THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATING IN

DIVERSITY TRAINING:

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY

A DISSERTATION

SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF THE

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

By:

Jeremy Michael Clark

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE

DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Major: Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development:

Human Resource Development

Faculty Adviser: Professor Kenneth R. Bartlett, Ph.D.

December 2018
© 2018 Jeremy Michael Clark
 i

Acknowledgements

I have always subscribed to the adage of “it takes a village to raise a child.” I

cannot think of a more appropriate example of this than my life generally, and this

journey specifically. The completion of this dissertation represents the culmination of

many years of effort and sacrifice by many individuals. As such, I would like to

recognize those that have greatly contributed to this effort over time. First, I would like to

acknowledge the following individuals: my Dad, Larry Thompson for hanging a map of

the world above my head and letting me know that I could accomplish anything in it –

this is for you, Dad. My Mom, Cindy Clark for always believing in me, often when others

would not. My grandmother, Lucinda Clark for showing that you can literally come from

the cotton fields and run your own department at a large organization. I would also like to

acknowledge a man who served in the role of a second father - when necessary - Roland

W. Hicks, Sr. for instilling in me that even the longest journey can be completed one step

at a time.

I would also like to acknowledge my sister Morgan, my step-mother Donna, my

sister Lucy, my brother Johnathan and my Aunt Bennie – I couldn’t have done it without

you all! I would also like to acknowledge my friends and mentors that have offered

support over the years: AJ and Amy, Chris and Crystal, Jeff, Kirk and Emily, Cess,

Victoria, Elizabeth, and Michael Leimbach. I would also like to acknowledge my

esteemed adviser, Dr. Kenneth Bartlett, for putting up with me and sailing the often-

rough waters which accompanied this journey, I appreciate it. I would also like to thank

my wonderful and accomplished committee members which included Dr. Michael

 ii

Leimbach, Dr. Dave Christesen, Dr. Frances Lawrenz, and Dr. Sasha Ardichvili, I really

appreciate your support, time, and effort.

I would especially like to thank my children, JJ and Addi. Daddy appreciates your

sacrifice over the last four and a half years and I look forward to reconnecting and

spending more time with you both. I wanted to show you that anything is possible

regardless of where you come from and I sincerely hope I serve as an inspiration for you

both as you serve as mine. I love you both very much! I would also like to thank my in-

laws, John and Dorothy Fay, for their unwavering support over the years and through this

endeavor. I could not have done this without your support. My thanks to Heather, Holly,

and Troy for their support over the years. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the person

who has perhaps made the most sacrifices as they relate to this endeavor, and my life in

general – my lovely wife Haley.

Haley, you are my rock, my advocate, my motivation, my biggest critic, and my

life partner. It has not been an easy journey and I am sure that there are other challenges

we will face together in life as we continue to grow. I also know that this experience has

made me more confident that there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that we cannot

overcome together. I appreciate the proofreading, the understanding, the sharing of ideas,

the picking up of the slack, and you believing in me when no one else would – I love you,

mama!
 iii

Abstract
Despite significant expenditures on diversity training by organizations and

increasing interest in the study of diversity training as a phenomenon by organizational

scholars and practitioners, little research has been conducted regarding the lived

experience of diversity training. The present study utilized hermeneutic phenomenology

and case study methodologies to investigate the lived experience of participating in

diversity training in a county government setting. Six county government employees who

recently attended a diversity training at a large Midwestern county served as study

participants. Study participants shared their insights, feelings, thoughts, emotions, and

experiences regarding this unique and complex phenomenon.

The analysis revealed that participating in a diversity training is a complex and

emotional phenomenon. A summary of findings suggests that the diversity training

experience required participants to confront strong visceral emotions. Additionally, these

emotions were cultivated over time and influenced by many facets external to the course

itself with the course serving as the catalyst and providing the motivation for this

convergence to take place. Finally, results indicate that study participants were left with a

motivation to take personal responsibility, albeit to varying degrees, for mobilizing for

change.

The knowledge acquired from this study may assist Human Resource

Development (HRD) practitioners by providing additional, in depth insights and analysis

beyond trainee reaction measures which may inform the design, delivery, and evaluation

of diversity training interventions. Furthermore, the insights obtained from this study may

assist HRD scholars by contributing a new line of research for HRD scholars as it

concerns the study of this complex organizational phenomenon.

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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................. i
Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iii
Table of Contents ............................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables .................................................................................................................... vii
List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii

Chapter 1. Background and Introduction to the Study ........................................................1

Definitions of Workplace Diversity .........................................................................3

Human Resource Development, Training, and Diversity ........................................5

Diversity and Diversity Training .............................................................................7

Evaluation of Diversity Training and Needed Change ............................................9

Workforce Diversity, Diversity Training, and the Public Sector...........................11

Summary ................................................................................................................14

Purpose of Study and Research Question ..............................................................17

Summary ................................................................................................................18

Chapter 2. Review of Literature.........................................................................................19

Diversity and Human Resource Management .......................................................21

Human Resource Development, Workforce Diversity, and Diversity Training ....23

Summary ................................................................................................................26

Researcher History, Interest, and Personal Bias ....................................................27

Chapter 3. Methodology, Methods, and Data Analysis .....................................................40

Hermeneutic Phenomenology as a Research Methodology...................................40

Case Study as a Research Methodology ................................................................42

Phenomenology..........................................................................................43

Hermeneutic Phenomenology ....................................................................46

 v

The Role of the Researcher ........................................................................47

Methods..................................................................................................................48

Participant Selection ..............................................................................................50

Interviews ...............................................................................................................54

Data Analysis Process, and Theme Development .................................................56

Bracketing ..............................................................................................................57

Site Selection and Case Background .....................................................................57

Course Description and Background .....................................................................60

Summary ................................................................................................................62

Chapter 4. Results ..............................................................................................................63

Overarching Theme: Confronting Visceral Emotion .................................65

Learning from Others’ Stories ...................................................................69

Course Content...........................................................................................74

Emotion Influencers ...............................................................................................79

Current Events and the Current Political Climate......................................79

Previous Personal Life Experiences...........................................................85

Family ........................................................................................................93

Personal Growth and Development ...........................................................99

Social Media ............................................................................................104

Made me Want to…Mobilize for Change ...............................................106

Summary ..............................................................................................................110

Chapter 5. Post Review of Literature ...............................................................................115

Course Content.........................................................................................117

Learning from Others’ Stories .............................................................................120

Meta Theme: Confrontation of Visceral Emotion ...............................................122

 vi

Human Resource Development and Diversity Training ......................................124

Political Climate and Current Events ...................................................................126

Previous Personal Experiences ............................................................................128

Family ..................................................................................................................130

Personal Growth and Development .....................................................................133

Social Media ........................................................................................................135

Mobilize for Change ............................................................................................137

Summary ..............................................................................................................140

Chapter 6. Discussion, Implications for Future Research, Researcher Reflection,

Limitations, and Conclusion ............................................................................................143

Discussion ............................................................................................................143

Implications for Future Research .........................................................................147

Researcher Reflection ..........................................................................................149

Limitations ...........................................................................................................154

Conclusion ...........................................................................................................155

References ........................................................................................................................157

Appendices .......................................................................................................................179

Appendix A. Human Subject IRB Letter .............................................................179

Appendix B. IRB Modification Approval Letter .................................................181

Appendix C. Invitational Letter Sent to Participants ...........................................184

Appendix D. Consent Form Sent to Participants .................................................186

Appendix D. List of Probes .................................................................................189

Appendix E. Participant Demographics ...............................................................190

 vii

List of Tables
Table 1. Participant Demographics ..................................................................................190
 viii

List of Figures
Figure 1. Conceptual Model of the Lived Experience of Diversity Training ..................144
 1

CHAPTER ONE:

BACKGROUND AND INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY

“You’ll never find a rainbow if you’re looking down.” – Charlie Chaplin

Organizations, large and small, depend on their employees' ability to interact with

customers and organizational members that are different than themselves (Kulik &

Roberson, 2008). Toossi (2012) projected that between the years 2010 and 2020, every

race and ethnicity in the United States is poised to experience growth; however, the

author also noted that the share of White residents in the total population is expected to

decrease. Consequently, the growth rate of Whites in the workforce is expected to

decrease while those of women, Blacks, Latinx and Asians is projected to increase

between the years 2014 and 2024 (Toossi, 2015), marking a significant change from past

workforce compositions and suggesting increased gender diversity. These projections are

similar to those of the Pew Research Center who estimated that by the year 2065, racially

and ethnically diverse populations are poised to experience population growth while the

population of Whites is expected to decrease (Cohn, 2015). National demographic

projections, coupled with shifts and sustained growth in the racial composition of the

workforce, have produced significant interest in diversity training as organizations seek

to create inclusive environments that harness the talents of an increasingly diverse

population.

Organizations spent $1,273 per employee on learning and development in 2016

(ATD, 2017), of which, by rough estimation, an average of several hundred dollars on a

per employee basis were spent on diversity training initiatives. Exact diversity training
 2

expenditures are difficult to locate in the literature, however, Hansen (2003) estimated

what the author described as the “diversity business” to be an eight-billion-dollar

industry. Despite these significant expenditures, research on the results and outcomes of

diversity training have been mixed.

Despite the attention and investment in diversity training, evaluation efforts are

limited, lacking rigor, and often unable to provide useful information to organizations.

Additionally, the most common means of diversity training evaluation remain trainee

reaction measures. Bennett (2006) declared that when organizations evaluate training,

they use reaction measures over more rigorous approaches because such measures are

easy to develop, quick to administer, and cost effective. Russ-Eft and Preskill (2008)

offered that trainee reactions can provide useful feedback regarding the design of a

training and areas for improvement. Despite this widely used approach to training

evaluation, Bezrukova, Perry, Spell, and Jehn, (2016) wrote “increasing demand for

diversity training due to changing workforce demographics, globalization, continuing

litigation, and other trends call for a better understanding of the types of programs that

can be effective” (p. 1227).

Notwithstanding the myriad contributions to diversity training knowledge gained

through the exploration of previous work conducted by scholars and practitioners, a

problem remains in that very few studies have examined the lived experience of

participating in a diversity training and the lessons this may have for a greater

understanding for the evaluation of this type of training. In my view, without the

knowledge gained from this area of inquiry, Human Resource Development (HRD)
 3

professionals are designing and implementing diversity interventions using incomplete

information and potentially overlooking critical data related to the participant experience.

Definitions of Workplace Diversity

The concept of diversity is wide ranging, and consequently, workplace diversity

can take many definitions and is largely dependent on context. However, it should be

noted that in the organization studies literature, diversity generally refers to the

composition of workforces and groups (Roberson, 2006). Organizational scholars have

explored many dimensions of workplace diversity which include race and ethnicity (Cox

& Blake, 1991; Cox & Nkomo, 1990), gender (Dwyer, Richard, & Chadwick, 2003),

sexual orientation (Day & Greene, 2008), disability (Nafukho, Roessler, & Kacirek,

2010; Procknow & Rocco, 2016) and LGBTQ issues in the workplace (Collins, 2012).

More recently, scholars have begun to examine areas such as how to harness workforce

diversity and moderating effects (Guillaume, Dawson, Otaye-Ebede, Woods, & West,

2015), the importance of inclusion with diversity (Sherbin & Rashid, 2017), and explored

contemporary constructs such as emotional and cultural intelligence and their

applications in diverse workplaces (Clark & Polesello, 2017).

In their comprehensive review of over 40 years of diversity related research,

Williams and O’Reilly (1998) noted the effects of diversity may come as a result of any

attribute individuals use to differentiate themselves from another. Five years later,

Konrad (2003) recognized the rather simplistic nature of using any attribute as a means of

differentiation when the author wrote, in part, “if individual differences are all that is

necessary to make a workplace diverse, then all groups are diverse by definition, and the

entire concept of workplace diversity could become meaningless” (p. 7). Konrad further
 4

suggested that rather than including all individual differences within the realm of

workplace diversity, the related literature should instead focus on identity groups or

“collectivities that people use to categorize themselves and others” (p.7). As a result of

these differences in orientation, scholars have studied many facets of workforce diversity,

been guided by various theories, and offered numerous findings. However, a lack of

consensus and robust debate remain in terms of what constitutes workplace diversity.

This debate is reflected in the literature through the variety of definitions of diversity and

workplace diversity that exist. A sample of workforce diversity definitions will be

discussed next.

Marques (2010) adopted a more corporate approach to the definition of workplace

diversity defining the construct as “the non-discriminatory utilization of all eligible

workforce members, including members of local majority ethnicities, local minority

ethnicities, women, working parents, immigrants, people with different sexual

orientations or interests, people with disabilities, older and younger workers” (p. 436).

Harrison and Klein (2007) noted that despite the use of the word diversity and synonyms

such as heterogeneity, dispersion and the like, the exact definition of diversity remains

unclear. The authors defined diversity as: “the distribution of differences among the

members of a unit with respect to a common attribute, X, such as tenure, ethnicity,

conscientiousness, task attitude, or pay” (p. 1200). The authors further noted that

diversity is a unit level construct. Finally, some scholars have offered expansive views of

diversity in organizational contexts and described the construct as acknowledging,

understanding, accepting, valuing, and celebrating differences among people with respect

to class, ethnicity, gender, physical and mental ability, race, age, sexual orientation,
 5

spiritual practice, and even public assistance status (Etsy, Griffin, & Schorr-Hirsch,

1995).

As demographic changes continue to take place in society at large, organizations

will undoubtedly continue to face increasing workplace diversity. As a result, HRD

scholars and practitioners have an opportunity to research, advise, design, and implement

diversity training initiatives that will assist organizations with navigating the complexities

associated with increased workplace diversity. In the section that follows, I will briefly

discuss the core HRD function of training and situate diversity training within the realm

of HRD.

Human Resource Development, Training, and Diversity

Employee training is a central aspect of HRD. Swanson (1995) defined HRD as

“the process of developing and/or unleashing human expertise through organization

development and personnel training and development for the purpose of improving

performance” (p. 208). Taking a more expansive view of HRD, McLean and McLean

(2001) offered the following definition:

HRD is any process or activity that, either initially or over the long-term,

has the potential to develop adult’s work-based knowledge, expertise,

productivity, and satisfaction, whether for personal or group/team gain, or

for the benefit of an organization, community, nation, or ultimately the

whole of humanity. (p. 322)

Hamlin and Stewart (2011) reviewed and analyzed HRD definitions and found that while

many definitions describe what constitutes HRD and where its limits lie, four key

intended purposes emerged. They are:

 6

• Improving individual or group effectiveness and performance

• Improving organizational effectiveness and performance
• Developing knowledge, skills and competencies
• Enhancing human potential and personal growth

Organizations use diversity training as a means of instilling knowledge,

promoting positive and inclusive work environments, developing intercultural skills, and

fostering individual growth (Combs & Luthans, 2007) – all recognized as intended

purposes and HRD responsibilities. In an increasingly diverse internal and external

organizational operating environment and global economy, the HRD field claims

diversity as a vital responsibility, and diversity management a key competency (Bierema,

2010).

Even though training is squarely situated within the domain of HRD, there

remains a scarcity of research with respect to diversity training and HRD. For a field that

is responsible for assisting organizations with maximizing performance and building

inclusive cultures – among many other responsibilities – I find this lack of attention to be

problematic. Bierema (2010) wrote that she has become “increasingly concerned about

our field’s lack of attention to diversity education and research” (p. 565). Likewise, Byrd

(2014) stated that as the field of HRD continues to evolve and address modern

organizational issues, HRD, as a field, will need to engage in those discussions. In my

view, organizational diversity in general, and diversity training specifically are

undoubtedly two of those issues. Further, it should be noted few, if any, HRD diversity

studies have examined the lived experience of participating in a diversity training.

