The societal and public policy implications of plurality in postsecondary education

Garima Talwar is currently completing her undergraduate degree in Public Affairs and Policy Management at Carleton University. Specializing in Development Studies, her research interests span public policy and civil society issues throughout the world. Garima is especially interested in public health and education policy in peripheral societies, both in underdeveloped and developed countries. Garima is the recipient of many scholarships that have been awarded from Carleton University, and continues to pursue her academic interests while maintaining a strong leadership presence in her community. At Carleton, Garima has been involved extensively in her student community through various leadership positions in student government and other student organizations. Much of her role in these positions required Garima to mitigate tensions between student populations of various backgrounds. In her paper, Garima discusses her experiences as a student, leader and member of a postsecondary institution community. In the future, Garima hopes to pursue further studies in public policy management and extensively travel abroad.

In this paper, author Garima Talwar discusses the societal and public policy implications of racial tensions in postsecondary education institutes across Canada. As student populations are increasingly becoming diverse (through international student enrolment and immigration) in a majority of Canadian postsecondary education institutions, the globalization of the postsecondary classroom must also purposefully teach the globalization of the human mind. Drawing on personal experience and documented situations, Garima analyzes the implications of religious and/or racial tensions in a postsecondary institution, not only in Canada, but for the world. With these implications articulated, the paper also argues that there must be a focused shift towards teaching inter-faith understanding in Canadian institutions. Such dialogue can not only help to alleviate the tensions brought on by religious and racial tensions in Canada, but can also have positive humanitarian and economic prospects for the world. Without it, however, Garima fears that tensions arising from perceived differences in postsecondary education campuses will permeate the rest of society, producing dire impacts for the public at large. Garima calls for concerted public policy action through the postsecondary framework in Canadian provinces to begin instituting the presented pedagogy.

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