To Belief or Not to Belief: Educator Perspectives on Diversity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers’ political orientation (PO) and years of teaching experience relate to their personal and professional diversity beliefs. By examining these demographic variables, this research can contribute to the field by highlighting the central role of political orientation in shaping teachers’ diversity beliefs, suggesting that future studies should further explore how underlying belief orientations interact with political ideology to influence classroom practice and professional practice. Using a mixed-methods design, data were collected through surveys from active educators (n = 92) that included items on beliefs about diversity and through semi-structured interviews (n = 15). Results indicated that political orientation, rather than years of teaching, was most consistently associated with both personal and professional diversity beliefs. Qualitative findings reinforced these patterns, illustrating that teachers’ political worldviews shaped how they conceptualized and enacted diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. These results highlight the centrality of underlying belief orientations in shaping educators’ perspectives on diversity. Implications for practice, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research are discussed.