In the section that follows, I will discuss diversity and diversity training in

organizations.
 7

Diversity and Diversity Training

Since the passage of the American Civil Rights Act of 1964, organizations in the

U.S. have consistently encountered increased workplace diversity and have struggled to

integrate diverse others into organizations (Ross-Gordon & Brooks, 2004). Further,

according to the U.S Census Bureau, the projected change in the U.S population of those

under the age of 18 for the years 2014-2060, the number of Blacks, Asians, Native

Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders, and Latinx are poised to experience growth while the

projected White and American Indian and Alaska Native populations are expected to

decline (Colby & Ortman, 2015). These projections empirically suggest that increased

workplace diversity is a phenomenon that is all but certain to continue as more

individuals from these demographic communities enter the workforce. Consequently,

organizations are increasingly interested in diversity training. With trends of greater

diversity in organizations and in society-at-large expected to continue, there exists a need

to provide training – across all organizational levels – which will assist individuals with

developing sensitivity to difference (McGuire & Patterson, 2012). King, Dawson,

Kravitz, and Gulick (2010) wrote “In general terms, diversity training programs are

educational or developmental initiatives that address issues related to variability in

employee social identities” (p. 7). Pendry, Driscoll, and Field (2007) defined diversity

training as “any discrete programme, or set of programmes, which aims to influence

participants to increase their positive – or decrease their negative – intergroup

behaviours, such that less prejudice or discrimination is displayed towards others

perceived as different in their group affiliation(s) (p. 29).”

 8

Initially seen as an issue of human resource management (HRM), or more

specifically, providing guidance and training to organizations in terms of candidate

recruitment and selection to avoid litigation, organizational diversity paradigms have

shifted as of late to one that seeks to gain a competitive advantage by harnessing the

talents of the many through diversity management. Consequently, literature on diversity

training reflects the breadth and shifting focus of the construct. Paluck (2006) described

diversity training as a “catchall phrase” that leverages many different activities which

may range from lectures to role play exercises. Further, the author wrote “Whether from

an instructional or experiential approach, most diversity trainings are based on implicit

assumptions about the value of overcoming ignorance, expressing one’s hidden

assumptions, or feeling empathy for an oppressed group or individual” (p. 581) - in other

words, raising awareness. This raising of awareness is featured prominently in the

diversity and diversity training literature.

In their review of diversity related literature, Bezrukova et al. (2012), found there

are two dominant types of diversity training: awareness and behavior-based training.

Lindsay (1994) noted that as diversity training requires individuals to discuss topics that

often remain undiscussed, interventions often create participant fear of being considered a

racist, sexist, or otherwise offensive. The extant related literature has provided some

evidence to support this assertion. For example, when examining diversity’s effects on

diverse teams, Riordan (2000) found that with respect to racial and ethnic diversity,

Whites have lower work-related attitudes when in diverse work teams which may affect

cooperation and group cohesion. A more thorough review of diversity related findings

will be explored in the review of literature that follows.

 9

It should also be noted that an opportunity for qualitative inquiry into the area of

diversity training exists. Organizational scholars and practitioners have qualitatively

studied a range of diversity issues that have included: the pitfalls and possibilities of

diversity training in the context of small and mid-size organizations (Hite & McDonald,

2006); spiritual and religious diversity training (McMinn et al., 2014); and cultural

diversity teaching in medicine (Dorga, Giordano, & France, 2007). Despite this breadth

of topics investigated from an interpretative perspective, many diversity training related

studies have relied primarily on quantitative measures as scholars seek generalizability

and practitioners seek quick feedback and data on cost effectiveness. While there is much

to be learned from large sample sizes and experimental designs - and there is often an

incentive for cost control in organizations - I strongly believe that without qualitative

inquiry, the knowledge foundation related to diversity training is incomplete, at best.

In the section that follows, I will discuss the current models of evaluation with

respect to diversity training that feature prominently in the literature.

Evaluation of Diversity Training and Needed Change

Investigation of the lived experience of participating in diversity training has the

potential to provide scholars and practitioners with much needed knowledge that is

currently lacking. Most of the extant data acquired regarding diversity training, and the

training experience, has come from reaction measures provided by course participants.

While these data are valuable, I contend that due to the unique nature of these types of

HRD interventions, much can be gained from the study of the lived experience. Kraiger,

Ford, and Salas (1993) wrote “although training evaluation is recognized as an important

component of the instructional design model, there are no theoretically based models of
 10

training evaluation” (p. 311). I submit, many years later, this assessment on the lack of

theoretical foundations still holds true for diversity training.

Consistent with the evaluation of most learning and development interventions,

diversity training is often only evaluated at the trainee reaction level (Rynes &Rosen,

1995). In their meta-analysis of training evaluation research, Bezrukova et al. (2016)

examined the effects of diversity training on trainee cognitive, behavioral, and attitudinal

learning as well as trainee reactions. Holladay and Quinones (2005) explored diversity

training trainee reactions and noted the interaction between trainee culture, perceptions of

diversity training, training utility, and trainer effectiveness.

The challenges of training evaluation in general, and diversity training in

particular remain, inextricably linked. Kraiger et al. (1993) noted the shortcomings of

using reaction level measures and advocated for a more multi-dimensional approach to

training evaluation. Further, the authors developed a model of training evaluation which

examines the effect of a training intervention across cognitive, behavioral, and skill-based

outcomes. In the diversity training evaluation literature, this model features prominently

along with the ubiquitous Kirkpatrick model. Asserting the goal of diversity training is to

increase participant knowledge with respect to diversity, improve attitudes as they relate

to diversity, and enhance diversity skills, Kulik and Roberson (2008) examined the

effects of diversity training on knowledge, attitudes, and skill and concluded that

diversity education has a positive effect on participant outcomes across these dimensions.

Likewise, Roberson, Kulik, and Pepper (2009) conducted a longitudinal field study in

which they measured diversity training effects across affective, cognitive, and behavioral

measures as well as transfer strategies and found support for the usefulness and validity
 11

of the Kraiger model. In summary, despite concern at the overall lack of research,

existing diversity training literature reflects that scholars and practitioners are beginning

to embrace a more multi-dimensional approach to diversity training evaluation.

Kalinoski et al. (2013) wrote “practitioners have quantitative evidence that

diversity training changes affective-based, cognitive-based, and skill-based trainee

outcomes” (p. 1076). However, a search of the literature for phenomenological diversity

training studies produced scant results with respect to research which examined the lived

experience in organizational contexts. It should also be noted that public sector diversity

training research and methods largely mirror those of private sector organizations with

fewer qualitative studies available for review. In the section that follows, I will discuss

diversity in the public sector.

Workforce Diversity, Diversity Training, and the Public Sector

Public sector organizations operate in a largely unique environment. Hartley and

Skelcher (2008) recognized the distinct nature of public service management and noted

that it is often complex, political, and subject to a high degree of scrutiny and

accountability. As public-sector organizations are funded by the taxpayers of a particular

jurisdiction, one may expect these organizations to serve as the quintessential microcosm

in which to study diversity and diversity training. Page, Oldfield, and Urstad (2008)

recognized this when the authors noted “Public service has played and continues to play a

leading role historically in developing and modelling equal opportunities initiatives in

employment and service delivery” (p. 369). However, as public organizations become

increasingly diverse, public sector managers must work to acquire the skills necessary to
 12

be successful in the new contemporary workforce and demographic environment (Ewoh,

2013).

In U.S. organizational contexts, diversity training is frequently used to provide the

skills necessary to interact with individuals that are different. Most U.S. public sector

organizations have implemented diversity management interventions designed to raise

awareness, address intercultural sensitivities, recognize the value in diversity, reduce

inequality, and address any cultural issues (Soni, 2000). Further, as noted by Wise and

Tschirhart (2000), the concept of managing for diversity is gaining popularity in both

public and private organizations as evidenced by investments of time and resources into

diversity programs and strategies.

Considering both the interest in, and the imperative on, public sector

organizations with respect to workforce diversity, it could be expected that there would

be a robust literature available to guide public sector practitioners as they navigate the

complexities of a diverse workforce. Pitts (2005) identified two research streams that

address the issue of organizational diversity in the public sector: representative

bureaucracy and research on diversity effects. Clark, Jr., Ochs, and Frazier (2013) wrote

“Representative bureaucracy refers to the relationship between a demographically

representative public service and policy outcomes” (p. 77). Further, the authors noted that

underlying this theory is the belief that public service administrators, through their

diverse backgrounds, status, and experience, may make government more responsive to

demographic changes.

Research on the effects of diversity in the public sector is primarily concerned

with how increased organizational diversity impacts organizational performance. Pitts

 13

and Jarry (2007) examined the effects of ethnic diversity on organizational performance

in Texas Public Schools and found manager diversity to be non-significant in terms of

predicting performance at the organizational level. However, the authors found teacher

diversity to be consistently significant in having a negative impact on performance. These

findings were consistent with those of Choi and Rainey (2010) who in their study of the

effects of diversity, diversity management, and perceived organizational performance in

U.S federal agencies found racial diversity to be negatively related to organizational

performance. However, it should also be noted that diversity management practices and

team processes served as a moderator in terms of organizational performance. I contend

that these findings highlight the importance of the role of organizational culture on

diversity initiatives.

Overall, my initial review of the public-sector literature related to workforce

diversity and diversity training in the public sector suggests opportunities for further

study remain. While much has been written regarding the importance of valuing and

managing for diversity in public sector organizations, diversity’s impact on

organizational performance remains unclear. Wise and Tschirhart (2000) recognized this

when they wrote:

Public managers who want to integrate a managing-for-diversity approach

into their leadership behaviors and into the policies, structure, and culture

of their organizations are likely to have a difficult time identifying lessons

from the research literature that can be reliably applied to actual work

situations. (p. 386)

 14

Finally, it is important to note that my review of public sector literature as it

relates to the lived experience of participating in a diversity training in the public sector

produced few results. In my view, such an exploration may provide deeper insight

regarding how diversity training effects individual development and provide guidance to

HRD practitioners who design interventions.

Summary

The impact of changing workplace demographics cannot be overstated. It is clear

that organizations are encountering increased diversity in many forms. These forms

include, but are not limited to: ethnic, cultural, individuals with disabilities, multi-

generational workforce, diversity with respect to sexual orientation and gender identity,

and the primary foci of this study, racial diversity. Despite significant investment in

diversity training initiatives by organizations, the results of diversity training research

may be described as limited with findings providing guidance for practice that is, at best,

mixed. Several factors contribute to this however, it is important to note that scholars and

practitioners have principally relied on reaction measures to evaluate training and gain an

understanding of the experience. While the evaluation of training is not the focus of this

primarily phenomenological work, I submit, training evaluation research is important to

consider in that it comprises much of the available research on the diversity training

experience and highlights the opportunity to investigate the lived experience of

participating in diversity training. I contend that such investigation may expand the body

of knowledge available with respect to this unique and complex phenomenon. Finally, of

note, is that my initial review of the diversity training literature produced no studies
 15

which investigated the lived experience of diversity training, however, it does not mean

that they do not exist.

Workplace diversity, as a construct, is quite broad in its orientation and

exploration. Scholars and practitioners have engaged in a debate and have been unable to

achieve agreement on what constitutes workplace diversity. Some authors take a more

expansive view of diversity and define the construct as concerning any attribute of

perceived difference while others argue that the focus should be on the how the effects of

diversity manifest themselves through the collective by focusing on identity groups or

human associations. What is also important to note is that these constructs often intersect

making it difficult to determine which facet of individual diversity takes precedence. As a

researcher, this represents opportunity to me and further validates this academic

endeavor.

Training in general, and diversity training specifically, are clearly situated within

the responsibility of HRD. This is primarily due to HRD’s focus on increasing

organizational effectiveness and individual performance through creating positive work

environments and building inclusive cultures. HRD scholars and practitioners are tasked

with the design and delivery of diversity training initiatives. Despite these significant

responsibilities, however, organizational diversity broadly, and diversity training in

particular have remained largely understudied in the HRD field. I contend, this represents

a significant opportunity to expand the collective knowledge base as it concerns diversity

training to assist organizations as they navigate this often-complex organizational

operating environment. It is important to note that an increasing number of HRD scholars

have heeded the call to engage in organizational diversity related scholarly work as
 16

evidenced by the growing number of studies (Collins, 2017; Hite & McDonald, 2010;

Pleasant, 2017; Williams & Mavin, 2014). I suggest this is very promising as the

available data show that this organizational phenomenon is expected to continue as the

workforce, and consequently, the workplace, continue to become more diverse –

irrespective of how the construct is defined.

It is clear that since the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 organizations

have been struggling to deal with the explosion of increased organizational diversity. It is

also promising that the organizational paradigm with respect to the accommodation of

this increased diversity has shifted from one concerned principally with legal and

regulatory compliance toward the recognition of the value in diversity and leveraging

diversity as a means of competitive advantage. Considering the nature of public sector

organizations and their frequent employ of representative bureaucracy, it could be

expected they would serve as the quintessential microcosm of diversity reflection and

practices. However, it should be noted that my review of the related literature found that

research and publications focused on public sector diversity largely reflects the literature

more broadly, with few studies conducted in the public sector and fewer still on

examination of participant experiences with, diversity training. Consequently, it appears

that an opportunity for qualitative inquiry into diversity training exists and this study

endeavors to take advantage of this gap in the literature.

In the following section, I will discuss the purpose of this study, explore how the

present study contributes to expanding the body of diversity training literature and

knowledge, and present the over-arching research question that guided this study.
 17

Purpose of Study and Research Question

Approximately 20 years ago, Williams and O’Reilly (1998) wrote “With the

changes in the demography of the workforce, understanding the effects of visible

attributes is even more important than it used to be” (p. 80). Even a cursory review of the

diversity literature will reveal that the body of knowledge available on diversity training

is quite developed; although, there are few studies that examine the lived experience of

participating in a diversity training. The present study provides the opportunity to

supplement existing empirical work, gain a more in-depth understanding from the

participants’ point of view, and potentially provide direction for future research. Further,

it is hoped that this work may inspire others to pursue similar lines of inquiry with respect

to this dynamic and important area of organizational research. Expressly, this study will

accomplish this through examination of the following research question:

What is the lived experience of participating in diversity training?

To answer this question, this study will utilize aspects of both phenomenological

and case study research methodologies. According to van Manen (1997), phenomenology

is the systematic attempt to uncover and describe the structures and internal meaning of

lived experience. Creswell (1998) summarized that the case study methodology may be

used to provide an in depth understanding of a case. Additionally, the author noted that

the unit of analysis of a case study may be an activity, a program, or more than one

individual. As the present study examined the lived experience of participating in a

diversity training, specifically in a public-sector setting, I contend that this amalgamation

of case study and phenomenological methodologies allowed for a more robust

 18

examination of the lived experience of participants in diversity trainings by examination

of the voices, perspectives, and actual of lived experience.

Summary

Although there exists a collection of knowledge available to scholars and

practitioners regarding organizational diversity and diversity training, opportunities for

further study remain. Further, much of the knowledge concerning diversity training and

the training experience has been gathered through trainee reaction measures and

academic studies which apply quantitative methods to explore this phenomenon. I

submit, much can be learned through qualitative inquiry of diversity training.

Consequently, this study’s purpose was to add to the existing knowledge by contributing

the voices of diversity training participants through the application of phenomenological

and case study methodologies and subsequent interpretation of their lived experience of

participating in this diversity training in a public-sector environment. Finally, it is my

hope that this work will inspire other human resource development and organizational

scholars to pursue similar lines of study to add to the robustness of the diversity training

literature.
 19

CHAPTER TWO:

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

“Know from whence you came. If you know from whence you came, there are absolutely

no limitations to where you can go.” – James Baldwin

To limit potential bias through the influence of findings of previous work related

to diversity training, a brief preliminary review of literature was conducted. This review

was performed consistent with Sylvester, Tate, and Johnstone (2013) who noted that the

purpose of such literature reviews is to synthesize the extant literature and identify gaps

in knowledge.

