Conceptualization of Diversity in Education

Diversity, an important issue in higher education admission policy and practice, is addressed in this paper in terms of the construct’s conceptualization and measurement. Several measures of diversity are identified, and a commonly-used demographic measure based on racial classification is examined. Differences among undergraduate students’ diversity seeking behavior associated with living and learning is compared against racial classifications. A lack of correspondence between demographic and behavioral measures of diversity suggests a need for more robust multidimensional measures of the concept. Introduction Indiana poet James Whitcomb Riley is often credited with the expression, “When I see a bird that walks like a duck and swims like a duck and quacks like a duck, I call that bird a duck.” (Helms, 2007, p. 68). Unlike identifying this amphibious bird via observable characteristics and behavior, the identification and conceptualization non-observable constructs pose a challenge for both researchers and practitioners. Such is the case with the concept of diversity and its importance in higher education admissions policy. McDonald and Dimmick (2003) offer some concepts that either in their mathematical or conceptual formulations are common to a number of business and scientific fields. In addition to privacy (Borna and Sharma, 2011), diversity is important in the disciplines of ecology (Patel and Taillie, 1982), geography (Les and Maher, 1998), urban planning (Maly, 2000) psychology (Junge, 1994), linguistics, sociology (Agresti and Agresti, 1977), economics (Hall and Tideman, 1967), communication (Dimmick and McDonald, 2001; McDonald and Dimmick 2003), and higher education (Astin, 1993; Gurin, Nagda, and Lopez,