Charting the way forward in education is often influenced by what is happening in America; however, in many ways, it is important to resist that influence and to center some of the emphases on what is happening elsewhere. Thus, although the concept of DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) is now under attack in the US, in industry, government, non-profit organizations, as well as education, many other countries acknowledge its importance.

Background: Although the concept is not new, and in many ways dates, in the United States from the Civil Rights movement of the mid 20^th century, following the death of George Floyd in May 2020, there was a renewed emphasis on the acronym DEI and on establishing training, hiring leaders, and establishing research centers. Combining the three concepts into one entity, however, often seemed simply performative, with little or no tangible results.

Some who are lashing back have described the current use in America of DEI as simply a means of “distraction and appeasement for Black folks” and has resulted in many companies, e.g. Walmart, and the Tractor Supply Company, eliminating diversity training and hiring, and terminating those who have been hired to lead such initiatives. Many states have introduced legislation forbidding spending public money on anything related to DEI, such that some of my academic colleagues have had their syllabi changed to eliminate all mention of race, ethnicity, or even equity, and many have been ordered to have all course readings authorized prior to their implementation. Books related to minority ethnicities and gender issues have been banned in many schools and even libraries. President Trump has called racial sensitivity trainings “anti-American propaganda” and his associate Elon Musk has said that DEI is “just another word for racism.”

Yet, the 2015 United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 4, (SDG4) the education goal, adopted in 2015 by 184 member states, calls for nations to “Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (UNESCO, nd). The statement does not mention diversity, perhaps because diversity is a given in today’s world, with students from many ethnic backgrounds, lifestyles, religions, colors, abilities and so forth attending public schools in most nations. Moreover, it is not simply diversity that comprises a challenge to equitable and inclusive education, but overcoming the disparities, entrenched practices, and mindsets associated with it constitutes the real problem. Nevertheless, since the majority of countries signed on to the UN goals, it is the responsibility of educators to be aware of them and to embrace them.

Purpose:

The purpose of this largely conceptual paper, drawing on current data, is to demonstrate the extent of the challenges and backlash to DEI goals and training in America, and to make a case for initiatives relating to inclusion and equity in global education regardless of the American backlash. This paper argues that unless people are fully included, respected, and equally valued, they are less likely to perform to their maximum potential; indeed as Kefallinou et al. have found, “inclusive education can provide not only equal opportunities but also more equitable learner outcomes” (2020, p. 138).And as the Forbes media company asserts, “Equity is the foundation for meaningful diversity and inclusion as it acknowledges systemic barriers that exist, and it ensures fair access to opportunities, without which diversity efforts remain superficial and inclusion becomes impossible.”

To describe the current state of DEI in education, I will first examine some of the legislation that forbids DEI initiatives in education. Then I will examine some instances of diversity and disparity throughout the world, with an emphasis on countries of Europe. The data that inform this paper include websites covering legislative initiatives, research papers related to equity in education (Darling-Hammond, 2013; Dunlavy et al. 2020; Matear, 2007; Shields, 2025), statistics related to progress toward the SDG4 initiatives (Our World, 2023) and the European Commission-funded Eurydice network report (2023), Promoting diversity and inclusion in schools in Europe, which covers 27 member states of the EU as well as 12 others (such as Bosnia, Serbia, Norway, etc.) who are members of the Eurydice network. This Network, established in 1980, is intended to provide up-to-date and reliable information about the field of education. Information from this network will be supplemented by other global research findings related to initiatives that have fostered inclusion, a sense of belonging, and of improved student achievement in schools. This examination will be informed by the theoretical framework of transformative leadership theory because, as Weiner (2003) asserted, transformative leadership theory involves “an exercise of power and authority that begins with questions of justice, democracy, and the dialectic between individual accountability and social responsibility (p. 89). Issues of equity and inclusion are at the forefront of this theory as is attending to the UN SDG4 goal (Shields, 2025). Moreover, the theory acknowledges the need to create learning environments in which everyone is respected and welcomed and their voices heard. It will also be informed by currently approved methods of document and policy analysis (Cardno, 2018) because “leaders need to be aware of the demands created by external policy as they mediate between the external and the internal policy contexts (p. 625). This includes the need to attend to the policy context, i.e. the forces that have given rise to a policy, the text itself, and the consequences which may be intended or unintended in part because of challenges to its implementation by human actors and agents. Thus, what the policy describes may not be what is perceived or practiced on the ground in a particular context.

According to the 2023 UNESCO scorecard on progress towards SDG4, most countries were progressing well on primary school completion rates, with high income countries progressing the fastest. However, one in ten countries showed regression in out-of-school rates and “one in three regressed in learning proficiency and in trained teachers at the pre-primary and primary level” (p.2). Thus, the scorecard advocated that countries regulate educational providers in order to ensure quality and equity. This call for regulation contravenes what is currently happening in the United States where 86 bills from 28 states have been introduced in Congress since 2023. These bills often bar mandatory diversity training or forbid mention of “controversial topics” such as race, sexual orientation, religion, or national origin, including such important historic topics as slavery and its impact and hence reduce, rather than ensure, equity. Despite these efforts in the United States, according to the 2023 report of the European Commission, diversity and inclusion are foregrounded in schools in Europe with students with special needs, migrant and refugee students being targeted most frequently in policy initiatives, but LGBTQI+ students and religious minorities being mentioned much less often. According to the Eurydice report, key documents acknowledge the need to take a holistic, intersectional approach to address inequity and discrimination. In Serbia, for example, a team is tasked with addressing violence, abuse, or neglect, while in Czechia, the social inclusion of students from different cultural backgrounds is targeted (p. 67). Other countries ensure language support for newly arrived students, monitor discrimination in schools, and offer specific initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion. This paper will summarize the current state of DEI as indicated by this brief overview of some of the findings and will provide support from research for its educational benefits in terms of student academic and social growth.

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