Electronic searches were conducted primarily using the University of Minnesota’s

library database which provided access to major journals and databases such as EBSCO

Host, Business and Source Premier. Additionally, Google Scholar and physical copies of

human resource development journals such as Advances in Developing Human

Resources, Human Resource Development Quarterly, and Human Resource Development

Review were reviewed. Initial search terms were broad, and examples of queries included

“qualitative HRD studies of diversity training,” “diversity training in organizations,” “the

lived experience of diversity training,” “workplace diversity,” “human resource

development and diversity training,” “diversity training outcomes,” “public-sector

workplace diversity,” and “diversity training in the public sector.” These search terms

allowed for sufficient examination of the relevant literature and substantiated the need for

the present study while having the effect of limiting bias as it concerns the findings of

previous studies. Only those studies that were deemed relevant in terms of framing or

discussing the increased organizational diversity prevalent today were included in the
 20

study. It is also important to note that some queries such as “the lived experience of

diversity training” and “diversity training in the public-sector” produced few usable

results. Approximately 50 studies were reviewed with approximately 30 included in the

preliminary literature review.

Before I discuss the diversity prevalent in contemporary society, and

consequently, the organizational environment, it is important to first discuss the forces

and trends that have led to increased workforce diversity. In 1964 the U.S. Congress

passed the Civil Rights Act. Title VII of this law made it unlawful for an employer to

“fail or refuse to hire or to discharge any individual, or otherwise to discriminate against

any individual with respect to his compensation, terms, conditions, or privileges or

employment, because of such individual’s race, color, religion, sex, or national origin”

(Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, 1964). Additionally, the legislation created the Equal

Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and charged that body with oversight and

implementation of the law. As written by Cox and Nkomo (1990), “this legislation

contributed to significant changes in the composition of the workforce and provided a

major impetus for academic researchers in management and related fields to study racial

issues in the workplace” (p. 419).

Additionally, the Equal Pay Act of 1963, the Age Discrimination Act of 1967, and

the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 provided additional workplace protections as

it concerned wages and gender, age, and disabilities, respectively. Passage of these laws

provided the foundation for the myriad forms of diversity prevalent in organizations

today. Moreover, these laws created a new imperative for organizations in terms of

hiring, onboarding, training, and integrating individuals – basically the people

 21

management process - of differing backgrounds into the organization. Initially, these

responsibilities mainly fell within the domain of HRM professionals (Shen, Chanda,

D’Netto & Monga, 2009). The following section will briefly discuss the topic of diversity

management and HRM.

Diversity and Human Resource Management

As workforce diversity became more pervasive, organizations and researchers

began to make what would be referred to as the “business case for diversity.” The

business case for diversity postulates that diversity is not just the right thing to do, rather,

it may be a strategic contributor in organizations and impact productivity, motivation,

innovation, cost reduction, and overall competitiveness (Bagshaw, 2004). Further,

organizations and their leaders began to establish paradigms for managing increased

diversity and harnessing it toward the attainment of organizational goals and

effectiveness (Thomas & Ely, 1996). These authors also noted that with respect to

managing diversity, organizations usually take one of two paths: they expect women and

minorities to blend in or they assign them to roles that relate specifically to their

background such as placement in jobs that require them to interact with those from the

same identity group. It would seem these authors recognized this discriminatory approach

as ineffective.

With time and continued increases in workforce diversity, organizations, scholars,

and practitioners began to shift and explore concepts such as linking strategic diversity

management to organizational culture and inclusion as effective diversity management

requires a strategic approach to HRM (Shen et al., 2009). Additionally, the authors noted

that strategic diversity management requires HRM practices to be reflected in employee

 22

recruitment and selection, training and development (an HRD mandate), pay and

compensation, performance appraisals, and occur at the strategic, tactical, and operational

levels. Dwyer, Richard, and Chadwick (2003) asserted that to be effective, diversity

management requires that organizations create cultures of inclusion which foster

organizational environments that encourage and nurture teamwork and cohesiveness.

This concept of creating inclusive organizational cultures (also an HRD mandate) which

foster diversity will be explored in more detail in the HRD section of this literature

review.

At its core, organizational commitment to inclusion is about access and full

organizational membership. Roberson (2006) recognized that inclusion is different from

diversity. The author noted that while diversity is concerned with demographics and the

makeup of the organization’s population, inclusion centers around concepts such as

employee engagement and the general integration of the organizational diversity into the

processes of the organization. Finally, as stated by Turnbull, Greenwood, Tworoger, and

Golden (2010) “If the organizational goal of embedding an inclusive environment is at

odds with the values, behaviors, attitudes and feelings of its employees, then the goal will

not be fully achieved” (p. 2).

The question remains, how have organizations, HRM professionals, and

researchers done in terms of guiding this transition from merely complying with legal

requirements to recognizing value in diversity? In their study providing an international

perspective to managing diversity through HRM, Shen at al. (2009) critically examined

the diversity management literature and found that inequality and discrimination remain

prevalent in organizations and further noted that HRM has remained focused on legal and
 23

regulatory compliance and less on valuing and leveraging diversity for its positive

attributes. These findings represent an opportunity for HRD scholars and practitioners.

Now that I have provided a brief history of workforce diversity within the area of

HRM, I will now move toward an examination of workforce diversity, diversity training,

and HRD.

Human Resource Development, Workforce Diversity, and Diversity Training

As noted previously, accommodation of increased workforce diversity often

requires organizational culture change and training and development interventions (Cox

& Blake, 1991) which are usually viewed as core components of HRD professional

practice. An examination of the response from HRD to increased workforce diversity also

requires a review of the history of the development of diversity initiatives in HRD

research and practice.

Nearly 30 years ago, McLagan (1989) considered possible future scenarios for

HRD in the 1990’s and predicted, in part, that the workforce would undergo significant

changes. Among the changes predicted, was that the workforce would become more

diverse. These assertions were contemporaneously supported by those of Kimmerling

(1989) who postulated that in the future, the field of HRD would be influenced in part by

an increasing number of women and minorities in the workplace. Additionally, Yeomans

(1989) advocated for what the author described as an HRD renewal and noted that HRD

would be called on to, among other things, provide guidance to managers on how to deal

with increased workforce diversity and attitudes that may be different than their own. As

predicted by these HRD scholars, the workforce has become more diverse and as a result,
 24

HRD has been called on to help organizations address the issues associated with a more

diverse workforce.

In the 1990’s, the field of HRD responded to increased workforce diversity by

advocating for tapping into the power of a diverse workforce (Galagan, 1991) and

recognizing the value in diversity (Carnevale & Stone, 1994). Further, it is during this

time that the concept of diversity training began to appear in the HRD related literature.

Additionally, in a literary conversation which largely mirrored that of HRM and other

organizational studies disciplines, HRD scholars began to discuss concepts such as

“managing diversity” and the “business case for diversity” (Moore, 1999; Wentling &

Palma-Rivas, 1998). Finally, it should be noted that whether the organization’s

operational paradigm was one of managing diversity or making the business case for

diversity, diversity training was often used as a means of accomplishing these goals.

As organizations began to shift in their orientation from the moral reasons for

diversity training toward recognizing the value in diversity as a form of competitive

advantage, concepts such as managing for diversity began to appear in the related

literature. Iles (1995) asserted that diversity competencies were not only essential for

recruiting, selecting, and training but also to assist in building cross cultural teams and

other cross-cultural interaction activities such as negotiations. Carnevale and Stone

(1994) observed that organizations use many initiatives in their efforts to manage and

value diversity, one of which is diversity training. During this time, the authors noted,

two types of diversity training were prevalent: awareness training and skill-based

training. Awareness training sought to increase individual awareness related to items such

as assumptions and stereotyping whereas, skill-based training focused on developing

 25

skills to effectively deal with workplace diversity. This is consistent with the contention

of Hanover and Cellar (1998) who identified the goals of diversity training as: increasing

awareness of issues related to diversity, reducing biases and stereotypes, and changing

behaviors to more effectively manage a diverse workforce.

It is noteworthy to consider that during this time in the HRD literature, scholars

were also debating the effects of diversity and the concept of managing for diversity.

Thomas (1994) described managing diversity as a “desirable and profitable aim” (p. 60).

In the context of developing learning organizations, Marsick and Watkins (1994) wrote

about how societal pressures impact organizational transitions to becoming learning

organizations and described the challenges organizations face with respect to the

inclusion of those different from the White male which had dominated organizations.

Further, the authors described managing diversity as an effort to control others in hopes

of minimizing disruption of the norm.

Over the past two decades, HRD scholars and practitioners have explored many

aspects of diversity training. In general terms, most studies have examined the factors

that contribute to the success or failure of diversity training and engaged in discussions

related to diversity training evaluation. Further, it should be noted the majority of these

studies have applied quantitative approaches. Holladay, Knight, Paige, and Quiñones

(2003) examined the influence of framing (training title, focus, and assignment) on

participant attitudes toward a diversity training and found no support for their postulate

that any single feature of framing effected pre-training attitudes. However, it should be

noted that the authors did find that features of framing collectively had an impact.

Additionally, the authors found support for their hypothesis that participant gender
 26

effected attitudes toward the diversity training intervention. Specifically, males were

found to perceive backlash and view the organizational messages less favorably. Finally,

the hypothesis that men and women would respond differently in terms of pre-training

attitudes to the diversity training’s framing was supported.

Summary

My initial review of the literature suggests that organizations have been working

to accommodate increased workplace diversity since the passage of the Civil Rights Act.

This powerful law mandated a shift in organizational operating paradigms in that it

forced organizations to broaden their choices when it comes to talent recruitment and

selection or face potential legal penalties. Furthermore, the impact of this act produced a

change at all organizational levels considering that prior to this law’s passage,

organizations were mostly comprised of White males with this reflected in most

organizational policies, procedures, and organizational structures. This is reflected in the

literature as it related to concepts such as inclusion and access; although this issue is

beyond the purview of this work, however, it is worthy of note.

Organizational diversity was primarily seen as a responsibility of human resource

management (HRM) as these professionals were tasked with reducing organizational

exposure to legal and regulatory risks. Like the HRD literature, HRM scholars and

practitioners’ approach toward increased organizational diversity shifted over time from

compliance with all laws and regulations to recognize the benefits diversity can bring to a

business. Furthermore, HRM scholars and professionals began to recognize that the

accommodation of increased organizational diversity often requires commitment from

leadership, organizational culture changes, and inclusive practices. My review of the

 27

HRM literature suggests that although much work has been done, much remains. Again,

it is encouraging to see this recognized in scholarly work and in practice and suggests

that such efforts are being taken seriously.

In the field of HRD, some scholars saw these demographic changes on the

horizon and recognized the unique role that HRD can play in terms of assisting

organization with accommodating this increased workplace diversity. Despite these

predictions, my review of the literature suggests that as a field, HRD was late in direction

of focus towards issues related to organizational diversity. My preliminary literature

review also suggests that as organizational operating paradigms as they relate to diversity

shifted, so, too, did their actions designed to accommodate increased diversity. Diversity

training was used as means of developing the requisite skills and competencies necessary

to accomplish organizational goals in a diverse environment, reduce individual biases,

stereotypes, and drive behavior change. Despite diversity training’s prevalence in

organizations today, few scholars have explored the lived experience of participating in

such training.

In the section that follows, I will discuss my individual history with diversity, my

resulting interest in the topic, and explore my personal beliefs in an attempt to bracket my

personal biases.

Researcher History, Interest, and Personal Bias

My life has been touched by diversity for as long as I can remember. I was born in

the late 1970’s to an unmarried couple. As was common in the Black community at that

time, my parents separated and my time was split between the two households. In 1981,

my father met a woman, fell in love, and shortly thereafter, they were married. This was
 28

perhaps my earliest memory of racial and theistic diversity as my father’s new wife was

both White and Jewish and came from a family that was truly immersed in their faith and

Jewish lifestyle. This was significant for many reasons. First, reflecting their Louisiana

and Mississippi roots, my mother and father were both raised in Southern Baptist

households, like many, a symbol of their legacy acquired during slavery. I remember

growing up and hearing about the power of Jesus and prayer. Secondly, this was

significant because it was the first time that I experienced having a parent that was not

Black.

Over the years, I participated in many Hanukkah and Yom Kippur celebrations,

wore a Yamakuh and consumed more Gifelte fish and Manischewitz products than a

Black person would usually consume in a lifetime. While initially I felt strange

participating in these events (I am not Jewish), my father reminded me that it is always

important to keep an open mind and that it was our duty to show our respect for Donna’s

religion. My step-grandparents were ultimately very supportive, although not initially

very accepting of my father’s interracial relationship. This, too, served as a critical

moment in my development and perspective as it served to show that ultimately, people

can grow and learn to be accepting of things they once considered anathema to their

personal beliefs or preferences.

As time progressed (mid to late 1980’s), I began to notice that family gatherings

on my mother’s side of the family were beginning to look very similar to my father’s

side. More specifically, of my mother’s three brothers, two of them married Caucasian

women which produced biracial cousins for me (some were already there as I am the

oldest child of my grandparent’s youngest child). At this time in Southern California, the
 29

Latino population was beginning to significantly increase. This led to a few of my aunt’s

marrying Latino husbands. When you take into account my older cousins whose dating

preferences included Asians, Persians, Blacks, and everything in between, you can get a

sense of what my family began to look like. I often joke that Christmas, or even a regular

cookout on a Saturday afternoon, looked like a conference of the United Nations was

taking place at my grandmother’s house.

During a period of my high school years, I began to explore the writings of

Malcolm X and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Like many young people presented with a

choice between non-violence and a more assertive, hands on approach, I felt more

compelled to adopt the views of Malcolm X. As you may imagine, this contributed to a

more, shall we say, challenging environment in my home considering at during this

period of time I lived with my Dad, stepmother, and sister. As the writings of Malcom X

began to influence my worldview, I became increasingly, well, racist. I temporarily

abandoned (or at least obscured) knowledge of the benefits I came to recognize and

admire in terms of growing up in a multiracial and multicultural family. I began to see

my stepmother as nothing more than a repressive force that was not interested in my

wellbeing but rather as some covert agent looking to control my father – I was clearly an

idiot!

During this time, rather than punish or become repelled by my newly obtained

worldview, my stepmother, and father, for that matter, allowed me to go through this

phase uninhibited. As I reflect back on these days I can now imagine how difficult it must

have been to allow someone to hold such views – especially when this person lived in

your house, ate your food, and you nursed them back to health when they were sick. This
 30

must have been more challenging considering this person did not share biological links to

you. It was not until my high school English teacher, Ms. Baker, noticed my attitude

change and became concerned. One day, she asked me to stay after class and it was that

day that another critical point in my development was to take place. Ms. Baker, leaning

on our candid personal relationship, reminded me that she was White and we got along

fine (she was my favorite teacher) and further reminded me of the love that must be

required from the perspective of my stepmother to deal with this attitude in her own

home. Still resistant, I recall communicating that while there may be a few “good

Whites” out there, the majority of them would like to see my people back in chains. After

much back and forth, she made me realize that my father and Donna come from a

generation where they encountered much criticism regarding their relationship and yet

endured and it was unfair to them to have to encounter this at home. She also made me

realize that much progress had been made since the days of Malcom X and Dr. Martin

Luther King, Jr. and that while there was much more progress to be made. Ms. Baker

reminded me that the views that I held were no different from the views White racists

held only reversed. She encouraged me to be the change I wanted to see. It clicked!

