Openness to diversity and challenge refers to the willingness and ability of individuals to actively engage with, understand, and respect diverse perspectives and experiences that differ from their own.
This openness is particularly relevant to activism because it fosters inclusive dialogue and constructive engagement with social issues, making it crucial to study within diverse educational settings.
Taylor, R. M., Burr, K. H., Stroup, N. R., & McCloud, L. I. (2025). “Speaking up when I disagree”: Exploring college student activism and openness to diversity and challenge. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 18(1), 82–96. https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000484
Key Points
- Students’ activism orientation positively relates to openness to diversity and challenge (ODC).
- Diverse campus environments significantly support students’ development of perspective-taking.
- Informal peer interactions strongly impact openness to diverse perspectives.
- Political climate, including politicized racism and biases, poses barriers to perspective-taking.
- Experiences and outcomes differ based on students’ social positions and identities.
- Political diversity and student-driven political events significantly impact students’ abilities to engage with diverse perspectives.
- Membership in partisan political groups negatively associates with openness to diversity.
Rationale
Existing research underscores openness to diverse perspectives as essential for promoting democratic citizenship, professional competencies, and intellectual development.
However, the contemporary discourse on student activism tends to overlook how intersecting identities, such as race, gender, sexuality, and political orientation, influence students’ willingness to engage with challenging perspectives.
Prior studies indicate positive outcomes from student activism, including enhanced civic engagement, improved psychological well-being, and heightened persistence in education among marginalized groups.
Nevertheless, few have explicitly explored the connection between activism orientation and openness to diversity.
Employing ecological systems theory, this study fills the research gap by examining how distinct layers of campus environments, ranging from peer interactions to institutional policies, shape students’ openness based on their unique social positions.
Future research should further explore these dynamics across different institutional contexts and longitudinally assess outcomes of activism.
Method
A mixed-method (quantitatively driven + qualitative) approach was utilized, collecting comprehensive survey data and open-ended responses from undergraduate students attending a midsized elite private university over three consecutive academic years (2017-2019).
Procedure
- Conducted campus-wide surveys annually, using the Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (PSRI), Openness to Diversity and Challenge (ODC) scale, and Activism Orientation Scale (AOS).
- Students provided demographic information and completed standardized scales.
- Participants responded to open-ended prompts regarding specific experiences contributing to or hindering their perspective-taking skills.
- Responses underwent statistical analysis (quantitative data) and thematic content analysis (qualitative data).
Sample
- Total sample size: 797 undergraduate students
- Gender distribution: 67.6% women, 29.6% men, 1.5% transgender/gender nonconforming
- Ethnicity distribution: 48.8% White, 31.1% Asian/Asian American, 13.9% Black/African American, 11.4% Hispanic/Latinx
- LGBTQ identification: 16.9%
- Majority had parents with Bachelor’s degree or higher (77.4%)
Measures
- Activism Orientation Scale (AOS): Evaluates the likelihood of students engaging in various social activism behaviors, including campaigning and protesting.
- Openness to Diversity and Challenge (ODC): Assesses students’ openness and willingness to interact with diverse individuals and viewpoints.
- Personal and Social Responsibility Inventory (PSRI): Captures students’ perceptions of campus climate, particularly relating to responsibility, ethical reasoning, and perspective-taking.
Statistical measures
- Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analyses to identify predictors of ODC.
- Qualitative thematic content analysis of written survey responses to understand nuanced student experiences.
Results
- Students with higher activism orientations were significantly more open to diverse perspectives.
- Perceptions of campus climate significantly influenced openness; positive climates encouraged openness, whereas negative climates posed barriers.
- Informal interactions with diverse peers strongly supported perspective-taking skills.
- Political diversity was generally seen positively by students, although direct involvement in partisan political organizations negatively correlated with openness.
- Students experiencing politicized bias or feeling marginalized on campus were less likely to value perspective-taking toward viewpoints they viewed as unjust.
Insight
This study clarifies the role of activism as generally beneficial for openness to diversity, challenging popular narratives that activism inherently limits open dialogue.
The findings deepen understanding by highlighting informal peer interactions and the broader political climate as critical to student openness.
This extends previous research by demonstrating how intersectional identities shape students’ engagement with diverse viewpoints.
Further research should explore activism’s impacts over time, across various institutional types, and investigate more deeply into how specific identity intersections influence students’ openness to challenging perspectives.
Implications
Practitioners and policymakers should foster inclusive environments supportive of activism while encouraging dialogue across political divides.
Specific recommendations include developing targeted support mechanisms for activists sensitive to identity-specific challenges, enhancing informal discussion opportunities, and addressing institutional barriers to openness.
Implementing such practices could promote better engagement with diversity, though effectively navigating politicized biases remains a practical challenge.
Strengths
This study had several methodological strengths, including:
- Comprehensive mixed-method approach.
- Detailed quantitative and qualitative analyses.
- Inclusive demographic representation.
- Use of established and validated measurement instruments.
Limitations
This study also had several limitations, including:
- Single institutional context limits broader generalizability.
- Cross-sectional methodology restricts causal conclusions.
- Potential self-report and social desirability biases.
- Lack of intersectional analysis due to sample size constraints.
Socratic Questions
- How could different institutional contexts alter the connection between activism and openness to diversity?
- In what ways can activism orientation influence classroom dynamics and discussions?
- Under what circumstances might activism limit openness, and how could institutions prevent this?
- What practical measures can campuses take to address the politicized bias noted as barriers?
- How might these findings differ if replicated in varied institutional contexts such as community colleges or large public universities?
