policy orientation diversity & student self -sorting in ... filepolicy orientation diversity...
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Policy orientation diversity & student self-sorting in higher education
Mark NeffZander Albertson& H/T Bethany Cutts
Exposure to intellectual diversity matters
• Policy disagreements stem not just from knowledge asymmetries • Members of the public with the greatest climate literacy are the most
polarized in terms of policy preferences (Kahan 2012)• Academic disciplines themselves embody ideological norms• Economists tend to see markets as the way society should allocate goods;
Engineers tend to view problems as amenable to technical solutions (Sarewitz2004, Neff and Carroll 2016)
• A well-educated student, we assert, must be prepared to navigate a world characterized by divergent cultural orientations and policy framings.
Exposure to intellectual diversity matters
• RQ: To what extent are university-level students exposed to peers with divergent cultural and policy orientations?
• Analytical method• Survey (Pilot 2017-18; full survey 2018-19)• Sampling to allow comparison between colleges on Western Washington
University’s campus• Eventual expansion
• Multiple campuses• Longitudinal across students’ careers
Axes of interest
• Cultural cognition (Dan Kahan)• Markets/capitalism• Proper role of government• Technology• Myths of nature
• Pilot phase: • North Carolina State University (n=97)• Western Washington University (n=30)
North Carolina State University
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
College of Natural Resources
Poole College of Management
College of Sciences
College of Textiles
-2 .5
-2 .0
-1 .5
-1 .0
-0 .5
0 .0
0 .5
1 .0
-1 .0 -0 .5 0 .0 0 .5 1 .0
HI HC
EI ES
Western Washington University
College of Business and Economics
College of Fine and Performing ArtsCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences
College of Science and EngineeringHuxley College of the Environment
-3 .0
-2 .5
-2 .0
-1 .5
-1 .0
-0 .5
0 .0-0 .8 -0 .6 -0 .4 -0 .2 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 0 .6 0 .8
EI ES
College of Business and Economics
College of Fine and Performing ArtsCollege of Humanities and Social Sciences
College of Science and Engineering
Huxley College of the Environment
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
College of Education
College of Engineering
College of Humanities and Social Sciences
College of Natural Resources
Poole College of Management
College of Sciences
College of Textiles
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
-3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3
North Carolina State UniversityWestern Washington UniversityHI HC
EI ES
Markets: The cause of, or the solution to socio-environmental problems
Cause Solution
-1 .2 -1 .0 -0 .8 -0 .6 -0 .4 -0 .2 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4
NCSU Colle ge of Sciences
NCSU Colle ge of A gricult ur e and Life Scie nces
NCSU Colle ge of H um anitie s an d Social Sciences
NCSU Colle ge of Te xt iles
NCSU Colle ge of Nat ural R esour ce s
NCSU Poo le College of M anagem ent
NCSU Colle ge of En gineer ing
WWU H uxley C ollege of th e Enviro nme nt
WWU C ollege o f Fine an d Per for min g Ar ts
WWU C ollege o f H uman ities and So cial Scie nces
WWU C ollege o f Bu sine ss and Eco nom ics
Technology: The cause of, or the solution to socio-environmental problems
0 .0 0 .5 1 .0 1 .5 2 .0 2 .5
WWU Hu xle y C ol le ge of th e En v iro n m en t
WWU C ol le ge of F ine an d Pe rfo rm ing Arts
WWU C ol le ge of Hu m an itie s an d S o cia l S cie nc es
WWU C ol le ge of B u sin es s an d Ec on o m ic s
WWU C ol le ge of S cie nc e a n d E n gin ee rin g
NC S U C o l leg e o f Te x tile s
NC S U P o o le C ol le ge of M a na g em e nt
NC S U C o l leg e o f Hu ma n it ie s a nd S oc ial Sc ie n ce s
NC S U C o l leg e o f Na tur al R es ou rc es
NC S U C o l leg e o f Ed u ca tio n
NC S U C o l leg e o f En g ine e ring
NC S U C o l leg e o f Sc ien ce s
NC S U C o l leg e o f Agric ul tu re an d Li fe S cie nc es
Solution
Next steps
• Revise instrument• Continued focus groups• Full WWU implementation in the fall
• Answer your insightful questions