In 1997, after I graduated high school, I immediately attended California State

University, Northridge. While there, I continued to develop my newly reacquired

perspective and made friends from very diverse backgrounds. At the request of one of my

friends, I attended a party at the Phi Delta Theta house on campus. The Phi Delts were an

overwhelmingly Caucasian fraternity but had a reputation for throwing the best parties on

campus. During the party I attended, I was offered a bid - extended an invitation to

pledge the fraternity – I accepted along with my best friend at the time. As word began to
 31

spread around campus, my boss at the time became frustrated that I had chosen to pledge

a fraternity that was not exclusively African American. Having recently expanded to

accepting other races and with the knowledge that he was a brother in a Black fraternity, I

understood. However, it still felt weird that my boss was engaging in these discussions

with a subordinate regarding personal life choices. It was at this point that I had to learn

how to deal with pressure from “my own” around issues of race and defend my decisions

to expand my associations. I vividly remembered communicating that I made the decision

not exclusively based on race but rather because my best friend and I made the decision

together, I enjoyed hanging out with the guys and felt comfortable. I was basically

branded a sell-out as far as he was concerned but that didn’t bother me, I was happy with

my new, expanded set of friends and brothers – many of whom I remain close with now

over 20 years later.

My boss’ feelings didn’t bother me. Black fraternities and sororities exist because

we were not given access to the White ones. We were deemed unworthy and were forced

to go about other ways of fulfilling that need for brother and sisterhood - which is

common across all races and cultures, I might add. We created our own fraternal

organizations. With that in mind, I can understand how my former boss felt and his

strong opinion that we honor the legacy of our ancestors by building upon it. Over the

course of my time in Northridge, I made many friends and grew individually and

professionally. Unfortunately for me, at this time I was not focused on my education and

ended up failing all of my classes and was subsequently dismissed from the university. At

19 years old, I took a break from school and got a job at a bank.
 32

Over the next five years, I would go on to learn about banking and finance, work

with talented individuals of all races, cultures, and ethnicities, and continue to grow.

However, despite the many introductions made and relationships cultivated, I noticed

something. I noticed that while many of the organizations I worked for were generally

diverse, many of the individuals in leadership roles were often White and male. I began

to wonder why that was. Throughout my life, I have been told that I am a natural leader.

That I possessed a certain je ne sais quoi about me that allowed me to connect with

others, gain buy in, and lead them toward a shared goal. In truth, I knew this myself but it

was not until a few years later that I began to develop it.

During my professional life in banking, I often found myself being one of the few

managers of color in my area. During my undergraduate studies, I was the first Black

president of the campus business and economics club – twice and different ends of the

state of California - although it should be noted that during my experience in Southern

California, I had a Latinx co-founder. These experiences raised questions for me because

while talented, I never considered myself to be one of the above anyone. Surely, I

couldn’t have been the first Black student to want to lead a business and economics club?

Likewise, surely, I couldn’t have been the only qualified Black candidate for managerial

positions at banks? Nevertheless, as these questions began to populate my mind, I placed

them on the back burner to engage in regular normal activities of a twentysomething kid.

It was also during this time that in my personal life I began dating the woman who

would eventually become my wife, life partner, and primary support structure – who

incidentally happens to be White – and began to build a life. The irony of a self-

proclaimed racist marring a woman of Irish and German heritage is not lost on me.
 33

Together, we created two very beautiful children, merged two very different families, and

continue to enjoy all of the benefits and challenges associated with a multiracial family.

At the beginning of this period, I was also a manager in the banking sector and made sure

that my offices and teams – almost to an exclusion – very diverse. This diversity

encompassed racial and cultural diversity, gender diversity, and I did my best to cultivate

thought diversity. You see, I believe in and see the value in diversity. I have personally

leveraged diversity in both the workplace and in my personal life as a means of

accomplishing goals and personal growth. Perhaps this is why when I read studies which

find that team racial diversity often creates conflict or that diverse team performance

outcomes are inferior to those of homogenous teams, or that leaders of color are do not

command the same respect as White leaders, I find this difficult to understand. Further,

when I read studies which assert that the primary value in diversity is that it allows firms

to leverage Somali’s to reach Somali consumers or Koreans to reach Koreans or the

disabled to reach the disabled, I think it reflects a very narrow understanding of how

workforce diversity can be used.

As I have participated in many diversity trainings whose focus has been to raise

awareness, I often leave those interventions - which were well designed and facilitated -

feeling a sense of renewal. That maybe the other participants got a sense of the challenges

and stereotypes that Black Americans face daily. That maybe some of the problems that

we face as a society are due to a lack of exposure to the “other” and that through these

training, if done properly, individuals can begin to contemplate the profound racial

questions as I did many years ago during my conversations with Ms. Baker. That they

may understand that even although I am Black that is merely a small part of who I am. I
 34

am a husband, father, leader, student, researcher, former campus club executive,

consultant, classmate, class facilitator, and organizational colleague and fellow

American.

While I remain a proponent of diversity in most of its forms, I also understand

that when it comes to these issues, they are both deeply rooted and personal. As a result,

shifting mental models and moving toward an understanding with respect to diversity

often requires time, perspective, and individual growth. Additionally, there needs to be a

catalyst. That catalyst can be a move, a recent experience, or work. To that end, I believe

in the power of organizations to create change and inspire shifts in thinking. As I reflect, I

strongly contend that organizations have played a critical role in my development. The

organizations that educated me provided me with the opportunity to expand my thinking

and engage with those different from me. This was evidenced in my undergraduate

studies where I had the pleasure of making friends with people that I otherwise may not

have had the opportunity to interact with. This includes my fraternity brothers, friends,

fellow business and economics club members, fellow students, and highly educated

professors.

The organization of family provided me with the opportunity to form familial

bonds with individuals that while not directly chosen by me, became family nonetheless

and accepted all of the responsibilities that accompanied their choice. Examples of this

include my step-mother, step-grandparents, aunts and uncles by marriage, and resulting

offspring. As noted earlier, my extended family is very racially and culturally diverse and

while I was not initially accepting of some at times, their compassion and understanding

now has proven to be instrumental in my development.

 35

The organization that is marriage has perhaps had the most profound impact on

me in terms of how I see the works and the value of diversity. This is the case because as

noted previously, my wife is White and my children biracial. While this union has

revealed much regarding differences in race, it is perhaps the nonracial elements that

have had the most profound impact to my way of seeing the world. My wife and I have

different stories. I am the product of unmarried parents while my wife’s parents have

been married for 49 years. I grew up primarily in South Central Los Angeles while my

wife grew up in rural Northern California. My relationship with law enforcement – as

with many in my community - can best be described as tenuous at best, my father-in-law

is a retired police officer. My mother received federal assistance when I was growing up

while my mother-in-law was an entrepreneur. My parents did not graduate from college,

my mother-in-law did. The list goes on.

Much like how my upbringing and experiences have helped shape my worldview,

epistemology, and ontology, I must accept that my wife’s experiences have shaped hers.

It may come as no surprise to learn that at times, these differences present challenges.

The challenges are further exacerbated when they concern our children. My racially

diverse marriage has provided me perhaps the most valuable lesson as it pertains to and

area of diversity that is largely overlooked: thought diversity. It has reminded me that

although we may disagree on many things, as long as we have each other’s best interest

at heart, we can make it through whatever is thrown at us. My marriage has served as a

reminder that although two people can come from completely different worlds and racial

backgrounds, they can create something together that is beautiful. The organization that is
 36

marriage and immediate family reminds me daily that there is beauty in difference and in

ideal situations, its outcome can be something that reflects the best of all inputs.

The work organizations that I have served in have also proved instrumental in my

development and the way I see the world. It is through my work organizations that I have

been exposed to so much diversity. Whether is it working on a team that was comprised

of team members that were ethically, racially, or culturally diverse or working for a

female manager in a male dominated industry, my work organizations have taught me

lessons about what can be accomplished when people, often of different backgrounds,

come together to achieve a common goal. I have witnessed first-hand how common goals

can erase individual preferences and mitigate biases. Further, I have seen the power of

transformational leadership and the role it can play in bringing people together.

All of the experiences detailed above have shaped my worldview and have

reinforced my constructivist orientation. These experiences have served to remind me

that reality is socially constructed and depending on where, how, and what experiences

shape an individual’s life and resulting worldview and biases. As I write this, America is

undergoing significant change. Race relations are faltering, African Americans are often

killed in the streets without due process, Democrats are worse than Russians and

Republicans are considered fascists. Professional sports teams no longer wish to attend

celebrations at the White House, and it seems there are constant calls for boycotts of

everything, depending on what end of an issue an individual may fall. Families are being

torn apart at the nation’s southern border and immigrants – particularly those of color –

are seen as unworthy and as stealing the jobs of Americans. In my view, we lack the

transformational leadership needed to overcome such obstacles. We have become victims

 37

of our own biases to the extent that we no longer wish to conquer them but rather seek to

reinforce them. We are living in a time where organizations, large and small, are working

to provide the leadership necessary to overcome these challenges – often going against

lawmakers and policy – and accommodate and harness the power of diversity, often using

diversity training as a tool to accomplish this. I think this is noteworthy considering that

typically, organizations react to legal and regulatory policy changes. Some may say that

America is getting better. That the current environment is a reaction to the displeasure to

previous environments. I say that it is a sad day when the nation that freed slaves, gave

women the right to vote, created massive, global organizations and large-scale prosperity,

a nation of slaves and immigrants, has reached this point.

I am not concerned with the political components of this debate, rather, I am

saddened that as a nation of immigrants (both voluntary and involuntary), we have

chosen to move away from accepting diversity and allowed our tribal impulses to

overtake our more measured, thoughtful selves. I am disappointed that we have

consciously made a decision to move away from accepting diversity, more specifically,

racial, ethnic, and cultural diversity because in my view, the trend of a browning America

is frightening to many. Despite this, I understand their concerns. I can understand how

people are reluctant to give up power. I understand that as one of my participants in this

study noted, that when you have been privileged all of your life, equality can feel like

oppression. I often think back to that conversation with Ms. Baker and how what I

needed at that time was to have someone that disagreed with me, that cared for me, share

with me a different perspective and remind me that there are those whom we may hate
 38

that display their love for us in their actions. I regret that the lives of some have not had

the opportunity to be touched by diversity as I have and continue to be in my life.

When I think of the challenges we collectively face, I strongly contend that

diversity training in organizations can be an important tool for creating that change. Not

for political purposes but so that individuals of different backgrounds, cultures, races, and

worldviews can work together toward a common goal. If nothing else, like many

organizations, it can bring people together, often individuals that may not have otherwise

had the opportunity to interact with each other, to collectively explore a range of

opinions, learn, and grow, in a relatively safe space and move towards cohesion, if not a

deeper level of understanding.

During this study I explored and discussed a little of my own growth in this area

and noted that my shift was brought about by a teacher that I held in high regard, not by

my parents making me do or realize something – it doesn’t work that way with these

issues. Similarly, I believe that diversity training can be used, if designed and facilitated

effectively, as a driver of that internal change. From a research perspective, I continue to

believe that an examination of the lived experience of participating in such training can

assist with filling in the gaps in diversity training knowledge. I posit that this work has

the potential to highlight the minutiae often overlooked when explored using quantitative

methods and methodologies to explore this complex phenomenon. On a human level, I

submit that the exploration of the lived experience of diversity training will allow me to

learn more about what it is like to participate, either actively in the sense that the

individual asked questions, engaged with others, and contributed to discussions, or

passively in the sense that the person decided to absorb the information and engage in
 39

deep reflection on their own time, perhaps in a different venue. Finally, I recognize that

my role as a researcher is to allow my participants to elucidate their own individual

feelings around participating in a diversity training and understand that their feelings and

experiences will be different from mine.

In the following chapter, I will present the methodologies which guided this

study, discuss the methods employed, identify data collection processes and analysis, and

present my biases as a researcher and explore how I see the world which heavily

influenced my motivation to undertake this important work.

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CHAPTER THREE:

METHODOLOGY, METHODS, AND DATA ANALYSIS

“Do you have the patience to wait till your mud settles and the water is clear? Can

you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?” – Lao Tzu

This study endeavored to answer the simple, yet complex and complicated

research question of: what is the lived experience of participating in diversity training?

As such, this study was interpretive in nature and incorporated and applied aspects of

both hermeneutic phenomenology and case study qualitative research traditions. Further,

this study was descriptive in that it sought to describe, in thorough detail, the lived

experience of participating in a diversity training in a county government setting.

Throughout this chapter, I will describe and discuss the hermeneutic phenomenology and

case study methodologies that served to guide this work. Additionally, I will describe, in

detail, the methods used for data collection and analysis. Finally, I will also discuss

participant selection criteria, introduce study participants, and describe the data analysis

processes which guided this research.

Hermeneutic Phenomenology as a Research Methodology

An interpretive approach in both conception and design for this study was

selected as this research endeavored to develop a profound in-depth understanding of the

complex phenomena of the lived experience of participating in diversity training.

According to Denzin and Lincoln (2005) qualitative researchers study things in their

natural settings as they attempt to make sense of and interpret the meanings people bring

to various phenomena. As such, a qualitative methodology served as a natural fit for this

work given the stated purpose and research question.

 41

According to Creswell (1998), phenomenology provides a method for the

researcher to develop an understanding of the essence of experience with respect to a

certain phenomenon, thereby, allowing for description of the lived experience with

respect to a phenomenon. van Manen (1977) identified hermeneutics and phenomenology

among the primary sources of knowledge with respect to interpretive practices and

offered the following definition of hermeneutics as: the science of interpretation, or as

the phenomenology of social understanding” (p. 213). Laverty (2003) noted that like

phenomenology, hermeneutic phenomenology’s primary concern is with the human

experience as it is lived. Knorr (2006) wrote “Hermeneutic phenomenology is a

descriptive and interpretive methodology that is concerned with how things appear and

with letting things speak for themselves” (p. 39). Further, Dilthey (1985), described the

lived experience as follows:

Lived experience is determined by presence and by qualitatively

determinate reality. The qualitative aspect of lived experience is

something totally different from that of the natural object. In the latter the

quality is apprehended in relation to that whose quality it is. In lived

experience there is only this qualitatively determinate reality and nothing

exists for us behind it. That’s is indeed the whole reality of the lived

experience. (p. 226)

The present study recognized the unique role of lived experience as essential to

knowledge acquisition with respect to certain phenomena. Further, considering the

inimitable nature of diversity training in organizations, I submit, that hermeneutic

phenomenology offers the most appropriate means through which to investigate this
 42

phenomenon. In the following section, I will discuss how aspects of case study

methodology was applied in the investigation of the research question that guided this

work. In the section that follows, I will discuss case study as a research methodology.

Case Study as a Research Methodology

The current study applied aspects of case study methodology as it sought to

investigate the lived experience of participating in diversity training within the bounds of

one course offered in a U.S. county government setting. Yin (2009) offered that “As a

research method, the case study is used in many situations to contribute to our knowledge

of individual, group, organizational, social, political, and related phenomena” (p.4).

Creswell (2013) described case study research as:

A qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a real-life,

contemporary bounded system (a case) or multiple bounded systems

(cases) over time, through detailed, in-depth data collection involving

multiple sources of information (e.g., observations, interviews, audiovisual

material, and documents and reports), and reports a case description and

case themes. (p. 97)

Miles and Huberman (1994), defined the case as “a phenomenon of some sort

occurring in a bounded context. The case is in effect, your unit of analysis” (p.25). For

the purposes of this study, the case served as the analysis of individual experiences of the

participants of diversity training, bounded in a context of a large Midwestern county

government organization. I selected this blended methodological approach as I believed it

allowed for a more profound and robust understanding of the lived experience of
 43

participating in diversity training in the setting which served as the bounded system of the

case.

