Managing Diversity – Issues on the Coal Face

Welsh higher education is increasingly focused on widening access and attracting more diverse student groups, in addition to increasing globalisation of the UK HE sector. The recruitment of diverse student cohorts impacts on teaching and learning experiences by presenting a range of challenges and opportunities. This paper presents and discusses the outcomes of a workshop entitled ‘Managing Diversity’ that was held at the Wales NEXUS Conference 2019. This workshop had the aim of exploring the experiences of staff who teach diverse student groups. The focus was on identifying challenges and opportunities, with a view of finding strategies to reduce challenges and exploit opportunities. Staff identified several key areas of challenge – issues related to staff self-awareness and self-reflection, challenges related to the management of learning in diverse groups, issues directly related teaching and learning tools, and resource related concerns. Key opportunities included the very real possibility of staff and students learning from each other’s experiences and to grow personally. Potential research was also seen as a positive aspect of diverse student groups. In addition, staff discussed a range of teaching tools able to aid the process of turning challenges into opportunities for enrichment.