Contexts for Diversity and Gender Identities in Higher Education

Jaimie Hoffman is a higher education leader with expertise and experience instudent affairs, technology, and university teaching. She is the Director ofStudent Affairs at Noodle Partners, and an Associate Lecturer at the Universityof Wisconsin at La Crosse, USA.Patrick Blessinger is the Founder, Executive Director, and Chief Research Scientistof the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association (HETL) anadjunct Associate Professor in the School of Education at St. John's University,USA, and an inclusive policy expert with UNESCO’s Inclusive Policy Lab.Mandla Makhanya is the Principal and Vice Chancellor ofthe University of South Africa (UNISA) and President of the International Higher Education Teaching andLearning Association (HETL).

• Foreword; Luisa SoaresIntroduction to Contexts for Diversity and Gender Identities in Higher Education; Patrick Blessinger,Jaimie Hoffman, and Mandla MakhanyaAccess and Permanence Conditions for Students with Special Educational Needs in Brazilian Higher Education; Ana Lúcia Manrique and GeraldoEustáquio MoreiraLooking on the Bright Side: Pathways, Initiatives and Programs to Widen Arab High School Graduates' Participation in Israeli Higher Education; Khalid Arar and KussaiHaj-YehiaPerspectives on Access, Equity, and Quality in Jamaica's Community Colleges; Dawn Smith-HenryDisparity in Higher Education: A Case for Nepal; Jayakrishna Upadhyay, Suresh Tiwari, and DhrubaGhimireThe Internationalization of Portuguese Higher Education Institutions: The Reasons, the Strategies, and the Challenges; Carla Guerreiro and Teresa BarrosEnglish Education Policy Trends in Puerto Rico and the Implications of the Language of Instruction in Puerto Rican Universities; Juan G. RosadoAccess and Widening Participation in South African Higher Education; Victor Pitsoe andMoeketsi LetsekaFinancial Barriers Affecting Students from Poor Families' Accessibility to Higher Education in Tanzania; Mpoki MwaikokesyaThe Teaching Excellence Framework: Quality, Equality, and Student Engagement in English Higher Education; Jill LeBihan, Christina Hughes, and Carol A. TaylorSpotlight on Six Marginalized Populations in American Higher Education; Jaimie Hoffman and Sarah ToutantMotivation Behind Male Students' Decision to Participate in a Study Program Abroad: A Study Conducted in the United States; DianneTimm, Rachel Lindhart, Kurt Olausen, and Aaron WalkAdvancing and Retaining Underrepresented Faculty in STEM: A Program for Value-Driven Career Success; Valerie Gray Hardcastle, Stacie Furst-Holloway, andRachel KallenWe're Not in High School Anymore: Understanding the Academic Transitional Challenges Experienced by U.S. Men of Color in College; Diane Cardenas Elliott and Meghan W. BrennemanAbout the Authors

Education and other researchers from around the world provide 14 chapters on how higher education can cultivate and promote a more inclusive and equitable environment, particularly in terms of gender diversity and non-conforming, non-heteronormative groups. They address higher education in Brazil and students with special educational needs; higher education access and inclusion policies for the Arab minority in Israel; the development of the community college system in Jamaica and aspects of access, equity, and quality; access and quality disparities in Nepal's higher education system in terms of gender, economic, and geographic dimensions; the internationalization of higher education in Portugal; and English education policy trends in Puerto Rico and the effects of the language of instruction in universities. They also examine access to and widening participation in South African higher education and the potential of open distance learning; financial barriers affecting students from poor families' accessibility to higher education in Tanzania; quality, equality, and student engagement in higher education in England; marginalized populations in American higher education, namely African Americans, students with disabilities, Hispanic students, LGBT students, undocumented students, and student veterans; the gender imbalance in seeking study abroad experiences outside the US; advancing and retaining women faculty in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields; and the underrepresentation of men of color in higher education in the US.