Phenomenology

In the following section, I will discuss phenomenology generally, examine its

philosophical roots, and discuss how phenomenology was ideally suited to execute this

study Racher and Robinson (2003) wrote: “Lived reality serves as a focus of inquiry with

subjective and objective realities merging in an alliance between that reality and our

knowledge of it” (p. 466). Dowling (2007) described phenomenology as not only a

research method often employed by qualitative researchers, but also emphasized its

philosophical roots. The author further stated that amongst the number of extant

phenomenological schools, all share common attributes, however, observed distinct

differences exist. Likewise, Gill (2014) described “phenomenology as both a

philosophical movement and a family of qualitative research methodologies” (p. 3).

Gentles, Charles, Ploeg, and McKibbon (2015) defined phenomenology as “a qualitative

approach in which researchers aim to develop new understandings of human lived

experience, relying on first person accounts generally obtained through participant

interviews” (p. 1773).

The word phenomenology is Greek in origin. Stewart and Mickunas (1974)

offered that the term phenomenology finds its roots in the Greek words phainomenon,

which denotes appearance and logos, which denotes reason or word. As such,

phenomenology may be described as a reasoned inquiry which seeks to discover the

essence of appearance with respect to anything of which one is conscious (Knorr, 2006).

Phenomenology, as it relates to research, primarily finds its roots in the philosophy of

 44

Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger. Gill (2014) wrote, “Whilst a variety of

philosophers have advanced and developed phenomenology, most types of

phenomenology draw principally from the work of Edmund Husserl or Martin

Heidegger” (p. 4). Husserl, a philosopher and mathematician, challenged the

epistemological status quo of the time through his consideration of experience as the

fundamental source of meaning and knowledge (Racher & Robinson, 2003). Further,

Husserl was deeply critical of the approach of positivist science applying the methods of

natural science to the exploration of questions related to the human sciences due to the

core differences of objectives between the two modes of inquiry (Salada & Adorno,

2002). Further, Salada and Adorno described Husserl’s conception as “an alternative

proposal to positivism, [that] tries to reintegrate the world of science and the lifeworld”

(p. 283).

Central to the phenomenology of Husserl was the concept of phenomenological

reduction. Phenomenological reduction is concerned with developing an understanding of

a phenomenon as free as possible from cultural contexts (Dowling, 2007), in essence, the

lifeworld. The lifeworld refers to the totality of life in its numerous facets or “the field in

which life in general carries itself out in its everydayness” (Luft, 2004, p.5). This focus

on the lifeworld, or pre-reflective experience, served to distinguish this type of

phenomenology from subsequent approaches which seek to describe phenomena from the

personal perspective of the individual (Dowling, 2007).

Another approach to phenomenology which is centrally featured in the literature

is that of Martin Heidegger. Like the phenomenology of Husserl, Heidegger’s

hermeneutic phenomenology is concerned with the human experience as lived (Dowling,

 45

2007). Heidegger, while in general agreement with Husserl’s mantra of “to the things

themselves” - or emphasis on the pre-reflective experience - was critical of Husserl. More

specifically, Heidegger critiqued Husserl’s emphasis on description rather than

developing understanding of a phenomenon (Racher, 2003). Heidegger posited that

phenomenology should reveal the meaning of being (generally understood as presence in

the world) as opposed to being (pre-reflective) (Cohen & Omery, 1994). Further, through

hermeneutic phenomenology Heidegger gave birth to interpretivist phenomenology

(p.63). Heidegger’s new ontological phenomenology, with its focus on the science of the

being of entities, marked a stark contrast to Husserl’s epistemological approach to

phenomenology (Gill, 2014). It should be noted that while Husserl and Heidegger’s

impact on phenomenology cannot be underestimated, others have contributed greatly to

phenomenology, its development, and application.

Scholarly work investigating the lived experience has been conducted in the fields

of medicine and nursing (Benzein, Norberg, & Saveman, 2001; Norlyk & Harder, 2009),

education (Beitin, Duckett, & Fackina, 2008) and politics and organizational change

(Buchanan & Badham, 1999), to name a few. In the business and organization studies

literature, phenomenological work has been done in the areas of African women’s

leadership training (Wakahiu & Keller, 2011), project leadership (Cullen & Leavy,

2017), women’s career advancement (Knorr, 2011) and accounting and the gendered

workplace (Carmona & Ezzamel, 2015). While these lines of research and their

application of phenomenological methodology are promising, an opportunity for further

phenomenological inquiry remains as I contend that it is through examination of the lived

experience that a deeper understanding of complex phenomena may be gained.

 46

Hermeneutic Phenomenology

As previously discussed, hermeneutic phenomenology finds its roots in the

phenomenology of Heiddeger. Laverty (2003) wrote: “Like phenomenology, hermeneutic

phenomenology is concerned with the life world or human experience as it is lived” (p.

24). Additionally, Laverty remarked that Heiddeger went as far as asserting “nothing can

be encountered without reference to a person’s background understanding” (p.24). As

such, hermeneutic phenomenology may be described as an interpretative and descriptive

methodology whose focus is allowing things to speak for themselves and how they

appear. Further central to the concept of hermeneutic phenomenology is the examination

of texts. Tan, Wilson, and Olver (2009) noted as much when simply describing

hermeneutic phenomenology as being concerned with the understanding of texts.

Consequently, the hermeneutic phenomenological process is concerned with

contextualization and amplification rather than structural essentialization (Hein & Austin,

2001).

Hermeneutics, as expressed by Heidegger, endeavors to interpret lived experience

through text. Further, Heidegger proclaimed that the lived experience was “veiled” and

saw the job of the researcher as unveiling the lived experience through collaboration with

the participant (Wilson & Hutchinson, 1991). The present study, through transcription

and analysis of the text associated with participant interviews, sought to unveil the lived

experience of participating in a diversity training. In the following section, I will discuss

the role of the researcher.

 47

The Role of the Researcher

Knorr (2005) stated that in human sciences, an assumption can be made that the

researcher will come with a prior interest related to their profession. Therefore, it is

important for the phenomenological researcher to reflect and describe the origin and

impact of their interest in the topic of investigation. Throughout my career, I have always

been interested in the power of organizations and how they can bring diverse individuals

together toward the attainment of organizational goals. I appreciate how organizations

provide their members with opportunities to interact with and learn from people different

from themselves. I can unequivocally state that without organizations, be they academic

or business enterprises, I would not have had the exposure and opportunity to work with

and learn from people different than me, primarily racially and culturally. This study

provides a window into the organizational experiences of others which is of significant

interest to me.

In phenomenology, the researcher is required to engage in the analysis and

display fidelity to the accounts conveyed by the data (Starks & Trinidad, 2007). The

authors further noted “Even as the researcher immerses herself in the data, she must be

honest and vigilant about her own perspective, preexisting thoughts and beliefs, and

developing hypotheses” (p. 1376). This assertion is consistent with that of van Manen

(2001) who offered that in phenomenological research, researchers need to be aware of

their own assumptions and experiences before they may learn about participant

experiences. I have experienced many diversity training events and can relate to the

experience of participation. Further, I as a Black American, I have my own experiences

and thoughts with respect to race and have encountered situation that are similar to those
 48

reflected in this work. Moreover, I have attempted to bracket my biases and share my

experiences in this work in hopes of viewing this phenomenon through as clear a lens as

possible to accurately interpret the participant experience. Additionally, member

checking was performed to ensure my accounts of the participant experience was

accurately reflected from the standpoint of the participant.

Similar to phenomenology, case study research seeks to ensure the thorough

exploration of the phenomenon under investigation and reveal its essence (Baxter & Jack,

2008). Yin (2009) identified five skills critical for the case study investigator: the ability

to ask good questions, the ability to be a good listener, the ability to adaptive and flexible,

possess a firm grasp of the issue under investigation, and be unbiased by preconceived

notions (p. 69). Throughout the execution of this study, I was guided by pointed, opened

ended questions and probes which served to illicit information regarding the participant

experience in this diversity training. Moreover, trust with the participants was established

through communicating my knowledge of the related literature and sharing personal

information about myself, my family, and making expressive, my biases, when

appropriate.

Methods

Ensuring rigor in qualitative inquiry is paramount. Chief among the means of

achieving rigor is through the collection of data that is both adequate and appropriate

(Denzin & Lincoln, 1998). Further, Denzin and Lincoln noted that qualitative researchers

seek to answer questions that examine how social experience is created and meaning

ascribed. As it concerns hermeneutic phenomenology, adequacy may refer to the number

of participants that allow for the phenomenon to be explored. Appropriateness, concerns

 49

the participants ability to share their experiences as it relates to the phenomenon under

investigation. According to van Manen (1990), “the aim of phenomenology is to

transform lived experience into a textual expression of its essence” (p.36). Gill (2014)

described how van Manen’s approach to phenomenology represented a departure from

other types of phenomenology in that it straddles both descriptive and interpretive

phenomenology. As the present study endeavored to both describe and interpret the lived

experience of participating in diversity training through the interpretation and analysis of

the transcripts associated with participant interviews, I submit that this approach to

phenomenology represented an appropriate methodology through which to explore this

phenomenon.

The approach to sampling and sample size represent an important distinction from

quantitative research which often utilizes larger sample sizes and statistical precision.

Qualitative research is often concerned with obtaining information that provides a rich

and deep understanding of the depth, complexity, variation, and context as it concerns a

certain phenomenon. Consequently, smaller sample sizes are often used in qualitative

research (Gentles et al., 2015). Cohen, Kahn, and Steeves, (2000) wrote, in part: The

scientifically important criterion for determining sample size for the hermeneutic

phenomenological researcher is the intensity of the contact needed to gather sufficient

data regarding a phenomenon or experience” (p. 56). Further, the authors examined

sample size estimates across three qualitative research traditions (grounded theory,

phenomenology, and case study) and observed that as it concerns hermeneutic

phenomenology, fewer than ten participants are appropriate provided an intense

following of participants.
 50

Another central aspect to qualitative research is saturation. Gentles et al., (2015)

noted the concept of saturation occurs frequently in the literature. Several scholars have

discussed the topic of saturation as it relates to qualitative research and sampling (Lincoln

& Guba, 1985; Sandelowski, 1995; Saunders et al, 2018) with most describing it as the

point where additional data collection and analyses produces marginal returns for the

researcher. In the current study, saturation with respect to the phenomena under

investigation, was reached with participant number five, largely due to the rich detail of

their lived experience provided by participants during the interviews. Despite reaching

this point of saturation, I decided to interview an additional participant because she

responded to my invitation and was very interested in participating in the study. I am glad

that I chose to move forward with the interview because this participant’s background

and rich detailed descriptions of her course experience provided insightful additional

perspective to the study. In the section that follows, I will detail the participant selection

process employed for the present study.

Participant Selection

Participants for this study were employees from several departments at a large

county government organization located in the Midwestern United States. I was

specifically interested in how these individuals would experience this training and

respond to its content which I found to be of great interest based off the course

description provided. Further, due to the diversity training’s focus on race and racism,

during the conception phase of this study, I initially wanted to explore the lived

experience of a racially diverse participant base, however, as is common in research, a

 51

researcher must work with the participants that express interest in and are willing to

participate.

To obtain permission to recruit participants for this study, I contacted the Chief

Human Resources Officer of the county and expressed interest in conducting my study

using their course as my setting. The specific steps to this process were as follows: I

emailed the Chief Human Resources Officer at the county a formal research proposal on

July 19, 2017. I contemporaneously emailed the trainer associated with this training to

express my interest in using this course as my setting for this study. I was subsequently

contacted by a Workforce Development representative at the county and advised that to

accommodate my request they, too, required the submission of a formal proposal which

detailed the need for the study, outlined the methodological processes, and communicated

why this specific county would be an ideal location to conduct this research.

Subsequently, I was advised that the proposal would be reviewed and discussed with

management and I would be contacted with a decision related to my request.

Approximately two weeks later, approval was granted.

An application for human subject research approval was submitted to the

University of Minnesota’s Institutional Review Board (IRB) on August 18, 2017 with

final approval and exemption determination being granted on August 22, 2017. The

research protocol associated with this request allowed me to send the approved invitation

to participate in research out to registered course participants and use the approved

consent forms to obtain participant consent to participate in this study. The protocol

indicated that I would like to obtain ten participants. Due to a lower than anticipated

response rate, a study modification seeking approval to resend the invitation email was
 52

submitted to the IRB on September 18, 2017 with modification approval received on

September 28, 2017. Once the modification email was received, I requested that Large

Mid-Western County’s Workforce Development Department send the same invitation to

participate in research study to course registrants.

Study participants were initially recruited via email. As the confidentiality of the

course enrollees was paramount, I emailed a copy of my IRB approved invitation to

participate in a research study (See Appendix C) to the Department of Workforce

Development so that they could be distributed to course enrollees. It is important to note

that at no time did I have access to the private information of employees enrolled in this

training as the Department of Workforce Development acted as an intermediary to ensure

confidentiality was maintained.

The initial participant recruitment email was sent two weeks before

commencement of the course. On the day of the training, and at the request of Workforce

Development, I was granted a few minutes prior to the beginning of the training course to

elaborate on my study’s goals, discuss the gap in the literature with respect to this

phenomenon, and invite enrollees to participate in person. Consistent with the invitational

email previously sent to course registrants, interested enrollees were advised to contact

me through my University of Minnesota email account. It is important to note that I chose

not to enroll in this course as I did not want my experience to bias my interactions with

study participants.

Initially, I received three responses from participants expressing a desire to

participate in this study. A week later, I received another email from a course participant

expressing interest which brought the total number of participants to four. After
 53

scheduling and completing interviews with these four participants and feeling that I had

not yet reached the saturation point to fully gain an understanding of the lived experience,

I emailed Workforce Development again asking it they could resend the invitation email

to which they agreed. I was then contacted by one additional participant expressing

interest. This fifth interview was conducted and after I felt the saturation point was

reached.

Specifically, I felt that saturation was achieved as the range of experiences

described provided an accurate view and sufficient insight to fully examine the lived

experience as related to the phenomenon under investigation. Several weeks later, I was

contacted by Workforce Development again to determine how many participants I was

able to recruit. After I informed them of the number, they offered to send a final

recruitment email. I was then contacted by a sixth course enrollee expressing their

interest and the interview was subsequently conducted. Despite feeling that I had reached

saturation, I decided to interview this participant as I felt that they could provide a unique

perspective with respect to this phenomenon.

Throughout the recruitment process, the confidentiality of course enrollees

remained paramount. I, as the researcher, was not allowed access to enrollee data or

personal information. Further, the identity of study participants was not disclosed to any

member of the Workforce Development Department, County management, or other study

participants. It is through these controls that confidentiality was maintained and trust was

established between me and study participants. In the following section, I will discuss my

approach to participant interviews.

 54

Interviews

Data for this study were collected primarily through interviews with interview

lengths ranging between 48 to 90 minutes. Interviews were conducted at a location

chosen by the participant, often during their lunch break. Interview locations included

coffee houses, restaurants, and county offices. It is important to note that the range of the

interview length reflects the participants’ availability and that during the one 48-minute

interview, the participant was excited about the interview and ready to engage and

substantial information regarding the training experience was gathered.

Throughout the interview process, occasional notes were taken to record and

document poignant moments and reactions. Additionally, consistent with hermeneutic

phenomenology, audio recorded interviews were subsequently transcribed verbatim and

analyzed with pseudonyms applied to ensure confidentiality. To limit researcher bias, a

brief preliminary literature review was conducted to limit the influence of previous

findings on my execution of this study. Once interviews were concluded, transcripts

analyzed, and themes developed I then conducted a more comprehensive review of the

literature to determine whether the themes identified in my work were substantiated in

the extant diversity training literature.

