Diversity push doubles the number of minorities studying education at U of M

The University of Manitoba has doubled the number of minorities studying to be teachers years after introducing an aggressive target to admitnearly half of all education studentsfrom diverse backgrounds.

Three in 10 students inthe faculty of education are now classified as belonging to the U of M's diversity categories,such as Indigenous people, students with disabilities and those who identify as LGBTQ, department numbers show.

Thejumpis substantially higher than the13.9 per cent of education students who were classified as belonging to the diversity categoriesin the lastdecade.

The faculty remainsshy of the ambitious 45per cent goal it passed in 2016.

Thepolicy was criticized in some circles, with a national columnist dismissingthe U of M forstretching the "definition ofminority group accommodation to the breaking point."

But in practice, the U of M says every student enteredthe program on their own merits, anddidn'tbump another student to do it, Francine Morin, associate dean of undergraduate studies at the faculty of education, said.

"We'd really like to think that our policy is making a difference and our numbers have more than doubled and I do think that is significant," she said.

"When we're reaching out to potential candidates, that policy might send a message thatwe're a welcoming and supportive environment a place that's going to be safe and inclusive."

Last fall, 66 of the 225 new students 29.3 per cent self-declared as belonging to one of U of M'sdiversity categories.

Diversifying the teaching pool

Morincan only guess the rationale behind the spike. She says thatrecruitment campaigns, a diversifying population and perhaps a greater willingness from students to self-identify hascontributed, she said.

The new policy was intendedto make the teaching staff in Manitobaschools more reflective of the student body. The majority of teachers arewhite and female.

"Our population of teachers is really not diverse enough to meet the needs of K-12 students and their communities," Morin said.

"We also believe that diverse people simply bring different perspectives, different traditionsand a whole range of interesting experiences into classrooms, and they can use all of that to enrich the lives of their students in schools."

The facultysought to fill15 per cent of their spaces withCanadian Indigenous people, and another 7.5 per cent forpersons with disabilities and 7.5 per cent forpeople with a diversegender identity or sexual orientation.

Racialized persons, which U of M defined as students treated differently based on their "perceived racial background, colour, and/or ethnicity," and which includesnon-Canadian indigenous people, had a target set of7.5 per cent ofseats.

Disadvantaged persons, defined asstudents who faced barriers or didn't have the opportunity to enter university, accounted for another 7.5 per cent of the slots.

In practice, the university isfallingshort in every category butracializedpersons, which comprise 8.44 per cent of new students in 2019.

Over the three years since the new policy's been applied,an average of 9.6 per cent of the students have beenIndigenous people from Canada, 7.8 per cent wereracialized persons and 6.1 per cent wereLGBTQ students.

The previous policy only categorized Indigenous people, people with disabilities and visible minorities as diverse students.

The faculty isn't fussing over the 45 per cent target. Morin said the goal is"relatively aggressive" and based on trends showing the province is getting more diverse.

"We're seeing that we're moving upward in every category," she said.

The university's progress is encouraging to Rob Riel, director ofIndigenous education at the Winnipeg School Division, who says they're aggressivelyrecruiting Indigenous staff.

Gap in Indigenous teachers

The divisionhadaround 13 per cent Indigenous staff in2017-18, but the student body isnearly 30 per cent Indigenous, according toself-reporting.

Riel said teachers should reflect the student body.

"The number one thing is role models,seeing someone in the front of the class that looks just like you orhas an understanding of you as a person."

To address the shortage in Indigenous staff, the division launched a program last year offeringIndigenous studentsthe chance to earn an education assistant diploma while earninghigh school credits. The program is run inpartnership with the University of Winnipeg.

Lindsay Brown ishopefulthe U of M's targets will make the teaching profession more diverse, but says it's not enough for schools to hire them.

Brown, a queer, non-binaryteacher, says thatteachers from marginalizedgroups canshoulder the responsibility of being the only one in the room, and they need allies to support them.

"You become the authority and you end up doing all of the work to educate other people and that can be exhausting and it leads to teacher burnout," Brown said.

Rodney Clifton, a former U of M education professor, isan outspoken critic of the university's policy. The senior fellow for theFrontier Centre for Public Policy says it distracts from efforts to get the best possible people as teachers.

"Doyou need to have somebody of your ethnic background or do you just need another human being who is competent in the subject?" Clifton said. "I would say the latter."

Other U of M faculties are also diversifying their pool of students. The Max Rady College of Medicine has a questionnaire highlighting students with varied economic and cultural backgrounds, while the engineering faculty joined a nationwide push tohave 30 per centof newly licensed engineers as women.

The education faculties at the U of W and Brandon University do not have diversity targets.

The U of Monceadmitted more than 300 students annually, but that hasn't happened since 2011. Morinsaid universities nationwide are struggling to find prospective teachers.

Morin said the U of M's education department will continue pushing diversity, as well asenrolmentoverall.