Policy orientation diversity & student self-sorting in higher education Mark Neff Zander 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 (Sarewitz 2004, 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.
Cultural Cognition Daniel Kahan HI HC EI ES
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 HI HC 1 .0 College of Education 0 .5 Poole College of Management 0 .0 -1 .0 -0 .5 0 .0 0 .5 1 .0 College of Textiles -0 .5 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences College of Engineering -1 .0 College of Natural Resources -1 .5 College of Humanities and Social Sciences EI ES College of Sciences -2 .0 -2 .5
Western Washington University 0.0 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 -0.5 -1.0 -1.5 College of Humanities and Social Sciences College of Fine and Performing Arts -2.0 College of Business and Economics -2.5 Huxley College of the Environment College of Science and Engineering EI ES -3.0
3 North Carolina State University 2 Western Washington University HI HC 1 College of Education Poole College of Management 0 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 College of Agriculture and Life Sciences College of Textiles College of Engineering -1 College of Natural Resources College of Humanities and Social Sciences College of Humanities and Social Sciences -2 College of Fine and Performing Arts College of Sciences Huxley College of the Environment EI ES College of Business and Economics -3 College of Science and Engineering
Cultural Cognition Daniel Kahan HI HC EI ES
Markets: The cause of, or the solution to socio-environmental problems WWU C ollege o f Bu sine ss and Ec o nom ics WWU C ollege o f Human ities and So cial Sc ie nces WWU C ollege o f Fine an d Per for min g Ar ts WWU Huxley C ollege of th e Enviro nme nt NCSU Colle ge of En gineer ing NCSU Poo le College of Managem ent NCSU Colle ge of Nat ural R esour c e s NCSU Colle ge of Te x t iles NCSU Colle ge of Hum anitie s an d Social Sciences NCSU Colle ge of A gricult ur e and Life Sc ie nces NCSU Colle ge of Sciences -1 .2 -1 .0 -0 .8 -0 .6 -0 .4 -0 .2 0 .0 0 .2 0 .4 Cause Solution
Technology: The cause of, or the solution to socio-environmental problems NCS U Colle g e of Agric u lture and Life S cie n c e s NCS U Colle g e of Sc ie nce s NCS U Colle g e of E ng in e e rin g NCS U Colle g e of E duca tion NCS U Colle g e of Na tu r al Re s o urc e s NCS U Colle g e of Huma ni t i e s a n d S o c ial Sc i e nce s NCS U Pool e Co lle ge o f Ma n a g e m e n t NCS U Colle g e of T e x ti le s WWU Co lle ge o f S cie n c e a nd E ngine e ring WWU Co lle ge o f Busine s s and E c o nom i c s WWU Co lle ge o f Hum anitie s and S ocia l S cie n c e s WWU Co lle ge o f F in e and P e rform in g Arts WWU Huxle y Co lle ge o f the E nv i ronm e nt 0 .0 0 .5 1 .0 1 .5 2 .0 2 .5 Solution
Ecotypes Technology Axis https://jimproctor.us/e cotypes/ecotypes- axis/technology/
Next steps • Revise instrument • Continued focus groups • Full WWU implementation in the fall • Answer your insightful questions mark.neff@wwu.edu
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