Diversity in Forming a Sense of Community

I live in a community that is largely not diverse. Data shows that Finleyville is largely
occupied by White non-Hispanic who make up to 98.4% of the entire population in the
region. In preparation for this assignment, I took time to observe the level of diversity by
paying attention to different groups of people and the level of activities that they undertake. I
started with taking a morning walk to identify the diversity of people who walk or run in the
morning. I met twenty people during the walk, and all were White. This confirmed my
findings that Finleyville is largely inhabited by white people. I decided to take an evening
walk because I thought that maybe more people would engage in physical activity in the
evening. I met seventeen people walking, jogging and others were running. Among these,
there were sixteen white people and only one African American.
I then decided to visit a school and see how different communities are represented. I
visited Ringgold Middle School, which has a population of 636 students and 44 teachers. In
terms of gender, the school is relatively diverse, with 52% of the students being female and
48% are male. The school accepts and allows for gender inclusion, with the numbers almost
balancing. This shows that gender diversity is taught, seen, and widely accepted at Ringgold
Middle School. I observed that teachers reinforced diversities within the school by allowing
students the freedom to engage in different learning activities without automatically aligning
to gendered and normative roles. According to Fortunato et al. (2018), teacher education in
the new error should be structured in such a way that it encourages teachers to reinforce the
new and emerging identities among their students without feeling the need to assign them
automatically to normative and gendered roles.
Further, I observed that the school’s ethnic and racial diversity is below
Pennsylvania’s average. The diversity score at the school is 0.26, but the average at the state

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level is 0.53. this shows a great disparity. Even without critically analyzing the groups of
people represented in the school, one can tell that the school is not diverse. After closely
assessing the groups represented, I realized that the African American students account for
6% of the student population, the Hispanic account for 2%, the Whites 86% and students
from two or more races account for 6% of the school population. The school is thus
predominantly White. The observation confirmed by the earlier observation that I live in a
community that is predominantly White. Since Ringgold Middle School sources its students
from the same community, then the student population is predominantly White.
The school community fosters respect for diversity. The resources are available for all
the students, and everyone is treated with respect regardless of their representation.
According to Hill (2017), the homogeneity of a population in terms of integration or lack of it
does not determine its value for diversity. I noted that although the population at Ringgold
Middle School is not diverse, there is a lot of respect for diversity. The wide acceptance and
respect for diversity within the school have helped foster a sense of community among the
students. Hill (2017) notes that social network density is not synonymous with a sense of
community. This was evident in the school where students, even those from minority
communities, demonstrated a strong sense of community. During meal times and when
students were out in the field, they mingled and interacted freely with one another.
Research has shown that there are multiple dimensions of a sense of community. It is
possible for an individual to derive a sense of community from different communities (Moreu
et al., 2021). For instance, one can derive identity and a sense of belonging from one
community, emotional support from another community, and form social networks with
different communities (Brodsky, 2017). Further, there seems to be a conflict or tension
between a sense of community and a value for diversity which are the core principles of
community psychology. In some instances, contrary to the expectations of many, it is

DIVERSITY IN FORMING A SENSE OF COMMUNITY 4
possible to observe a sense of community even though diversity is missing. Thus, contexts
that foster a sense of community differ from those that enhance value for diversity (Neal,
2017). The findings of these scholars are confirmed through my observation at Ringgold
Middle School. Diversity and a sense of community do not co-exist within the school.
Although racial diversity is not maintained, there is a sense of community, and all represented
identities are respected.
Further, I visited a church and realized that the leadership of the church was made up
of 90% African Americans, although the congregation was made up of more than 90%
Whites. I observed that there was intergroup interaction within the church despite the fact that
diversity was not observed. Once again, I connected the church population to the composition
of the larger community. The same way the community is largely White explains the racial
disparity in church. Most community psychologists would be concerned by this observation.
This is because they tend to have an interest in creating social contexts that enhance both a
sense of community and a respect for diversity. I observed that racial disparity within the
region does not imply a lack of respect for diversity. On the contrary, the majority
community live well and interact freely with the minority communities. Members enjoy a
sense of community whether they come from the minority communities or the majority
community. One element that helps put this phenomenon into perspective is cultural
competence. Even though races are not well represented, the different communities possess
knowledge of the different cultures that co-exist. This makes it easy for them to effectively
interact, relate, and work with one another.
Overall, in community psychology, there seems to be a community-diversity dialectic.
It is possible for people to form dense interpersonal networks and develop a sense of
community even though they belong to a minority population in a community. It is possible
to create communities that foster both a sense of community as well as respect for inclusion

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and diversity. Consequently, it is possible to have communities that are not diverse but whose
members enjoy a sense of community nonetheless. It occurs when members of a community
demonstrate cultural competence, appreciate cultural differences and are thus able to
effectively interact with one another. The people that I observed walking, the students at
Ringgold Middle School, as well as the members of the church that I visited demonstrate
cultural competence, and this explains why there is a strong sense of community among
members of Finleyville as different members of minority communities and the majority
community interact and work with one another.

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References

Brodsky, A. E. (2017). Bridging the dialectic: Diversity, psychological sense of community,
and inclusion. American journal of community psychology, 59(3-4), 269-271.
Fortunato, I., Mena, J., & Sorainen, A. (2018). Teacher education for gender, sexuality,
diversity and globalization policies. Policy Futures in Education, 16(5), 515-523.
Hill, J. L. (2017). Where is the Dialectic in the Community‐Diversity Dialectic?. American
journal of community psychology, 59(3-4), 276-279.
Moreu, G., Isenberg, N., & Brauer, M. (2021, July). How to Promote Diversity and Inclusion
in Educational Settings: Behavior Change, Climate Surveys, and Effective Pro-
Diversity Initiatives. In Frontiers in Education (Vol. 6, p. 253). Frontiers.
Neal, Z. P. (2017). Taking stock of the diversity and sense of community debate. American
Journal of Community Psychology, 59(3-4), 255-260.