of each independent variable in students’ perceptions of institutional support for diversity. We found statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) between diversity and inclusion and institutional support of cultural diversity, specifically concerning socioeconomic status, political ideologies, ethnic background, caste and religion at the college level. Significant differences were observed in students’ perceptions of institutional support for diversity and inclusion across groups with equal levels of support, including differences based on institution type, mother tongue, monthly household income and age. Irrespective of ethnic differences, educational institutions that prioritize diversity and inclusion can enhance students’ sense of engagement and belonging.
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spelling doaj-art-dbb83dac2e2a4a519b426ec8065355152025-08-20T02:14:53ZengTaylor & Francis GroupCogent Education2331-186X2024-12-0111110.1080/2331186X.2024.2426976College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in PakistanMaham Muzamil0Maria ShirazFarzana Iqbal1Gulzar H. Shah2Masha Asad Khan3Department of Education, Kinnaird College for Women’s University, Lahore, PakistanDepartment of Education, Kinnaird College for Women’s University, Lahore, PakistanDepartment of Health Policy and Community Health, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA, USADepartment of Education, Kinnaird College for Women’s University, Lahore, PakistanEducational institutions that prioritize diversity and inclusion initiatives can enhance students’ sense of involvement and belonging, irrespective of demographic differences. This study aims to explore how college students in Pakistan perceive their academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion. Convenience sampling was used to select 1004 students from among 595 colleges in Lahore City through primary data collection and a cross-sectional survey. We used ANOVA to evaluate how students perceived institutional support for diversity and inclusion in five different diversity categories. We conducted pairwise comparisons to identify significant differences in mean scores related to the characteristics of each independent variable in students’ perceptions of institutional support for diversity. We found statistically significant associations (p < 0.05) between diversity and inclusion and institutional support of cultural diversity, specifically concerning socioeconomic status, political ideologies, ethnic background, caste and religion at the college level. Significant differences were observed in students’ perceptions of institutional support for diversity and inclusion across groups with equal levels of support, including differences based on institution type, mother tongue, monthly household income and age. Irrespective of ethnic differences, educational institutions that prioritize diversity and inclusion can enhance students’ sense of engagement and belonging.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2426976Diversityinclusioninstitutional supportperceptionsdemographic differencesHigher Education
spellingShingle Maham Muzamil
Maria Shiraz
Farzana Iqbal
Gulzar H. Shah
Masha Asad Khan
College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan
Cogent Education
Diversity
inclusion
institutional support
perceptions
demographic differences
Higher Education
title College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan
title_full College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan
title_fullStr College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan
title_full_unstemmed College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan
title_short College students’ perceptions about academic institutions’ support for diversity and inclusion in Pakistan
title_sort college students perceptions about academic institutions support for diversity and inclusion in pakistan
topic Diversity
inclusion
institutional support
perceptions
demographic differences
Higher Education
url https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/2331186X.2024.2426976
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AT farzanaiqbal collegestudentsperceptionsaboutacademicinstitutionssupportfordiversityandinclusioninpakistan
AT gulzarhshah collegestudentsperceptionsaboutacademicinstitutionssupportfordiversityandinclusioninpakistan
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