In hermeneutic phenomenology, interviews are essential and serve an integral

purpose with respect to developing an understanding of the lived experience of the

phenomenon under investigation. Additionally, interviews are a vehicle through which a

conversational relationship with a participant with respect to the meaning of an

experience may be developed (Ajjawi & Higgs, 2007). This is consistent with the

assertions of van Manen (1997) who described the two main purposes of interviews as
 55

being to gather narratives of experiences that help better understand a phenomenon and to

develop a conversation about the meaning of experiences. As the present study

investigated the lived experience of participating in diversity training, interviews proved

critical as they were the primary means through which I was able to develop a deep

understanding of the lived experience and its meaning in the lives of participants.

Interview questions were open-ended to allow the participant to guide the

discussion. Consistent with the hermeneutic approach, once interviews were completed,

interview recordings were transcribed, analyzed, and interpreted so that meaning was

derived. Creswell (1998) cited in Moustakas (1994) who suggested participants should be

asked two broad questions in a phenomenological study. They are:

• What have you experienced in terms of the phenomenon?

• What contexts or situations have typically influenced or affected your experiences

of the phenomenon?

In addition to these questions, probes were used to further expand the dialogue, when

appropriate, to allow for a deeper understanding of the lived experience of participating

in diversity training in a public-sector organization. Examples of probes used included:

• What was the experience like of participating in this training?

• Can you describe the emotions elicited, if any, from participating in this

experience?

• Can you tell me about a time during the training when you felt that way?

• I want to make sure I understand you, did you mean…?

• How does this relate to how you felt before this training?
 56

In the section that follows, I will discuss my approach to data analysis and theme

development.

Data Analysis Process and Theme Development

In addition to using a professional transcription service, I chose to personally fully

transcribe two participant interviews to gain familiarity with the transcription process. I

also wanted to know if transcribing the interviews would provide for a more in depth

understanding of the participant’s experience. Further, I reviewed the text for all six

completed interviews thoroughly several times with a minimum of four reviews per

participant interview.

The first textual review of each transcript was performed to gain a general sense

of the interview. The second review consisted of reading the text again, reflecting and

analyzing my notes taken during the interview, making additional notation and comments

in the margins to indicate indicated key or significant statements, and performing first

cycle coding (Saldaña, 2009). The third and fourth transcript review consisted of taking

additional detailed notes in the margins of the transcript and highlighting blocks of text as

they related to structures of meaning as proposed by van Manen (1997) and engaging in

second cycle coding (Saldaña, 2009). This process continued a minimum of four times;

however, it is also important to note that two interview transcripts were analyzed more

than four times as additional analyses were required to capture nuance and accurately

interpret the meaning associated with these participant’s experience. Once the data were

coded, they were subsequently analyzed for individual level themes then aggregated

across all participants. van Manen (1997) noted that to understand the meaning of text, it

is imperative that the researcher identify meaning units and themes. Potential themes
 57

throughout this iterative process were kept in a table form so that I could refer to them

when necessary during the analysis. In the following section, I will discuss bracketing

and its application in the present study.

Bracketing

Creswell (1998) identified the issue of bracketing one’s personal experiences as a

potential issue when conducting phenomenological research. As the topic and discussions

of diversity in general, and diversity training specifically often elicit strong emotional

responses, I felt it necessary to reflect on my own experiences and thoughts and feelings

as they relate to diversity generally, the role of diversity in organizations, and diversity

training. Specifically, as I was conducting my initial literature review with respect to

findings of diversity related studies, I was compelled to reflect and compare the findings

of such studies to my own personal experiences participating and leading diverse teams,

contributing to diverse organizations, as well as reflection on my hiring decisions and the

organizational cultures I strove to create during my previous employment experiences.

Additionally, I began to reflect and examine what the benefits of diversity are for

organizations and for countries writ large. Further, as a former employee of this County,

a public-sector organization that requires employee participation in a certain amount of

diversity training hours each year, I examined my feelings with respect to my experience

in such classes.

Site Selection and Case Background

The large Midwestern County government agency selected as the case study site

was chosen for three primarily reasons: (1) the size of the organization, (2) the racial and

ethnic diversity of the organization, and (3) the organization’s stated commitment to
 58

diversity and inclusion. Large Midwestern County is the most populous and diverse

county within this Upper-Midwest state and represented an ideal context in which to

explore the phenomenon of the participatory experience of diversity training. Citing the

2010 Census, this County reported a population of 1,152,425 (Large Midwestern County,

2011). What’s more, according to the 2010 Census, the majority of the residents of this

county were under the age of 44.

Along racial lines, this large Midwestern county has a majority White population

with its website indicating 74% White residents, 12% Black/African American residents,

six percent Asian/Pacific Islander residents, seven percent Hispanic/Latino residents, and

fewer than one percent American Indian/Alaskan Native residents (Large Midwestern

County, 2018). The county’s website which contains these data also noted that Blacks

and Hispanics have a much higher proportion of children and young adults while Whites

have a much higher proportion of Baby Boomers (46 to 64) and elderly (65 and over).

Further, the County’s demographic statistics noted that the proportion of the population

which is foreign born increased 13 percent from 2000 to 2013. Such a demographic

profile and population composition shifts suggested that this county represented an ideal

setting in which to conduct this research.

Large Midwestern County also has a diverse workforce and their commitment to

diversity is evident. When walking into the downtown metropolitan headquarters of this

organization, you are immediately confronted with racial diversity. It is commonplace to

see demographically diverse employees walking to meetings or grabbing a cup of coffee

from the café located in the mezzanine level of the building. Also, I noticed and

participated in the very strict security protocols that were in place as the building also
 59

houses the County Courthouse. I also immediately noticed the racial diversity apparent in

the security guards that are tasked with protecting the building. Upon passing through

security and entering the offices of the large downtown tower, I encountered men and

women of all races waiting for elevators, carrying laptop bags, and engaging in

conversation. While obtaining specific and accurate data regarding an organization’s

workforce diversity is difficult to obtain generally (as diversity has many dimensions and

intersections), efforts to obtain diversity data in public organizations is more difficult due

to laws, regulations, and internal processes with respect to questions asked on

employment applications. As a former intern at this organization, I can anecdotally offer

that my experience at this county is that the organization reflects many dimensions of

diversity in terms of its workforce.

Large Midwestern County has a stated commitment to diversity and inclusion and

lists its core values as: continuous improvement, customer service, diversity and

inclusion, employee engagement, and workforce development (Large Midwestern

County, 2017). Additionally, the organization took the extra step of creating an office of

Diversity and Inclusion – an area within the Human Resources Department – complete

with its own Executive Director whose responsibility is solely related to diversity and

inclusion related issues in the organization, and in some cases, the entire County. The

Diversity and Inclusion department lists its vision as a diverse, inclusive workplace

where everyone is engaged, valued, and treated fairly. I contend that the organization,

with its stated values and mission, represented the ideal setting to execute my study.

Large Midwestern County is a forward-looking organization. The organization

allows employees to work from home or out of other county offices which may be closer
 60

to them, promotes work/life balance, rewards community engagement and volunteerism,

encourages employee health and wellbeing, serves as host to farmer’s markets during the

summer, and provides incentives for making healthy decisions. Further, the organization

requires each employee to engage in five to six hours of diversity training or engage in

diversity activities in the community annually. This large Midwestern County is attuned

to the demographic changes that are taking place within the community and seeks to

address racial disparities related to employment, education, and healthcare and is one of

few county governments nationally that have a Disparities Director tasked with

addressing racial employment inequities. This is done through community engagement,

partnerships with local colleges and universities, a career pathways program which seeks

to assist those on public assistance with gaining employment at this county, and through

forming partnerships with local hospitals and engaging in healthcare education. As an

individual that has worked in more than one government organization, I can

unequivocally state that this County is truly engaged in the community it serves.

In the following section, I will provide background information regarding the

diversity training course which served as the activity which provided the context for this

study.

Course Description and Background

County employees that chose to enroll in the Five Myths of Racism course

selected the course from a menu of course offerings which would satisfy the annual

diversity and inclusion education requirements assigned to all county employees.

Registration was done solely through the learning management system at this
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organization and the only information available to potential registrants was the

description below:

Description:

This two-and-a-half-hour dialogue uses both small and large group activities to help

participants recognize the ‘myths’ in everyday experiences, explore their power, and

practice countering them.

Abstract:

The Five ‘Myths’ tool draws on the work of white author Peggy McIntosh who believes

that people in our society are raised on five strong cultural myths. These myths deter us

from entering into serious discussions about racism. The dialogue uses Dr. McIntosh's

five myths as a jumping-off place to examine the impact of the myths on both people of

color and White people.

* Join the Conversation-Inclusion

* Develop a definition of inclusion.

* Identify a list of inclusive behaviors to promote county-wide.

The course was delivered by two Senior Workforce Development Department

trainers, Kevin and Sam (pseudonyms used to ensure confidentiality). Kevin is Black,

and Sam is White. During my visit to the course, I was advised that these trainers have

been delivering this training and other diversity and inclusion related training for many

years. A total of 26 county employees registered for this course and during my visit to the

course I noticed that the racial composition of the enrollees was approximately two thirds

White with minority ethnicities representing the remaining third of registrants.

 62

The training took place in a first-floor training room located at the downtown

headquarters of this organization. During my visit, the room was arranged with seats in

one large circle with the trainers positioned to stand in the middle near the white board.

While I did not participate in this training event, it is my understanding that the seating

arrangements changed throughout the delivery of the training depending on whether the

participants were engaged in group work, team discussions, or observing images on the

screen. The training ran over time and lasted approximately three hours with a scheduled

break provided. Additionally, enrollees were encouraged to participate and engage in

course discussions and candid dialogue.

Summary

The present study investigated the lived experience of participating in diversity

training and was guided by the research question of: What is the lived experience of

participating in diversity training? A blend of case study and hermeneutic

phenomenological research methodologies were selected as an appropriate approach to

investigate this phenomenon. Large Midwestern County, as an organization, has an

expressed commitment to diversity and inclusion and had demonstrated this in many

ways highlighted above. Like many county government units across the country, the

organization is attempting to address the demographic changes that are taking place in

both locally and in society more broadly. Further, the Five Myths of Racism training

course offered at Large Midwestern County represented the ideal setting in which to

explore this phenomenon due to its content, design, and the voluntary nature of

enrollment.
 63

CHAPTER FOUR:

RESULTS

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree

without roots.” - Marcus Garvey

This chapter will present results gained through analysis of participant themes

discovered from this study to investigate the lived experience of participating in diversity

training. Moreover, this chapter will discuss the emergent overarching meta-theme –

confronting visceral emotion - which was revealed to be an essential aspect of meaning

with respect to the lived experience of participating in this diversity training as noted in

the interviews with all six participants. Furthermore, it was discovered that the origin and

evolution of these visceral emotions were developed over time through what may be

described as key influencers that shaped the lived experience. What’s more, it became

clear that course participation provided the context in which to confront these profound

emotions.

To recognize the unique and often diverse human experience of the participants

which informed this work and highlight individual experience, this chapter will also

integrate, where appropriate, what may be described as distinctive individual findings

(those unique to an individual and not included in aggregated shared themes). The

identification of these findings associated with an individual participant highlight

defining moments, profound thoughts, and deep emotion which shaped their course

experience. Consequently, both shared themes and distinctive individual findings are

explored to gain an understanding of the experience of participating in diversity training.

This chapter will expand on how my hermeneutic analysis of the transcripts associated
 64

with each participant interview suggested that in addition to the emergent meta-theme of

confronting visceral emotion, participants communicated that their overall lived course

experience may be segmented as follows: the nature of the overall experience as

indicated by the identified overarching meta-theme, personal factors which influenced the

participant experience and contributed to their confrontation of the visceral emotions as

identified in the meta-theme, and what effect course participation and the confrontation

of these visceral emotions had in terms of how they motivated a majority of study

informants to want to take action in some form to produce change.

Additionally, this chapter will provide descriptions of the participant experience -

in their own words - and in some cases present longer statements to describe critical

components of the experience of participating in diversity training. All references to

participants are made using pseudonyms to ensure confidentiality and the presentation of

themes reflect the frequency of their occurrence. This may lead to some themes

containing more participant quotes and reactions than others. Lastly, it should be noted

the terms participant and informant are used interchangeably throughout this chapter to

note their formal participation in this study but also recognize their unique position to

inform this work consistent with qualitative research. Likewise, the terms Black and

African-American are also used interchangeably.

The overarching theme, confronting visceral emotion, was identified after

completing a hermeneutic analysis process in which all individual participant themes

were identified, member checked, and refined as needed. The theme of the experience of

facing or confronting a strong emotion during the training or subsequent reflection was

shared among all informants. Once individual themes were verified by each participant,
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all individual participant themes were then aggregated to identify themes shared by a

majority of study participants. Once identified, transcripts and themes were reanalyzed

until saturation was achieved. In aggregate, it became clear that the lived experience of

participating in this diversity training was not only emotional but required participants to

confront strong, often visceral emotions that were deeply rooted in life experience. The

emotions reported by participants were developed over time, largely through individual

life experiences, personal background, and other external factors which served to

influence participant lived experience. In the section that follows, I will present and

discuss the identified over-arching meta-theme and explore how the impact of stories

shared during the training experience and specific attributes of course content interacted

to produce emotional responses.

Overarching Theme: Confronting Visceral Emotion

The lived experience of participating in diversity training can be interpreted and

described as deeply emotional. Evidence of this overarching broad-level theme was

present in the text of all study participants. Given the numerous ways in which the

emotion of being a participant in this diversity training surfaced in words, tone, and even

facial expressions, it became clear that the experience of a strong, visceral emotion(s)

was the unifying overarching theme of course participation. It is important to note that

while emotional, this experience did not provoke emotion in the sense of an inability to

contain tears, rage, or other outward expressions of emotion. Rather, the emotion was

profound in the sense that the training experience resonated with the participants on

multiple levels as the course content and learning before, during, and after the training

event provided the context in which to confront these visceral emotions related to
 66

individual and collective exploration of myths of racism. Examples of the myriad

emotions expressed include feelings of irritation, sadness, hopefulness, and an anxiety

related feeling described as being on “pins and needles.” Study informants indicated

these feelings were provoked before the training in terms of anticipation and expectation.

Participants wondered how the course was framed, reflected on what they had heard

about the course from others, and the very nature of the course subject matter. Further,

emotions were provoked during the training through the stories shared by other course

enrollees as they recalled personal experiences. And lastly, emotions were a defining

presence after the training as participants reflected on the meaning of the experience as

shared during our interviews.

While many aspects of the experience of participating in this diversity training

program contributed to its emotional resonance, my analysis of the interview transcripts

suggests that the experience was emotional primarily because of two identified themes:

(1) participants learned from and were impacted by the personal experiences of others

shared in the class and, (2) certain attributes or features of the course content. Participants

indicated primary learning occurred through stories shared by other participants and

resulting discussions - both planned and unintentional - that may be attributed to the

course content and general design of the training class.

Before further discussion of the feelings associated with the participant

experience, it is important to note that several participants expressed they had thoughts or

ideas of what this class experience would be like before the training session began,

largely due to its title and framing. Moreover, it is important to acknowledge that this

course specifically had been described as one of the more “envelope pushing” diversity
 67

training offerings provided by the agency. As a result, many informants took this class

purposefully and were aware that its content has been known to elicit strong and

sometimes emotional responses.

