Photo by Rosemary Ketchum from Pexels: https://www.pexels.com/photo/people-holding-signs-with-text-on-protesting-1464209/
Bring a diverse group of young people together, all hungry for knowledge, and surely they will learn something about how to understand each other’s perspectives–right? The college experience is meant to launch graduates into the world with this vital skill with the hope that it enables them to engage with people and ideas different from their own–a foundation for a functioning democracy. Well, if you have been on a college campus in the last decade (or just caught the news), you might be wondering, “Where did it all go wrong?”
Researchers have some ideas about this. They conducted a study examining the factors that help and hinder the development of openness to diversity and challenge (ODC) among college students. The study focused on 1) the relationship between ODC and students’ propensity for activism, and 2) the relationship between students’ social positions on campus and their perceptions of how their campus experiences supported taking other people’s perspectives seriously.
It may surprise you, but they found that students involved in activism tend to be more open to diversity and different perspectives. These findings were consistent when taking into account individual and contextual factors, with some notable exceptions. For example, students who were committed to making a positive impact prior to college had higher ODC scores but traits like race/ethnicity, class year, age, parent education, and LGBTQ+ identity were not significantly related to ODC. Also, students participating in partisan political organizations reported significantly lower ODC scores while membership in other organizations and study abroad experiences were not significantly related to ODC.
The study also found nuanced perspectives on how students with different social statuses (roles and identity factors) perceived support for and barriers to developing ODC through campus experiences. Based on these findings, the researchers offer the following highlights and recommendations:
- Diversity–especially political diversity–is good, but only if individual students feel supported and have positive experiences. A diverse student body also means students need differentiated support, inside and beyond the classroom.
- Be mindful of students’ experiences of injustice and marginalization. Calling for openness to diverse perspectives will challenge students of varying backgrounds differently.
- Students are more attuned to peers than faculty/staff. Focus on creating opportunities for peer engagement like courses that emphasize discussion and supporting student activism.
The authors conclude that there needs to be more research that examines the many levels of factors contributing to ODC, and this study is just the tip of the iceberg.
Citation: Taylor, R. M., Burr, K. H., Stroup, N. R., & McCloud, L. I. (2023). “Speaking up when I disagree”: Exploring college student activism and openness to diversity and challenge. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000484