Multicultural and Diversity Management in Higher Education Institutions in the Philippines

Elvira Llantos

doi:10.11594/10.11594/ijmaber.02.11.19

Abstract

The multicultural and diversity management (MDM) encompasses acceptance and respect, recognition and valuing of individual differences of the university stakeholders. This study determined the perceptions of the academic managers/ leaders towards multicultural and diversity management in a higher education institutions. This quantitative descriptive research determined the perceptions of 100 purposively selected academic managers/ leaders of selected higher education institutions in the Philippines. The researcher-designed questionnaire was administered online using Google Form. Data were analysed using frequency, percentage distribution, mean, and rank. The majority of the respondents belonged to the age group of 41- 50 years old. The respondents were dominated by males and were single. In terms of highest educational attainment, the majority of the respondents have a master’s degree with 1- 10 years of work experience. The majority of the respondents were Coordinators/Program Chairs who were Regular/Permanent employees. On the basis of the findings of the study, it can be gleaned that the majority of the respondents believed that multiculturalism and diversity management (MDM) in higher education institutions should be integrated with the human resources programs to improve the lenses of equality in the universities and colleges as a workplace. Most of them believe that the MDM program prepares employees for higher diversity in their team, as such; it helps in welcoming recruits with diverse backgrounds into the academic community and promotes a positive organizational culture. Respondents also believed that multicultural and diversity management in Higher Education Institution is one of the best ways that university employees and students can become accustomed to other cultures, nonjudgmental, respectful, and accepting of differences, receptive to different ways of thinking.

Highlights

The breadth and depth of the body of knowledge in school administration are tied with the principal theories and practices of management in educational organizations (Okumbe, 1998; Austria et al, 2015)
This study focused on academic managers/ leaders as it is anchored on the findings of the research that states educational management must be adaptive to the demands of times, and responsive to the disruptions and emerging ramifications in Education 4.0. (Lynch et al, 2021; Arulkumar & Latha, 2019 ; Dasig Jr, 2014) As such, it would be of great significance that educational or academic leaders and managers are aware and knowledgeable with the emerging demand and advancements in the field of people and organizational development, on multiculturalism and diversity management
Most of them believe that the Multicultural and Diversity Management in Higher Education Institution program prepares employees for higher diversity in their team, as such, it helps in welcoming recruits with diverse backgrounds into the academic community and promotes a positive organizational culture

Summary

Introduction

The breadth and depth of the body of knowledge in school administration are tied with the principal theories and practices of management in educational organizations (Okumbe, 1998; Austria et al, 2015). Educational management is a field of study and practice on the successful management and operations of higher education institutions and other academic and educational institutions (Bush, 2006; Cuyugan et al, 2017), fairly, a classical educational domain that has significantly grown in Western, developed, and English-speaking countries and shifted over the years to selfmanagement to serve and enhance the importance of effective leadership within the organization. According to the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Education, alongside educational administration and the educational leadership domain, educational management underpins the theoretical, conceptual, and empirical lenses (Lynch, 2021). In the Philippines, the higher education institution consists of President, Vice-President for Academic Affairs, College Dean or Directors, Program Heads or Coordinators, faculty, support and administrative personnel to deliver the program curriculum successfully

Methods

Results

Conclusion