Universities nationwide might be emphasizing diverse viewpoints among students, but a new study found that they might not be pushing students to be tolerant of other perspectives.
The Association of American Colleges and Universities survey shows that 97 percent of university staff and 93 percent of students agreed that an important goal of college education should be to prepare students to value others’ views.
But only one-third of those surveyed strongly agreed that their institutions focused on encouraging students to understand various perspectives.
Caryn Musil, senior vice president of the organization that conducted the survey, said it’s important to be accepting of different viewpoints.
“Engaging in different views is key to learning and is useful in many areas, such as citizenship and work,” Musil said.
Andrew Perrin, associate sociology professor at UNC, said he was impressed with the percentage of students who reported their universities strongly encouraged learning from others’ viewpoints.
Perspective-taking is an educational tool that helps students understand other people’s viewpoints — whether they are political or cultural, Perrin said.
As the country becomes more diverse, respecting people’s views becomes even more important, and it’s no longer optional to ignore other viewpoints, Musil said.
The large gap in what students think and what should be happening can be solved through more interaction with the community, she added.
