Topic Selection

I have chosen Diversity as my topic category. For the Article Review and Analysis
Review Assignments, I will use the topic, Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in American
Higher Education. Issues related to this topic include access and inclusion in higher education
and trends in college enrollment for high school graduates. The issue of trends affects and relates
to diversity because different races are represented at different rates in American colleges and
universities. Even though most high school graduates apply to at least one college or are enrolled
in open learning, there still is racial disparity in colleges. Black and Hispanic students still enroll
in college at lower rates compared to their Asian and White counterparts. However, data has
revealed that most Hispanic high school graduates have a preference for two-year institutions.
Fewer Hispanic high school graduates enroll in four-year colleges compared to their Asian and
White counterparts. As I research my topic, I will delve deeper into these issues and analyze
whether the varying trends are a result of limited access and inclusion or differences in
preferences among different races.
Diversity is a topic of interest to me. In America, higher education is a key pathway for
social mobility. Thus, when some races are underrepresented in colleges and Universities, then
the implication is that their social mobility will also be limited. Lack of diversity in higher
education is an indication of a continuous educational inequality in the country. It also points to
opportunity gaps in accessing and completing quality education after achieving high school
diplomas. Thus, I am concerned with diversity because every individual in the United States has
a right to access quality post-secondary education. I think that the relationship between higher
education and social mobility places education at a central place in the life of every young and
school-going American.

As a high school teacher, I feel that I have a role in fostering inclusion and enhancing
diversity in my classroom and school as well. I also have a role in ensuring that as students
graduate from my diverse classrooms, they will have access to diverse higher learning
institutions. I have a responsibility to ensure that the systems and policies in place do no create
gaps in college opportunities that will directly or indirectly contribute to diminished social
mobility for my students. As such, I will research this topic and seek to understand how access,
inclusion, and diversity can be enhanced in institutions of higher learning in the United States.
This is the only way to ensure that racial and ethnic disparities that have been experienced in the
country’s higher education enrollment and attainment for the past decades are resolved. The
disparities have affected earnings, employment, and other outcomes related to education for
communities of color. As a Hispanic in the country, issues faced by communities of color are
close to my heart because they affect me directly. There is a need for institutional commitment to
enhancing inclusion and diversity of different communities on campus. Diversity across all
levels of learning is necessary. Access can also be enhanced through outreach and recruitment
activities in regions that are not well represented in institutions of higher learning. Support
services and an inclusive campus climate are necessary as well. I cannot wait to dig deeper and
learn more about diversity in the coming weeks.