ERIC Number: ED641120
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 146
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3810-9195-3
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
"I Get to Carry That with Me": Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Book Club as Residence Life Professional Development
Katie E. Weir
ProQuest LLC, Ed.D. Dissertation, Frostburg State University
Professional and graduate residence life staff members play an important role in promoting student success and wellbeing. The community built within a residence hall impacts all students, but this impact is salient for students with marginalized identities. Meaningful diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) training is crucial for fostering inclusive and safe residential communities, yet limited empirical data exists on DEI training for graduate and professional residence life staff members. This study contributes to the existing gap in the literature by exploring one residence life office's DEI Book Club for graduate and professional residence life staff members. Using interviews and focus groups, this study explored staff members' experiences in the DEI Book Club. This study also sought to understand how staff members transferred their learning to their work in residence life. This case study research was guided by Rosenblatt's (1995) transaction reader-response theory, which highlights the importance of reading with others. This study found that the DEI Book Club was a source of learning for participants. The DEI Book Club fostered empathy and relationship-building, and the relationships among staff members created a safe space in which participants could navigate difficult conversations. Participants reported changes in their approaches to supervision and working with students. As a result of participating in the DEI Book Club, participants were more focused on equity and sought to provide holistic support for their students. The findings suggest that a book club can be a meaningful and affordable way to foster conversations about DEI while developing equity-minded staff members. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Diversity, Equal Education, Inclusion, Professional Development, Reading Materials, Reading Programs, Interpersonal Relationship, Dormitories, Staff Role, Resource Staff, Books, Clubs
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A