Educational Technology Based on Virtual and Augmented Reality for Students With Learning Disabilities

Educational technology is contributing towards diversity awareness as it allows you to create more personalized and student-centered learning situations. This chapter addresses specific learning difficulties (SpLD) and, specifically, dyslexia, since it is one of the most prevalent challenges in the educational field. Information and communication technologies allow direct intervention with students who have special educational needs as an alternative to traditional resources, which is much more motivating. In this sense, as an example, various projects and applications are presented that allow working on this type of difficulties with students. This chapter highlights the virtual reality and augmented reality software carried out in the context of the European Erasmus + FORDYSVAR project, of which the authors are part.

A Systematic Review of the Impacts of Entrepreneurial Support Programs in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Fields

Programs dedicated to entrepreneurship education in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields have expanded tremendously. However, much remains unknown about the current state of research and practice of these programs. This article presents results from a systematic review designed to explore how Entrepreneurial Support Programs serving science and technology innovators conceptualize and measure individual-level impacts. Results suggest that the intended impacts of programs are often ill-defined. While many programs focus on improving entrepreneurial mindset, the term is frequently not well defined, operationalized, or clearly measured. Likewise, results suggest that understanding the impact of programs is challenging due to the quality of the research or evaluation procedures employed. Finally, results suggest that there is a strong lack of diversity awareness or acknowledgment in the field; the vast majority of the papers did not mention gender, race, or other demographic characteristics. Moving forward, researchers and practitioners have an opportunity to strengthen data-driven work to assess the impact of entrepreneurship support programs through the use of clear definitions, well-documented methods, and assessment instruments with sufficient validity evidence.

A Study on Evaluation of the Integration of Chinese and Foreign Cultures into Oxford Junior High School English Textbooks on the Basis of Multicultural Education

This paper studies the learner evaluation results of Chinese and foreign cultural materials in Oxford Junior High School English Textbook of Yilin Edition (2nd semester of Book 8) with a questionnaire. It finds that the content of Chinese and foreign culture in this edition is rich and diverse, which can cultivate students’ cross-cultural identity and communication ability. However, some typical problems exist, such as uneven distribution of Chinese and foreign cultures, lack of cultural diversity awareness, lack of interdisciplinary nature, falling to stimulate students’ learning enthusiasm.

Measuring Research Mentors’ Cultural Diversity Awareness for Race/Ethnicity in STEM: Validity Evidence for a New Scale

There is a lack of measures to assess cultural diversity awareness (CDA) in research mentoring relationships. The development of and validity evidence for a new measure to assess CDA from the perspective of both mentors and mentees are reported with a summary of findings from a series of confirmatory factor analyses with national participant samples.

Accept and apply diversity? An exploratory study of the attitudes towards diversity of students of STEM subjects

German universities are obligated to guarantee a fair learning environment for students with diverse features. They also must prepare students for a highly diverse working environment. This means to develop awareness for diversity and to train intercultural competence. The present study takes an exploratory look at the extent to which diversity awareness is established among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students and which barriers for the academic success students with a migration background perceive. To counteract discrepancies between the current state and the need for diversity awareness at universities, it identifies areas with room for improvement regarding the dealing with cultural diversity. Structured interviews with 31 STEM students were carried out and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The interviews revealed differences in the awareness of diversity between students with and without a migration background. Results showed that there are barriers for STEM students with migration backgrounds which potentially reduce their academic success. Those barriers result from a lack of acceptance of cultural diversity and insufficient social integration and were especially apparent in insufficient language skills, orientation difficulties, and a lower degree of social integration. On the other hand, there is a need for both students with and without a migration background to promote competence and raise awareness for diversity. Furthermore, the role of social support as a resource became apparent.

Looking Inside

Running a college is no easy task. Amid complex diversity issues, political turmoil, and ever-changing student narratives, the campus environment represents a sea of countless challenges. To ensure success in the long run, administration officials must construct well-designed plans that review past events while carefully assessing future possibilities. Such plans should include a sustained and comprehensive focus on diversity awareness, implementation of multicultural education frameworks, and additional initiatives such as mentoring and community outreach programs. Above all, administrations must work closely with all members of the university including staff, faculty, alumni, and students to promote positive outcomes despite the inherent uncertainties that lay ahead.