‘I treat all students as equal’: further and higher education teachers' responses to diversity

Diversity, understood in a multiplicity of ways, has been a focus of attention in education in recent years. As in many other countries, recent post‐school education policies in Aotearoa/New Zealand have emphasised previously under‐represented ethnic groups, such as Māori and Pasifika. The intention has been to widen participation in further and higher education (FHE) as a means to improve the country's economic performance in a global market. However, the same policies imply a deficit discourse – where diversity is perceived as a problem or deficit to be ‘fixed’. As part of a larger study into FHE student retention, 137 teachers were surveyed to identify what they did to cater for the learning of these ‘diverse’ students. The responses varied. For example, some insisted that, to be fair, all students had to be treated the same; others described teaching/learning approaches they used to ensure students succeeded. Five positions were identified in the data: universal, universal/group, group, group/individual, and individual. These positions are discussed and linked to Banks's cultural‐pluralist and assimilationist ideologies. It is argued that FHE teachers could draw on strategies from each of the three main positions to enhance student learning.