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Research Projects & Surveys

[2016 Research Project] SNU Diversity Climate Survey

17-02-27 13:58

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SNU Diversity Climate Survey 서울대학교 다양성 환경조사 

  • Principal Investigator
    Haeran LIM, College of Social Sciences
  • Researcher
    Seokho KIM, College of Social Sciences
    Eun-Kyung BAE, College of Social Sciences
    SangJun IM, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
    Dukjin CHANG, College of Social Sciences
    Eun Young CHOI, College of Medicine
    Bernhard Egger, College of Engineering
  • Supporting Staff
    Hanna CHO, Doctoral Program, College of Social Sciences


Necessity and goals of the research

The 2016 SNU Diversity Climate Survey, the first campus climate survey conducted at the university, focused on investigating diversity on campus from the point of view of the people of SNU. A “campus climate” is not the simple “weather” (overall atmosphere) of an institution, but a practical or cognitive measure of the academic and professional interactions of individuals on campus (University of California, 2014). 

Therefore, the SNU Diversity Climate Survey asked respondents about the importance of a diversity-friendly climate, their satisfaction with SNU’s current diversity climate, their experiences of discrimination that impeded diversity, their feelings of efficacy as members of the university community, their opinions about policy options, etc. Through these questions, we attempted to gain a multifaceted understanding of the current state of diversity at SNU and reveal the factors that obstruct it, and thus provide a basis from which policy options can be sought.


Research design and methods

The target population for the survey was the entire population of SNU. This group can be divided into undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff. The survey targeted all students, even Students on a Leave of Absence and Degree Candidates, and the faculty group was made up not only of faculty but also researchers employed by the university’s Educational Organizations or Research Institutions. The faculty group was further divided into Tenure-Track Faculty (Professors, Associate Professors, and Assistant Professors) and Non-Tenure-Track Faculty (Endowed Professors, Research Professors, hourly lecturers, etc.). The staff group was separated into Regular Permanent Staff and non-permanent types of staff. Also, the entire population was divided into those of South Korean nationality and those of other nationalities, and the latter group was given access to the same survey translated into English.

The survey was conducted over the month from September 27 to October 25, and was distributed online using the university’s survey program, which sent the survey to the university e-mail accounts of all members of the SNU community. Foreigners were sent both the Korean and English versions of the survey and asked to fill out the one that was most comfortable for them.

Out of 38,829 people in the target population, 5,240 (13%) responded. By group, researchers (38%) responded in the highest proportion, followed by faculty (19%), staff (17%), and students (12%). By nationality, foreigners, at 33%, were much more likely to respond than South Koreans, at 13%.


Major findings by topic

a. Overall assessment of diversity in the university’s culture

The survey revealed that people at SNU generally believe that diversity on campus is important but show a middling level of satisfaction with its current state. In particular, female faculty and non-permanent workers, two minority groups, indicated a large gap between these two measures with regards to “a culture of respect for minority groups”; this indicates the current discriminatory state of affairs in the university. 

b. Assessment of discrimination in the university’s culture

Nine out of 10 respondents rated the reduction of discrimination in the university’s culture as important or very important, which shows there is a high level of awareness of discrimination among the people of SNU. While there was a gender gap in all groups related to experiences of discrimination, it was largest among faculty. Male faculty, at 31.3%, were the least likely group of all to report experiencing discrimination, while female faculty, at 62.4%, were the most likely group of all to do so.

Additionally, while women mainly indicated experiencing discrimination based on gender, university of origin, and major, they were also, unsurprisingly, more likely than men to report experiencing discrimination based on status (student, faculty, etc.), age, appearance, and marital status. Interestingly, fewer foreigners than South Koreans reported experiencing discrimination, which suggests that discrimination at SNU is more serious within the South Korean group.

c. Assessment of a culture of respect for diversity

A majority (51.5%) of people at SNU indicated that they consider a culture of respect for diversity and minority groups to be very important. When asked to rank which of several factors most urgently needs to be improved to enhance respect for diversity in the university, students chose, in order, “institutionalization of prohibition of discrimination”, “work-life balance”, “scholarship systems”, and “admissions systems”, while faculty and researchers chose “organizational culture” and “appointment/hiring systems”, and staff chose “appointment/hiring systems”, “organizational culture”, and “promotion systems”.

d. Assessment of SNU’s internationalization

While there was a gap in all groups’ ratings of the importance of and their satisfaction with SNU’s internationalization (with the latter being rated lower across the board), it was particularly large in the faculty group. Both South Koreans and those of other nationalities at SNU believe that the university must become more international, and their responses confirm the need to improve policies encouraging overseas visiting and exchange and to introduce additional measures to help international students adjust to SNU.

e. Assessment of work-life balance and quality of life

About 70% of respondents rated work-life balance as very important, but their satisfaction with their current work-life balance was below moderate, at 2.89 points out of 5.0. This was the lowest satisfaction score out of all areas tested, and thus the need for improvement in this area is clear. Because an atmosphere demanding fast research results or educational achievements is being added to the high degree of excellence already required of the people of SNU, it seems that all groups surveyed are spending miserably long hours on their work or studies.

At the very least, efforts must be made to reduce the stress that people feel by increasing welfare services and improving university systems. As expected, female faculty and female graduate students emerged as the groups most needing better work-life balance, and those who are married or have family members who need care view current family-friendly systems as inadequate to support the careers of individuals. The survey thus shows that, within SNU, women in particular need practical improvements to systems and increased welfare services for the sake of their work-life balance.


Policy recommendations

When the survey’s results are considered as a whole, they show that there is a noticeable gap between the importance that people place on SNU having a diversity-friendly environment and their satisfaction with its current environment. The following policy suggestions can be derived from these results.

First, the importance of a diversity-friendly culture, the reduction of discrimination, respect for minority groups, internationalization, and work-life balance were all rated above four points, meaning they are considered important or very important; work-life balance, at 4.61 points, is the most important of these areas for people at SNU. However, ratings of satisfaction with current conditions in these areas were around three points, meaning it is moderate, and there is no area in which satisfaction is higher than importance. Work-life balance even received a rating of below three points, meaning that people are somewhat dissatisfied with it. This indicates that institutional support for improving people’s quality of life should be expanded.

Second, female faculty appear to be the most disadvantaged group with regards to gender discrimination, followed by female staff, as measured by responses to questions about experiences of gender discrimination, respect for minority groups in the university, and work-life balance. The female staff group mostly consists of non-permanent workers, which shows that problems related to gender in this group include the problem of employment type. It would be easy to think that female students are the most disadvantaged by gender discrimination, but female faculty and staff find it a serious problem, and this means that improvements must be made to gender equality in the institutions and organizational cultures to which these groups belong.

Third, non-permanent staff show the lowest degree of satisfaction with overall diversity-friendliness and discrimination in the university’s culture, respect for minority groups, and work-life balance, which places them as the most disadvantaged group by job status. SNU must create a diversity-friendly culture that is inclusive of and shows consideration to groups who, like non-permanent workers, are marginalized in power relations, as well as to socioeconomic minorities. 

On the whole, it appears that the diversity climate at SNU is influenced by that of South Korea overall. While there is high awareness of the importance of diversity and the need to respect the opinions of minorities, there is agreement that minorities are not being respected in actuality, and all members of the SNU community believe it is possible to better promote diversity by actions such as improving the university’s organizational culture and appointment and hiring systems and enhancing its welfare services.

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