Three Factors That Contribute to College Students' Acceptance and Tolerance of Diversity: Religiosity, Moral Reasoning and Attributional Complexity
The responsibilities of teachers today include not only teaching academics but often include teaching about acceptance, diversity, and societal values as well. This study proposes that several factors, which may be involved in this teacher role of acceptance and tolerance of diversity, are connected—including the teacher's level of moral reasoning, attributional complexity, and religiosity. Subjects included 181 teacher education majors at Western Kentucky University. The subjects completed the Defining Issues Test, Attributional Complexity Scale, general diversity survey, and a measure of religiosity. Findings include a significant correlation between the level of attributional complexity and moral reasoning and attributional complexity as a significant factor in predicting the level of acceptance of diversity. The focus of further studies should include the possibility of attributional complexity as a mediating factor and the application and impact of these constructs in the classroom.
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