A Latent Class Analysis of Students' Openness to Learning From Diverse Others

There is a growing body of research on the importance of students engaging and learning by interacting with racially/ethnically diverse people, less is known about the effects of student interactions with others across other various aspects of difference (e.g., religion, political beliefs, gender, sexual orientation), and how this may impact on their awareness and understanding of various aspects and issues of difference. We used latent class analysis (LCA) to illustrate how college students can be classified into groups based on their openness to learning from diverse others. The LCA revealed four latent classes: global openness (14%), openness to visible diversity (12%), openness to less visible diversity (8%), and low openness (66%). The findings suggest that approximately two thirds of students perceive their interactions with diverse others as having little to no effect on their understanding of others' perspectives. However, students who were open to some type of diversity (regardless of that diversity) reported an increase in their awareness and understanding of various aspects and issues of difference. We conclude with implications of the findings for institutions.