Consider the following from participant Mary as she described her feelings going

into the class and the resulting questions they inspired:

I was saying in the beginning, I was kind of on pins and needles, worried

and cautious maybe about like, OK, how is this going to go down? Is this

going to be a good experience? Is this going to be a bad experience?

How’s it going to re-traumatize people?

Mary’s pre-course emotions and concerns centered on how the course content and

personal views of other enrollees could interact and potentially retraumatize the

individuals of color in the class. Voicing similar concerns, Liz expressed anxieties related

to the general preparedness of other enrollees in terms of their ability to deal with the

challenges associated with having candid discussions around race and responding to

hearing emotional, and in some cases tragic, stories. Liz recalled the guidance received

from an employee of the Department of Diversity and Inclusion at this government

agency in terms of why they do not recommend taking this course as an introduction to

diversity training. Specifically, she recalled being advised:

You [Liz] have to be able to engage for this to be useful. And if you’re in

a space where you’re still kind of learning about your own privilege, it’s

gonna feel really defensive because it’s gonna feel like every, every time

Whiteness came up, people were talking about me.

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In addition to concern for the minorities in the course and apprehensions

concerning whether class participants as whole would be ready to effectively engage in a

course where the associated content can provoke strong emotional responses, one

informant experienced pre-course anxiety related to whether the design of the course

would be such to make her feel guilty for being White and attempt to hold her responsible

historical racial wrongs. What follows is an excerpt from my discussion with Stephanie

as she described aspects of the course that went well: “There was a way in which, and

maybe it was the participants, that people were encouraged to share their experiences that

didn’t make everyone person in the room feel guilty and embarrassed and ashamed.”

It is important to note that this informant had attended another diversity training

event the previous day in which she described her experience in that training as

unproductive. Further, Stephanie noted that during that training experience she was made,

and even encouraged, to feel guilty. This aversion to feeling guilty reflected two

individual distinctive findings associated with this informant which were: this diversity

training experience was viewed within the context of previous courses and being

unburdened by the historical wrongs of the past toward certain minority groups (e.g.

historical conflicts with Native Americans, slavery, etc.).

Another participant described her pre-course state of mind as “concerned” in

terms of how individual life experiences, specifically those related to cross racial

exposure, would contribute to the tone and tenor of the training, especially as it

concerned Black Americans. What’s more, this informant noted the influence of her

upbringing in the predominately Black North Minneapolis neighborhood and expressed

concern around how Black’s would be portrayed and understood in the course. Consider
 69

the following from Lana when discussing the intersection of her personal life experiences

and how they informed her experience in the class:

I was raised around African-Americans and to me they were no different

than me. So, I just get really upset about the things that they have to go

through compared to what other people think about them. So, I just, I

don’t know how to explain. It hurts me, it hurts me, it literally hurts me.

These concerns and intersections feature prominently throughout this study’s

findings. It seems the experience of participating in diversity training provokes much

thought and, in some cases, anxiety before the course even began. These concerns were

frequently expressed by study participants and will be further examined in the sections

that follow.

Now that I have provided some insight as to questions and concerns held by some

participants regarding the course content, enrollee engagement, and design, in the section

that follows, I will expand on a key finding and further elaborate on themes considered a

significant contributor to the emotional experience of participating in this diversity

training: the finding that most participants learned from and were impacted by the stories

of others that were shared during this training experience.

Learning from and Impacted by Others’ Stories.

Reasons behind the feelings provoked throughout this diversity training

experience varied between participants; however, it is important to again convey that

primary learning was largely acquired through hearing the experiences of others in the

class through shared stories. More specifically, participants were impacted – albeit to

varying degrees – by stories shared by other course participants at various times during
 70

the training event. To illustrate this, consider the reaction of Michael as he reflected on

the impact of stories shared by another course enrollee which concerned situations in

which she perceived and described as workplace discrimination:

Her stories were powerful, and they were direct examples. She came off as

very credible and not just someone who is bitching. She had done what

she was supposed to do, she moved herself up in the world. It was like, she

wanted to work at one place, she was totally qualified, and they were like,

“uh, you have too much education” or something. Then there was another

example with a chiropractor [while interviewing for a job]. She had some

other stories too, she talked about some [discriminatory experiences

encountered] in the County.

While with these words this participant conveyed his deep discontent with these

stories shared by another participant in the course specifically, and the fact that any

individual would encounter this treatment generally, it is important to add that I noted a

physical reaction as well while discussing this which I would interpret as being consistent

with disgust. It is further noteworthy that others in the course were not as trusting in the

accuracy of these stories. For Lana, the impact of these stories produced doubt, mainly

based on her own previous experiences. For example, her reaction to a story shared (it is

believed this is one of the same stories Michael referenced above) by a class participant

regarding perceived racial discrimination during the interview process for a potential job

opportunity:

When she spoke, part of me thought, bullshit. And it might have

just been where I was [emotionally] that morning. And part of me

 71

thought, that card has been played one time too many. And maybe

it was that remember I worked in HR, I was a supervisor. So, when

she said this I thought I’m not really sure, and she was angry about

it and she had every right to be angry. But the answer is, she

doesn’t know that for sure. And by sharing that story and by

repeating that story in her head, she makes that true. And maybe it

is true, and maybe it’s not.

These divergent views, as related to the stories shared in the class, represent the range of

opinions found during this study and highlight the unique and individual nature of

participation and the meaning making process of the experience of the training

intervention.

While these reactions were to a story(ies) that took place within the context of

meeting with prospective employers to interview and engage in the hiring process, it

became clear to me that stories shared during the training were broad in scope. For

example, the following comments from Liz reflect a particularly poignant moment in the

training for her when another course enrollee shared a story in which a cashier at a

supermarket inquired about the origins of her biracial child while paying for her

groceries:

He [the father] is from Haiti. And, they have a daughter together. And she

told a story about a woman, she was checking out in a grocery store, and

the woman [cashier] saw her daughter and asked: Where did you get that

one?

Liz reflected:
 72

That was interesting on a personal level because my partner and I have

had a lot of conversations around, having kids through IVF [in vitro

fertilization] or adopting kids and what we, as two white women, would

need to think about if we were adopting children of color and what we

would need to think about by way of where we were living, and

communities we have access to, and kind of the ethical considerations of,

two white lesbian women, raising children of color. So that was very

touching on a personal level not because I haven’t thought about these

things before but because it felt like it connected to me in a really weird,

very real way because it might be a future that I have.

Evident in these comments is the participant’s strong reaction appears to be driven

by two realizations. First, the respondent seems to react strongly to the idea that another

individual would feel comfortable asking this question period, let alone, in a professional

environment such as at their workplace. My interpretation is that this instance served to

reinforce this participant’s belief that disparate racial treatment and insensitive statements

can and do occur in the workplace. Second, as this participant identifies as lesbian, this

aspect of the training experience compelled her to consider what implications such

behavior may have on her and her partner if they choose to adopt and parent a child of a

minority race. Further, it is my interpretation that this shared story served to remind Liz

that these situations do occur and are more common than one might think and should be

thoroughly considered. Finally, these concerns contributed to an individual distinctive

finding associated with this participant of: a focus on other Whites in the class as she

considered how they would respond to hearing these stories of personal encounters and
 73

whether they would be able to respond to these matters with the appropriate amount of

sensitivity and understanding.

Stories shared during the course discussions were described by one participant as

enlightening. This participant acknowledged that while shared stories throughout the

training generally provoked sadness in her, she felt them necessary and thought that the

stories shared during this training program could do much to raise to the awareness of

organizational members by bringing to light the difficult experiences encountered by

some. Daiane’s words follow below:

A lot of the stories were shared by this one woman when she was in Ohio.

She was probably more vocal, so I remember more of her stories; and then

we grouped [and discussed] and just realized how strongly those things are

out there. I think a lot of times people are oblivious.

Additionally, the sharing of personal stories made this participant reflect on who was

doing the sharing as she expressed her disappointment that more people of color did not

participate as she thought it would add to the level of education afforded by the training

experience.

Daiane added:

One thing that I was disappointed with was that there were a lot more

Caucasian people who were willing to share their thoughts. There was one

woman who ended up being very vocal, and I was very glad that she

would share because the concern is that people that aren’t sharing are

more not wanting to express what has really gone on, which I think is the
 74

big problem whenever we talk about racial stuff, whenever we talk about

discrimination.

Through her enrollment in this training course, this participant sought to further

her education around topics of race, racism, and how it is perpetuated. Moreover, Daiane

was keen to learn more about challenges faced through the engagement of the racial

minorities enrolled in the class. This supports and contributes to the distinctive individual

finding associated with this participant of: desired more minority participation to make

learning experience more profound through hearing the perspective of minorities.

In addition to the power of the stories shared in terms of their impact on the

participant experience, informants reacted strongly to some aspects of the course content.

In the following section, I will examine the role of the course content and its role in

shaping the emotion associated with the training experience of study informants.

Course Content.

For most participants the emotional aspect of their experience in this diversity

training was profoundly affected by how certain aspects of the course curriculum elicited

thoughtful reactions in others. It is important to recall that the overall framework of this

course was that the 5 Myths of Racism discussed in the course provided the framework

through which course participants examine how these myths deter people from engaging

in serious discussions about racism. As such, the course content has been known to elicit

strong emotions, concerns, and reactions.

For example, consider Mary’s recollection of hearing a story shared by another

course participant during a breakout session (a formal learning activity) in which class
 75

enrollees discussed a situation in which another course enrollee encountered bullying

because of her name:

This was the story of somebody getting bullied for their name that was

more African sounding and my understanding was this woman that was in

our group. She may, I think, have been of African origin, maybe even

from Africa; I don’t think she was Somali. Honestly, I don’t know but she

didn’t identify. She recalled an experience she had from high school that

still brought her to tears. About how painful it was to be ostracized, she

had to stop for a moment to collect herself and she was reading this

scenario. She was reading this scenario and it brought up so much pain

that she had experienced in high school being ostracized, being made fun

of for her name and it was still painful.

For Mary, this story’s impact manifested itself in the form of concern which caused her to

consider whether diversity training is an appropriate intervention for all workers or

whether it is most appropriate for White people. Mary continued: “Well, I was like, in my

head: see, see, are these diversity experiences really beneficial for people of color? Or is

it just White people that need diversity training, you know what I mean?”

It is important to note that these broader concerns and resulting comments

represented a cornerstone of Mary’s training experience and meaning making of

participating in a diversity training and contributed to two distinctive individual findings

associated with this participant: strong focus on other Whites in the class and a concern

for the people of color in the class as she was primarily concerned with how people of

color would experience this training intervention.

 76

Another course content related attribute associated with the training experience

that resonated strongly and contributed to the passion and emotional tone of participating

in this diversity training was discussion related to history. While engaging in a discussion

with a participant around her frustration with what she described as how people are

educated, Lana offered: “I got frustrated because, well, my biggest frustration right now

seems to be education wise.” Specifically, this informant noted that as the class

conversation turned to history it provoked thought and consideration of related to topics

such as who writes history and how history portrayed, the topic of slavery, and the

controversy around Columbus Day in America. As it relates to history more broadly,

Lana added:

I don’t think that White America does the best job of portraying what the

truth is, what actually happened to Black Americans. History is written by

White people for White people and I think that needs to change. It

definitely has to change.

Additionally, while discussing her thoughts on Columbus Day, she continued:

[People say] Columbus discovered America” I’m like, no, he didn’t

discover America. America was already here. It was already settled. It just

wasn’t settled by White people. So, they [White settlers] just came in,

pushed their way in, pushed the Natives out and did whatever they wanted

to do. And that irritates me, it just irritates me. I’m so glad they changed

Columbus Day to include Indigenous people. Because, honestly, I think

everybody including government, literature, classrooms are all written by

 77

White men for White men and I don’t think children are learning from it,

they’re just not.

It should be noted that while discussions around history were contributory to the

depth of the experience, a range of perspectives were offered. Consider the following

from Daiane as she described the discussions around the historical course content: “They

weren’t Americans. None of them were. I mean, to me the story about the Pilgrims

coming wasn’t about coming to pillage, it was about, like, going on an adventure.”

It is further noteworthy that this participant’s emotional response to this specific

historical aspect of the course was sincerity. She described her understanding of the times

and noted the importance of context recognizing that was how things were in the 17th

century United States. She further noted that we now have the benefit of hindsight in

contemporary society while acknowledging that at that time in U.S. history, that was the

norm. Further, Daiane’s emotional experience in the class as it concerns the historical

conversations was also one of appreciation for how much progress has been made

regarding issues related to race. Additional insight on this course content theme was

provided from Daiane:

Things have changed, and I think definitely for the better. So, sometimes

looking at it contextually or historically [helps]. They used an example

from Little House on the Prairie are they gonna make the Indians move

further West, and White settlers are coming and they’re gonna make the

Indians move further west so that we [White settlers] can have the land.

We get it now. And everyone’s like, “that’s outrageous,” and it’s like,

well, that’s what it was during that time.

 78

Overall, study informants indicated that the learning which took place through the

sharing of personal stories in tandem with certain aspects of the course content -

specifically group breakout sessions and an examination of certain aspects of US history

and how they contribute to current issues of racism - proved to significantly contribute to

the emotional nature of the diversity training. While these reactions were myriad and

unique for each person, it was very clear that participants were impacted and learned

from others’ stories and certain modules of the course content,

The course content proved to contribute to the emotional experience of

participating in diversity training by igniting conversations and discussion around

historical wrongs, the role that history contributes to contemporary race relations, and

biases that individuals may hold and how they may perpetuate the myths of racism and

contribute to societal divisions. Furthermore, certain content related attributes provided

the basis for discussion around contentious issues and highlighted individual differences.

Participants’ thoughts, feelings, and reactions to this element of the training experience

proved to greatly depend on their personal experiences and were linked to subsequent

themes discovered during this study.

Upon further analysis, it became clear that in aggregate, study participants’

experience in this diversity training was viewed through a lens whose axis connects

several influencers external to the training experience itself. One of the most pronounced

influencers in shaping the experience was the contemporary U.S. political climate and

certain current events. Whether used as an example to demonstrate perceived racial

progress or to illustrate reasons for current conflict as it relates to race relations,

comments related to the present U.S. political environment were found among all
 79

participants to some extent. The next section will discuss and describe the role of current

events and the existing political climate in shaping the participant experience and explore

additional subsequent themes that served to influence the lived experience of

participating in diversity training.

Emotion Influencers

This section will discuss the key influencers of the training experience as

identified through my analysis of participant interview texts. More specifically, my

analysis revealed that current events and the U.S. political climate, participant previous

personal experiences, family, the participant’s own personal growth and development as

well as that of other course enrollees, and social media interacted to profoundly influence

the diversity training experience.

Current Events and the Current Political Climate.

The lived experience of engaging in this training was described by participants as

emotional. While the emotion displayed and communicated by study informants was

largely driven by hearing the stories of others elicited through certain aspects of the

course content, current events and the political climate also provoked strong emotional

responses and served to influence participant experience in the course. These emotions,

and the resultant theme were present in responses related to various aspects of course

participation. To illustrate, Michael reacted to a probing question regarding key learnings

and insights gained from this diversity training:

I just feel like a lot of people don’t recognize that these things [instances

of racism] occur. They just don’t take the same perspective. You know,

Colin Kaepernick is being held back, or held down or things like that. I
 80

just think well yeah, it’s not about Colin per se, it’s about this bigger

system. People today say Black Lives Matter, and [other] people say, “oh,

well they’re a hate group.” Yeah, the things that [some activists] have

done, I strongly say they shouldn’t have done; but I think behind it is a

very valid point and message that they are trying to say. But a lot of

people don’t see that as reality because it is kind of behind the scenes.

