Faculty emphasis on diversity conversations and conversations with diverse others

Abstract

Using data from the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), this study examines how often faculty structure class sessions around diverse topics and how often faculty report students having serious conversations with diverse others in their courses. Findings suggest that faculty most often structure course sessions around economic and social inequalities and report students having the most conversations with people of differing economic or social backgrounds. Faculty members' gender and race matter in predicting these measures of diversity in the classroom, but disciplinary area was the strongest predictor. Implications for assessment and institutional research are discussed.