The importance of diversity in higher education (HE) is increasingly recognized by European and local policymakers, as well as other stakeholders at state and institutional levels. The number of studies in this field is growing, with a search for "diversity in higher education" yielding over 675,000 results.

While there is limited comparative research on diversity in HE, there are numerous European regulations addressing the issue, such as the Paris Declaration of EU Member States from March 2015 and the European Commission's 2017 updated agenda for higher education (Claeys-Kulik et al., 2019).  The Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations also emphasize the importance of social well-being in the concept of sustainability. However, despite these political commitments, few European countries have implemented system-level initiatives to improve socio-economic inclusion in HE (Crosier & Sigalas, 2022).

Research on diversity in HE has focused mainly on data collection and less on the experiences, beliefs, and competencies of HE teachers. Literature suggests that attitudes and perceived skills of HE teachers in diverse classrooms are often moderate, negative, or poor. For example, research by Abacioglu et al. found that teachers' perspective-taking abilities and intercultural attitudes are essential for effectively managing diversity in the classroom (Abacioglu et al., 2020; Agirdag et al., 2012; Ajzen, 2005; Emmers et al., 2019).

Similarly, research on students with disabilities in HE by Emmers et al. found that HE teachers have moderately positive views and self-efficacy in providing inclusive education. These findings suggest that policy improvements should focus on empowering HE teachers in diverse classrooms. To do so, an understanding of the current state of affairs and investment in teachers' abilities, knowledge, and attitudes is necessary. 

The three proposed contributions each look at one aspect of this. Starting with neurodiversity in the workplace, uncovering the consequences of the digital divide and equal educational opportunities, and continuing with an overview of experiences in inclusive higher education.  

Abacioglu, C. S., Volman, M., & Fischer, A. H. (2020). Teachers’ multicultural attitudes and perspective taking abilities as factors in culturally responsive teaching. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(3), 736–752. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12328 Agirdag, O., Loobuyck, P., & Van Houtte, M. (2012). Determinants of attitudes toward Muslim students among Flemish teachers: A research note. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 51(2), 368–376. Ajzen, I. (2005). Attitudes, personality, and behavior. McGraw-Hill Education (UK). Claeys-Kulik, A.-L., Jørgensen, T. E., & Stöber, H. (2019). Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in European Higher Education Institutions: Results from the INVITED Project. European University Association. Crosier, D., & Sigalas, E. (2022). Towards equity and inclusion in higher education in Europe: Eurydice report. Emmers, E., Baeyens, D., & Petry, K. (2019). Attitudes and self-efficacy of teachers towards inclusion in higher education. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 1–15.