IDEALS

Nov 14, 2022

How Colleges Can Help Students Make Friends Who Have Different Religious, Spiritual Beliefs

Co-curricular opportunities can impact whether college students make friends with students from different faith traditions. 

Apr 13, 2022

Inside Higher Ed: A New Tool for Assessing Campus Climate on Religion

A group of researchers at Ohio State University and NC State's College of Education has crafted a tool called the Interfaith, Spiritual, Religious, and Secular Campus Climate Index, or INSPIRES, which scores higher ed institutions on their levels of religious diversity and inclusion. 

Sep 11, 2020

HuffPost: Students’ Positive Views Of Liberals Increased During College Years, Study Finds

A new study from the IDEALS Project suggested that students’ appreciation for both conservatives and liberals increased during freshman year. But by the time they graduated, positive attitudes toward conservatives dropped back to freshman-year levels, while opinions about liberals continued to improve. 

Sep 3, 2020

Diverse Issues in Higher Education: College Students Care About Interfaith Dialogue, But Most Don’t Engage In It

A new IDEALS Project study co-authored by NC State College of Education Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Alyssa Rockenbach, Ph.D., shows that college students are enthusiastic about religious pluralism and interfaith dialogue, but most aren’t engaging in it. 

Aug 25, 2020

Inside Higher Ed: Survey Finds Many College Students Lacking Knowledge About Religious Traditions

Many college students are not gaining the skill sets and knowledge they need to navigate a religiously diverse country, according to a new longitudinal study from the IDEALS Project, on which NC State College of Education Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Alyssa Rockenbach serves as co-principal investigator.  

Aug 25, 2020

Associated Press: Survey Says US College Students Learn Less About Religion

A new study released by the IDEALS Project, on which NC State College of Education Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Alyssa Rockenbach serves as co-principal investigator, found that U.S. college students spend significant time learning about people of different races, political affiliations and sexual orientations and much less time learning about people of different religious and worldview group. 

Aug 24, 2020

New IDEALS Project Study Reveals that As Colleges Teach Students About Diversity, They Miss A Crucial Topic: Religion

A first of its kind, multi-year survey of thousands of college students on 122 campuses nationwide through the IDEALS Project-- on which NC State College of Education Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Alyssa Rockenback serves as co-principal investigator-- has found that while schools make enormous strides in educating students about diversity, they are not doing enough about a critical subject: religion. 

Mar 2, 2020

Washington Post: Conservative Faculty Appear to Influence Their Students More Than Liberal Professors Do

The IDEALS project, on which Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Alyssa Rockenbach, Ph.D., serves as a co-principal investigator, explored whether or not college students feel pressured to shift their political views to align with their instructors' views.  

Feb 11, 2020

Inside Higher Ed: Friendships Matter for College Students

NC State College of Education doctoral student Kevin Singer examines the reasons why seeking out friends with different beliefs can be a vital part of an education.  

Feb 10, 2020

The Salt Lake Tribune: College Survey Shows How to Turn Suspicion of Latter-day Saints into Appreciation

The IDEALS Project, on which NC State College of Education Alumni Distinguished Graduate Professor Alyssa Rockenbach, Ph.D., is a co-principal investigator, highlights the importance of being able to disagree about a topic like religion while maintaining a friendship.