Organizationally Mandated Diversity Training: Participants’ Perceptions at a Southeastern State University Michelle Lynn Hurley East Tennessee State University
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East Tennessee State University Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University Electronic Theses and Dissertations Student Works 12-2012 Organizationally Mandated Diversity Training: Participants’ Perceptions at a Southeastern State University Michelle Lynn Hurley East Tennessee State University Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.etsu.edu/etd Part of the Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons Recommended Citation Hurley, Michelle Lynn, "Organizationally Mandated Diversity Training: Participants’ Perceptions at a Southeastern State University" (2012). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 1492. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1492 This Dissertation - Open Access is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Works at Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University. 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Organizationally Mandated Diversity Training: Participants’ Perceptions at a Southeastern State University __________________ A dissertation presented to the faculty of the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis East Tennessee State University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership __________________ by Michelle Lynn Hurley December 2012 __________________ Dr. Eric Glover, Chair Dr. Don Good Dr. James Lampley Dr. Leslie McCallister Keywords: diversity training, discrimination, evaluation, demographic predictors ABSTRACT Organizationally Mandated Diversity Training: Participants’ Perceptions at a Southeastern State University by Michelle Lynn Hurley An amplified emphasis on global competency and a projected demographic shift toward an increasingly diverse population necessitates that businesses and organizations prepare adequately to remain competitive and effective. Training to enhance employees’ multicultural competence is often used by organizations to address these impending changes; however, there is little research documenting the degree to which these trainings are effective. Using archival training evaluation data, the purpose of this study was to examine participant estimations of the effectiveness of one such training and also to determine if participant demographic variables including gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and employee classification (faculty or staff) held any predictive value in relation to training ratings. The results indicated that overall most participants found the training effective. Staff, female, or non-White participants were significantly more likely to rate the training favorably. These results suggest that diversity training may be a viable method of addressing changing organizational demographics and provides some insight as to how training group demographics could be used during the training planning and implementation process to individualize the curriculum. 2 Copyright© 2012 by Michelle Lynn Hurley All Rights Reserved. 3 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to my parents Terry and Diana Hurley who sacrificed in order to provide my education and continued to encourage me when the obstacles seemed insurmountable. I also wish to provide a special thank you to Sherman Hoard, who never failed to tell me that I could achieve this goal. I also thank my Heavenly Father for His grace and blessings and hope to dedicate the remainder of my life to His service. 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to thank Dr. Terry Tollefson for his unwavering support and patience throughout this process. His guidance and encouragement have been a beacon in an otherwise dark landscape of dissertation mire! His generosity and kindness have enabled me to succeed. Without him, this simply would not have been possible. He is a model of professionalism, intellectual stamina, and integrity that I desire to emulate. I wish him all the happiness in the world during his retirement. I am also grateful to Dr. James Lampley who has been instrumental to my study by ensuring that I always exercised statistical integrity. He introduced me to the world of quantitative analysis early in my doctoral program and it was truly a pleasure to punctuate this final program milestone with his assistance. I would also like to thank Dr. Eric Glover for his optimism and quiet encouragement. His advice to think carefully about my theoretical framework cannot be underestimated. I am also so thankful that he agreed to guide me through the final semester of this dissertation. His kind smile and thoughtful observations have been integral to my final success. I am grateful for Dr. Leslie McCallister. During her classes in my cognate area, I found an undiscovered passion for sociological research. Her insistence that I try harder motivated me to push through challenges that would have otherwise been easy to avoid. Had I done so, I would not have learned nearly as much as I have. I am forever grateful to my dear friend and colleague, Dinah DeFord, who served as cheerleader, counselor, prayer warrior, and confidant during this process. Without her shoulder to lean on I would have been much more likely to give up. There are not too many other people that I can laugh with about qualitative coding or obscure leadership theories! 5 I wish to thank Robin Leonard for her inestimable statistical contribution. Thank you for shining a flashlight down the dark halls of statistical analysis. Without your “light” I would have no doubt stumbled off the proverbial cliff. I am thankful for the support of my supervisor, Dr. Ronnie Gross. Throughout this process, Dr. Gross encouraged me to progress. He offered some of the best advice I have gotten during my doctoral program, “just get it done.” Dr. Pat Sheets has been integral. Her patience and dedication have been essential. I cannot quantify the number of hours that she has spent working with me. The time that I have spent with her in her office has been some of the most enjoyable that I have had during this process. Dr. Sheets exudes a quiet confidence that I respect immensely and I can only hope that we have the opportunity to work together again. I also wish to thank Mary Jordan for providing access to the resources that I needed. She has long served as an example of rectitude for many at the university and I certainly hold her in high regard. Dr. Sheila P. Smith has been unparalleled in her contribution to the formatting and editing of my dissertation. The day that Dr. Smith entered my life was the day that I could breathe again! Finally, I wish to acknowledge all of those individuals who were involved with the diversity training that is the subject of this dissertation. Your courage, energy, and enthusiasm are to be commended. 6 CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... 2 DEDICATION ....................................................................................................................... 4 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... 5 LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. 10 LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 12 Relevant Background ................................................................................................. 13 Statement of Purpose ................................................................................................. 16 Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 17 The Setting for the Study: Southern Appalachia ....................................................... 20 Limitations ................................................................................................................. 22 Diversity Initiatives at the University ........................................................................ 23 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 25 Key Terms and Concepts ........................................................................................... 28 Summary .................................................................................................................... 28 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE ........................................................................................ 30 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 30 Anti-Discrimination Legislative Mandates ................................................................ 31 Organizational Climate .............................................................................................. 34 Campus Climates and Their Relationship to Diversity Training ............................... 35 Organizational Management Models for Diversity Initiatives .................................. 38 Reasons for Corporate Diversity Training ................................................................. 39 7 Goals of Diversity Training ......................................................................................