Increasing Positive Perceptions of Diversity for Religious Conservative Students

Abstract

Evidence suggests that positive perceptions toward diversity enhance the potential group and organizational benefits resulting from diversity. Given the make-up of today's organizations, encountering diversity has become the norm rather than the exception. As such, it is becoming increasingly important to address diversity issues, and take steps to increase positive perceptions of diversity within the business classroom in order to carry that advantage into the workplace. Religious conservative students present a unique challenge to diversity education in that they likely hold valueladen attitudes that lack alignment with diversity principles. This study prescribes a scaffolding approach to increase positive perceptions of diversity within a classroom comprised predominantly of religious conservative students.

A Conservative’s View from the Academic Trenches: Reply to Duarte, Crawford, Stern, Haidt, Jussim, and Tetlock (2015)

“…This is important because the lack of diversity in social science may seem to make being an academic conservative an exercise in futility or a career without a future or on the wrong side of history [1]. Furthermore, conservative students may be seen as obstacles to diversity rather than those most able to accept it [2]. Therefore, I will discuss what some of the advantages may be for conservative scholars in academia currently.…”

A narrative of conservative student affairs professionals: Silenced in an inclusive profession?

“…Assumptions are also made about students who have a conservative sociopolitical identity based on faith (Cook & Callister, 2010;Modica, 2012). In a study of Christian and Mormon undergraduate students, assumptions were made about conservative social views, particularly in regard to issues of diversity such as gender roles and homosexuality (Cook & Callister, 2010). Unexpectedly, these students were found to be receptive to diversity education, challenging some of the assumptions about the mindset of the religiously conservative.…”