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.

Cultural CognitionDaniel 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

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

Cultural CognitionDaniel Kahan

HI 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

Ecotypes Technology Axis

https://jimproctor.us/ecotypes/ecotypes-axis/technology/

Next steps

• Revise instrument• Continued focus groups• Full WWU implementation in the fall

• Answer your insightful questions

mark.neff@wwu.edu