Leveraging Diversity in Information Systems and Technology Education in the Global Workplace

Abstract

In this chapter we consider the educational needs of the globally diverse information technology (IT) sector and a curriculum that has been developed in order to respond to them. We begin by discussing two human resource (HR) gaps that are affecting the preparation of tomorrow’s IT workforce. The first gap is a participation gap, which is related, in part, to the under representation in recruitment and retention of students with particular demographic profiles in information systems and technology (IS&T) education. The second gap is a knowledge gap, which is related to the globalization of the IT field and the challenges of developing compatible curriculum and pedagogical practices that will prepare students for careers in such a field. We argue that diversity is a lens that can be used to both understand these HR gaps and to develop curricular responses to them. We do this by considering, as a case study, a course developed and taught in the College of Information Sciences and Technology at Pennsylvania State University that is intended to address these gaps. This course—Human Diversity in the Global Information Economy—is offered to exemplify a way of addressing the diversity dimension of the IT skill set.