Diversity in Doctoral Education: Implications for Theory and Practice

Book By: Karrie A. Holley and Joretta Joseph, Eds.
Review By: Jason T. Mitchell, Ed.S.
University of Kentucky
College of Medicine

Increasing Diversity in Doctoral Education: Implications for Theory and Practice, the editors, Karrie A. Holley and Joretta Joseph have compiled what could be considered a sufficient compendium on the topics of diversity and graduate education.  The book is a collection of studies compiled by the editors which deal with key factors in doctoral education.  Those factors include: visibility of minorities, workforce transitions (especially in the STEM disciplines), motivational aspects of dealing with specific ethnicities (again, in the STEM disciplines), first-generation students and the work-life balance for doctoral students.  The value added by this volume is that it is one of a few compilations that deal with the unique aspects of doctoral students in relationship to specific issues in diversity.  Of particular interest is the use of allegory in some of the studies contained in this book and how those stories make good examples which draw on the higher educational relationship to the issue of diversity.   One would expect that allegory would be used quite a bit when discussing diversity related issues.  However, in this book the use of allegorical examples is balanced well with statistical analysis of the wide spread issue of diversity and how it affects these certain aspects of doctoral education. 

The application is seemingly directed at the practitioner dealing with students primarily in the STEM disciplines.  Nevertheless, with careful insight there are many useful cross-applications for the more general audience who works alongside and with doctoral students.  In comparison with other literature that deals with diversity issues, this more focused look at the STEM disciplines carries with it many useful statistics provided by organizations and agencies that would be useful predictors for disciplines outside of the STEM category.  This reliance on hard data helps drive the discussion of diversity amongst doctoral students and programs.

As higher education professionals attempt to address the issue of increasing diversity amongst their student populations the studies in this book bring to light a key facet of the issue. Understanding the diversity of knowledge and its relationship to issues of diversity requires the higher education professional to realize that diversity and its implications are not a homogenous mechanism easily applied to all aspects of higher education. 

The increasingly apparent appeal of diversity in higher education is highlighted well in this book and could be applied to areas outside of doctoral education.