What factors contribute to individual identity, and how do diverse backgrounds challenge curriculum developers?

Identity

People form identities based on the groups they associate with. An individual's identity is determined by categories consisting of "socio-demographic characteristics (male, African American), group/organizational memberships (Little League member, church member), social roles (stepfather, attorney), social types of person (intellectual, leader), and in some cases, personality or character traits (optimist, caring)," and these categories contribute to individual and collective identity (1). Collective identity comprises "membership in a community of others" such as family or school, while "social identity refers to status categories that denote one's position within the broader social structure" such as by race or gender (2). Identity is also determined by how people view themselves in relation to others. "The process of social comparison involves awareness of the relative status of the social identities of both the in-group and the out-group" (3). In-group implies a view of inclusion, while out-group implies a view of exclusion. An individual's perception of their social position as part of an in-group or an out-group can determine whether they identify an environment as one of inclusion and exclusion, which in turn affects their identity. The identities that people assign themselves and receive from society are also based on culture.

Culture Figure 1. Multiple frameworks build culture.

Figure 1 (right), obtained from Wikimedia Commons, displays the many frameworks that factor into cultural identity. Culture passes "from generation to generation, in the form of stories, symbols and rituals, which are always indifferent to rationality . . . different people . . . see things differently" (4). It acts as a "powerful social framework that can significantly impact the nature of other social groups" (5) and by extension, people's identities. Because different people see things in diverse ways based on unique cultural frameworks, curriculum designers face challenges in building content that relates to students with distinct cultural backgrounds. Further complicating the efforts of curriculum developers is the notion that "their political opinions, religious beliefs, racial positions, gender roles, sexual orientations, and so forth have been shaped by the power relations and ideology of dominant groups" (6) that fail to account for the frameworks of minority groups.

Design Challenges

Designers often lack a detailed understanding of their audience's identity and culture. I interviewed a professional content designer who described how gaps in knowledge about her audience constrain her ability to meet their needs. She explained that while empathy is important in her profession, it's often difficult to employ because she can only base her content on a limited understanding of the rhetorical situation. Her situation illustrates how "rhetorical context frames the kind of speaking that will take place and carves out the audience that will receive it" (7). The content creator I interviewed explained that she plans her discourse strategies around the context of a situation, and described as an example how the "empathetic language when discussing the costs of euthanizing a dog" is different than the tone applied when describing painting a house or planning a wedding (8). Situational factors comprise obvious constraints between designers and audiences. Other constraints arise when audiences comprise diverse people with divergent backgrounds.

Poor understanding of audience identities—and the beliefs that flow from those identities—impedes the ability of designers to generate material for diverse audiences. During our interview, our content creator described an instance where a member of her team was assigned an article discussing the cost of dreadlocks. At that time, there wasn't an African American member on the writing team, and concerns were raised about whether it would be considered culturally insensitive to feature an article with a photograph of a Caucasian author discussing information about dreadlocks. Her concern demonstrates an awareness of the constraints that exist when communicating with diverse audiences, such as their "beliefs, attitudes, . . . [and] traditions" (9). The content creator also expressed concerns that a limited understanding of her audience, including their beliefs and attitudes, impeded her ability to create content that they could connect with. Knowledge about audience beliefs and attitudes informs designers not only about what content might be sensitive but also how to craft discourse that makes an audience more receptive to the content.

Audience Constraints and Curriculum Design

Curriculum developers design content for diverse student populations. Unfortunately, creating "inclusive curricula is a task beyond the scope of traditional frameworks of curriculum design" (10). If a designer does not account for their audience when developing content, then they limit their ability to achieve effective rhetorical discourse. Discourse "must appeal to the virtues a specific audience holds dear" and speakers must make "appeals to reason and emotion . . . with a specific audience in mind, or their rhetoric will fall on deaf ears" (11). Audience constraints center on how the audience views the speaker and the speaker's empathy for their audience. Problems arise when curriculum designers must produce content without a keen understanding of their audience's identity. Figure 2 (below), from the National Center for Education Statistics, shows that as of Fall 2022, 72% of the staff at degree-granting postsecondary institutions was White. It is reasonable to presume that this racial disparity extends to curriculum designers that are comprised of the same staff.

Figure 2. Race and ethnicity of full-time faculty at degree-granting postsecondary institutions as of Fall 2022.

When curriculum design doesn't account for diverse audiences, the students suffer. "Unless educational methods are situated in the students' cultural experiences, students will continue to show difficulty in mastering content . . . that is not only alien to their reality but is often antagonistic toward their culture and lived experiences" (12). Designing courses around the unique experiences of students requires incorporating empathy into curriculum design. While universities promote diversity, current institutional responses focus on targeted outreach, adjusting admission processes, providing additional support, making extra effort to engage with students from "non-participating groups," and "changing [higher education] culture (13). Improving higher education culture and creating content for diverse audiences requires empathy.

Empathy is "integral to professional success in the field of design . . . there is a general consensus that understanding and focusing on the end user during the design process is essential for the success of the final product" (14). For curriculum developers, the final product comprises the lessons attended by diverse students. Knowledge of audience beliefs informs authors not only about what content might be sensitive but also how to craft discourse that makes an audience more receptive to the content.

Personas represent an opportunity for curriculum developers to develop the empathy required to build educational methods that are situated in the cultural experiences of students.

Citations

1. Ashmore and Jussim, 1997, p. 107.

2. Davis et al, 2019, p. 256.

3. McNamara, 1997, p. 563.

4. Pattanaik, 2009, TED Talk.

5. Kucer, 2014, p. 208.

6. Stinson et al., 2012, p. 78.

7. Smith, 2009, p. 9.

8. Farmer, 2024, Interview.

9. Bitzer, 1999, p. 222.

10. Ozkan et al., 2019, p. 1.

11. Smith, 2013, p. 71.

12. Bartolome, 1994, p. 11.

13. Thomas and Tight, 2011, p. 10.

14. Van Rooij, 2012, p. 79.

Follow the References link at the top of the page for a full list of references.