Diversity in education matters maybe more than you think. A school’s environment and culture can have a major impact on a student’s success.i With this fact in mind, it is imperative to a student’s growth and cultural awareness that the school he or she attends embodies ethnic, religious, and racial differences by acknowledging, accepting, and celebrating diversity.
Our differences give us a unique perspective, character, and belief system that enriches our learning, work, and life.ii These differences which can often serve to divide, can also unite. At GBSB Global, we prefer to take a proactive approach to diversity and take it to a whole new level. With a student body that represents over 70 different nationalities and a faculty with life experience and industry knowledge hailing from over 20 countries worldwide, GBSB Global Business School not only embraces diversity, but we can define ourselves by diversity. It is a core value that sets us apart.
Diversity, especially at the collegiate level, is something that is often overlooked by prospective students canvasing college fairs and pursuing program guides. Though, it may not be high on student’s radars, its benefits, especially in the real-world are unparalleled. Attending a school that acknowledges and stands behind diversity, not only offers students a chance to see the world from another vantage point, but it serves as preparation for their professional careers in a globalized business market- this is something that cannot be ignored.
How does embracing diversity impact students’ success in the classroom and on the job, foster understanding?
1. Diversity is not always straight forward.
Nationalities can be defined as broad ethnic groups. Within these groups there can also be fractionalizations based upon racial and ethnic communities that may have entirely different world views.
2. Professors have to structure lessons and discussions to reflect differences.
Treating students equally, providing the same opportunities for all has a major impact on an individual’s ability to grow. Success goes hand-in-hand with students’ ability to access curriculum, where the professor or instructor customizes topics to take into consideration each students’ unique background and individuality and they can work together in a large group.
3. Diversity encourages appreciation and learning from every angle.
There is a richness in diverse environments that fosters peer-to-peer learning, that is often unconscious learning, in addition to more tradition learning approaches from the instructor or theory written in a book. A unique feature at GBSB Global Business School is that the professors also learn from their students which motivates them to engage in such a way that fosters deeper analyzation of social, economic, and political issues impacting business today.
4. Students assimilate new material with old, building a more eclectic and open-mined foundation and outlook.
Constructing the base of understanding, in regard to diversity, requires empathy and tolerance. Educating tomorrow’s business leaders for a globalized world, GBSB Global Business School does this by nurturing relationships, conversations, and dynamic experiences that inspire students to form a new outlook and become more aware of their differences. This awareness helps to add to the knowledge base students have already acquired from their past and sometimes will alter their world view for the future. This can have an overwhelmingly positive impact on their career success in the international landscape where multinational companies are looking for cultural intelligence and the ability to lead diverse teams.
Responding and adapting to diversity pushes school educators and academic professionals to continually grow, adapting the curriculum, theory, and practical methodology to meet the market’s growing demand for empathetic global leaders.
Internationalism and diversity play centers stage at GBSB Global. Our students come from across the globe, Europe, North and South America, Africa, and Asia. This increasingly diverse, multilingual, multicultural student group creates a vibrant atmosphere for the creation, adaptation, and delivery of our academic curriculum. At GBSB Global Business School, we are committed to the principle of embedding internationalism in the academic content in every degree program we offer. This truly capitalizes upon the richness and variety of the linguistic, cultural, and educational backgrounds of our student body. GBSB Global firmly believes shaping tomorrow’s business leaders to face the economic and social challenges of the 21st century is most effectively realized by providing a platform and environment where students from a wide variety of countries from across the world feel empowered to learn and grow from one another. Being one of the international business schools that teach in English in Spain, GBSB Global is a bridge connecting people from different nationalities to the international business arena through education.
[i] Lynch, Matthew. 18 January 2016. 4 Reasons Why Classrooms Need Diversity Education. The Edvocate. Retrieved from www.theedadvocate.org/4-reasons-classrooms-need-diversity-education
[ii] Kaschke, Sarah. 21 July 2015. Diversity Matters: In Education and Beyond. Pearson. Retrieved from www.pearsoned.com/education-blog/diversity-matters-in-education-and-beyond