With this statement, Michael was discussing the confluence of the training

generally, stories shared throughout the training event, and their impact of him while

making connections to current events. He mentioned the current Colin Kaepernick

controversy within the context of previous conversations and disagreements he has had

with those close to him regarding this issue and the larger discussion of the role of race in

social movements. Further, Michael expanded and began discussing the Black Lives

Matter movement prevalent today and mentioned that although, in his view, some group

members have made some mistakes, he generally supports the idea and recognizes its

importance in terms of raising awareness and combating systemic racial inequities.

Throughout our discussion, I was left with the sense that Michael’s views often differ

from those closest to him. Further, I contend that these differing views often create a

sense of conflict between him, his friends, and family as he seeks to develop an enhanced

understanding of racism and racial issues and gain tools to engage others in candid,

meaningful discussions around these issues which was his primary motivation for taking

this course. These views are consistent with another individual distinctive finding

associated with this informant of: hoped to learn more about difference; hoped for a more

informational and prescriptive approach. This participant offered that he views dialogue
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and understanding as critical to progress and made clear that his positions often differ

from those closest to him.

In addition to the Colin Kaepernick issue, another current event that found its way

into my discourse with some participants was the current controversy surrounding the

National Football League and certain Black players choosing to engage in silent protest

against what they describe as social injustice and systemic racism by sitting, knelling, or

raising a fist during the singing of the National Anthem. While the players that have

participated in these protests have unequivocally stated on many occasions, in public

forums that such demonstrations are not meant to disrespect the flag, the military, or

Americans writ large, some, including President Donald Trump, disagree. Despite several

claims that the demonstrations are meant to protest what they describe as police brutality,

institutional racism, systemic oppression, and an unfair justice system that

disproportionately impacts Black and Brown Americans, the protests have generated

many opinions leaving some to say the message has been hijacked – an assertion with

which I also agree. That said, the controversy has generated a range of attitudes and

opinions and those opinions were evident in the interviews with participants.

For one informant, the National Anthem controversy of players kneeling or sitting

during the anthem was perceived as a radical move and used to demonstrate negative

activism. While discussing her appreciation for how the course’s myths provided the

appropriate framing and allowed for a more focused experience, Stephanie also offered

the following:

They had probably one of the clearer objectives, in any of the diversity

trainings I’ve been to, in that we want you to understand these myths. I
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didn’t get the sense like, walk out of this room and start sitting down

through the National Anthem. This [training course] is about finding out;

it was about information that then would encourage you to change or

expand your own mind and your own way of thinking. It’s different than

others saying to you, this is what you should be thinking.

In the case of this participant, sitting during the National Anthem represents a

more radical move or form of social protest, however it is consistent with her unburdened

orientation and attitudes. Further, she was very appreciative of what she described as the

facilitator’s ability to frame and manage the class around the myths, the respectful

sharing information, and allowing adequate space for the individual to come to their own

conclusions.

While a current event was used to highlight Stephanie’s experience in what she

would describe as a positive way, this was not the case for all informants. While

discussing her general experience in the class, Mary offered a different perspective all

together. She viewed a certain relatively recent event as providing the impetus to really

engage in some deep reflection as it concerns issues of race, disparate treatment, and

White privilege. Mary commented in response to a query regarding the general

experience of participating in this diversity training:

I feel like since Trayvon Martin happened years ago, we’ve just been on

this journey to work on ourselves within our own house, so to speak. How

do we internalize racism? How do we benefit? Like, doing some deep

digging into it, like, what it means for us as a family. And so, I’ve always
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had a passion to be in a room full of White folks who haven’t done all the

work yet, on themselves.

For Mary, the Trayvon Martin incident was tragic, emotional, and was responsible

for provoking profound thought and reflection for her and her family. During our

conversation, she expressed great concern for the parents of Trayvon Martin and offered

the following: “I just feel sad with them (The Martin family) and know how devastated I

would be to have this happen to our kids; someone said once a kid is your heart walking

around outside your body.” Recall that Mary was concerned with what this experience

would be like for other Whites that have not yet done what she described as the

appropriate amount of work on themselves, an individual distinctive finding associated

with her experience in the training.

In addition to the Trayvon Martin murder, the topic of President Donald Trump

and what his election means for race relations also entered the discourse during my

interviews with participants. More specifically since, President Trump’s election, many

Americans, myself included, have argued that those that harbor racist views feel

emboldened and comfortable in allowing their hate or racial prejudices to shine.

Reflecting this orientation, consider the comments from Mary as they relate to her

passion around racial equality, White privilege, and what informs her views:

Things have to get better. I’m really disheartened by the fact that the

President we have is so clearly racist; I mean like not even try to hide it,

and literally is overt about it in the days before he took office and he’s

speaking to this whole community who are comfortable with being how

they are. That’s who they are and what they feel is best, overtly. I think we
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are sitting in this messy soup of White supremacy that is filled with good

intentions but at the same time taking up arms. You know, scary stuff.

While Mary was very passionate in her views and demonstrated no reluctance in

describing President Trump as racist, others were more inclined to employ subtlety as far

as linking description of their experience in the class to current events and the President

was concerned. Consider the response from Daiane while discussing the intersection of

her class experience – understanding different viewpoints – and her work: “Somebody

elected somebody. It wasn’t me. But clearly someone did. So, I mean, people have beliefs

and all reason and logic goes out. You know, because she [her client] has to deal with

discrimination in a number of ways.”

Here, Daiane’s class experience made her think of a client that she works with,

consistent with her individual distinctive finding of: connection to work; class

experienced within the context of her role as a social worker. While the information

regarding the client remained confidential and was not shared during the interview, it was

communicated that this client was a member of a minority group, transgendered, and

orphaned – all groups that for the most part feel targeted by the current administration.

Daiane was able to reflect and made these connections during her descriptions of the

course experience.

The role and power of current events and the political climate as a significant

influence of the experience of this training course cannot be overstated for study

participants. It was clear that their training class experiences were taken within the

context of this larger framework for race relations and how race and race relations are

perceived. My interpretation of participant statements as related to current events suggest

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that the views held by these participants reflect the range of opinions prevalent in society.

Some used current events to highlight negatives while others used them to highlight

radicalism. The possibility for current events to highlight issues and bring difficult

discussions into a more public space were viewed as positives by some participants.

Further, it is clear that current events and the political climate affected the experience in

this course, despite differences in how each participant connected current events to their

lived experience in diversity training. This should serve to highlight the uniqueness of the

phenomenon that is the experience of participation in diversity training.

In addition to current events and the political climate, the third significant theme

that emerged from the data to describe and influence participation in a diversity training

was the previous personal life experiences of the participants. In the section that follows,

I will explore the theme of previous personal life experiences and how these contributed

to the overall experience of participating in this diversity training event.

Previous Personal Life Experiences.

The confrontation of emotion which occurred during the training intervention was

largely influenced by the participant’s own previous personal life experiences. Certain

specific personal life experiences proved to be very influential to the training experience

and contributed to the emotional nature of the training in that they forced participants to

recall uncomfortable events, relive traumatic experiences, or reminisce on key character

shaping life moments. These personal experiences were varied and included several

significant life events. Of all study participants, Stephanie was the only informant that

shared the story of being able to recall her first meeting with a person of color. After

framing the discussion by advising me that she was from a small town in Minnesota with
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a population of 3,000 with no persons of color - which I commented as mind blowing -

she described the experience as follows:

Mind blowing to you. Yes! So here is what is even more mind blowing:

My first encounter with a person of color, I was 6. I was lost in a Target

store, down here in the big city and an African-American giant man, who

worked security found me. That’s fairly problematic, to a little 35-pound,

blonde hair, blue-eyed, White girl lost in the big city. And so, my mother

tells that story as me being taken to the front of that store and sat on the

podium up at the front for somebody to come collect me and me launching

myself at my mother.

During this conversation, Stephanie was forced to relive the emotion of this

encounter, her first recollection of social interaction with a person of color. While she is

now able to recall this event and laugh, it was clear that this was a traumatic experience

which may be why she is able to recall it so vividly. Moreover, the course provided the

context through which to relive this poignant moment in her childhood. Stephanie further

disclosed that as she grew older her father, an active member of Rotary, opened the

family home to host people of color. She reported that this increased her exposure and

interaction with people of color significantly and contributed to her desire and subsequent

efforts to view people as individuals and not representative of any larger group.

While Stephanie was able to recall the first time she met a Black American,

another participant described connections between how their personal experiences may

provide insight into some of the challenges that minority racial groups may face. For
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example, Liz discussed how her time in the Peace Corps intersected with her experience

in the diversity training class:

There were a lot of conversations around race in the Peace Corps because

for most people, it was the first time they had lived in a context where they

were an extreme minority. I was the only White person in my entire

community. It was the first time where that was very apparent in a very

real way. It [Peace Corps experience] forced me to think about things

differently because I was an extreme minority. And suddenly, the concept

of, like, being followed around somewhere when I walked into a store,

obviously, not for bad reasons [resonated]. It was like, oh, we will sell you

all the things because you have all the money.

This participant further noted that when interacting with Black Peace Corps

volunteers and local Africans, she used to seek protection from perceived negative

impressions by highlighting her American immigrant roots. She continued:

My grandfather came from Greece. I’d wave those credentials around like

they protected from something; some sort of responsibility because I

hadn’t had to think about it. And I think that’s where that defensiveness

comes from for most people is we’re not forced to think about it because

at no point in time have most of us ever been a minority anywhere when it

comes to our race.

Liz concluded:

There are days when I feel guilt. But most of the days, I’m smart enough

to know that, that emotion is not necessarily useful. And when we’re
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talking about White supremacy and the bullshit that stems from it, I don’t

feel as much [guilt] as I feel more personally responsible to take that on

and fight. I feel getting caught up in the responsibility of taking that on as

a weight on my shoulders as one White person in a system that has that

existed before me and will exist after me but can be impacted by me

through action. I need to lean away from feelings that make me feel like I

can’t act.

In these comments, Liz described her change in perspective over time and

discussed how her Peace Corps experience informed her views generally, and her

experience in this diversity training event. More specifically, I noted she conveyed a deep

understanding and expressed compassion for racial minorities and the challenges they

face in the sense that she has experienced being a racial minority while others may not

have. It is important to note that while Liz stated that she does not consider her Peace

Corps experience to represent what she described as the majority of her racial education,

I interpreted this personal life experience of serving in the Peace Corps to be critical in

forming Liz’s thoughts and feelings related to issues of race. Further, the emotion of

recalling the Peace Corps experience in connection to her participation in the training was

evident in her speech patterns and reflected in the sincerity in the words she spoke.

In a similar reaction, Michael discussed how his sensitivity to disparate racial

treatment and attitudes was, in part, born out of a personal experience driving an Black

American friend home from school one day when they were pulled over by police. He

described the event as follows:

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It is just something I feel strongly about [disparate racial treatment]. I’ve

seen things that really upset me, like I’ve said, getting pulled over by the

police with my buddy Rob, basically [police asking], “What are you guys

doing?” They only pulled me over when I was driving with my buddy,

Rob.

He continued:

What do you mean, what am I doing, I’m driving! So, I think those things

have made me somewhat sensitive to it and Facebook can definitely

heighten that experience, I mean, I see friends on both sides. Just whatever

it is, my experiences have made me interested in it [racism and race

relations]. I took classes in sociology in college that were about race and

relations and different things like that. So, it has always been something

that has interested me too. I mean, I think I have experienced some of it

[disparate treatment].

In this conversation, Michael discussed how his experience being pulled over by

police while dropping his Black friend off after school enlightened him by providing

some insight into the unique challenges and treatment some ethnic groups face, especially

while driving. It is important to note that as a country, we are currently engaged in a

national conversation related to Black males, often unarmed, being killed by law

enforcement during routine traffic stops. The National Anthem controversy, discussed

earlier, sees this epidemic as one of its primary focuses. Michael selected to highlight the

fact that he was only pulled over while his Black American friend was in the car with

him. This personal memory informed his experience in the class by allowing him to
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understand the experiences of others in the class, give them proper consideration, and

relate to some of the challenges they face. This course experience made Michael confront

the emotion connected with his memory associated with the traffic stop. Further, it is

through this confrontation of the memory and the interpretation of meanings from that

experience that he was able to fully engage in this course.

In a similar way, another participant discussed how one specific and profound

personal experience with a Black friend contributed to depth of her diversity training

experience. Mary highlighted how one specific personal experience greatly contributed to

her diversity training experience in the course. Specifically, she recalled an experience

she had in a previous diversity training with a colleague after traveling to Atlanta together

for a work opportunity. Her words follow:

So, I was really worried because I remember it was 20 years ago now, this

diversity training still sticks out to me. My really good friend Susan, we

were in this program together. We spent a summer down at [a large US

government agency office] in Atlanta, we carpooled down, we did this

whole program together, she’s my main buddy. Midway through the

summer we had this diversity training that, it voiced all of this crap that’s

in White people, thinking about fear, crossing the street when they see an

African-American man is a really common one, right?

She continued:

My good buddy, watching her hear these things and how painful it was,

broke my heart. So, I worry about that every time. Like, how are we going

to traumatize these people that are still sorting this stuff out, still voicing
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their internalized racism and their White supremacy and like. How is that

for them? There are professionals that had to go back, like in the summer

experience, that we all had to go back to classes in our group with the

same folks who had just said, “yeah, I cross the street when I see an

African-American man approaching.” And Daphne’s like, I’m thinking of

my brother and you would treat my brother like that?

Mary’s reaction to events in this class was greatly influenced by her personal

experience in a previous diversity training program. That experience had a profound

effect on her thoughts going into the current course and I contend, provided the

foundation for the visceral emotion that she would be confronted with throughout this

training event. Furthermore, this personal experience contributed to an individual

distinctive finding associated with Mary: concern for people of color in the class and

what their experience would be like. Finally, as she did for her friend mentioned in the

story she shared, Mary was concerned with whether the minorities in the class would

encounter an experience comparable to Daphne’s in that White participants would make

comments that could be considered insensitive and have the effect of re-traumatizing

others by forcing them to recall and relive past traumatic events.

Throughout this training program, it was clear that previous personal encounters

greatly influenced how study informants experienced this training event. Again, it is

important to note the breadth of personal experiences and the role they played in shaping

participant reactions during the diversity training. While Stephine could remember her

first encounter with a Black American, she eventually made the acquaintance of

additional minorities which contributed to her ability and desire to view people as
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individuals and resist the temptation to group all people by race, an ability that is critical

in the execution of her work responsibilities. Liz, on the other hand, felt she was able to

relate, to a certain extent, to the experience of being a minority because of her assignment

in the Peace Corps in an African country where she was one of few Whites. She felt this

experience contributed to her ability to participate in what she described as an envelope

pushing course and allowed her deal with the discomfort of discussing what she

described as her privilege. Michael’s experience with a police traffic stop while driving

his friend home from school provided some insight for him into what a simple activity

such as driving can entail for some people of color. This encounter contributed to his

overall diversity training experience by validating the concerns and lived realities of

others, mainly as it relates to issues related to African-Americans and law enforcement.

Finally, Mary’s personal experience in a previous diversity training event and its

resulting impact on her friend produced a concern going into the class about whether

Whites in the course would be prepared to engage in discussions of privilege. Further, her

previous experience had the impact of making her question whether diversity training is

even necessary for all racial groups or if Whites should be the sole participants. Memory

of pertinent previous personal experiences greatly contributed to the confrontation of the

emotion participants encountered throughout this training experience as they forced

informants to recall painful events, recall certain aspects of their individual histories, and

make connections to the content explored in the training course.

While this study highlighted undoubted connections between the lived experience

of participating in this diversity training and pervious personal experiences, my analysis

revealed that participant experiences in this course were also influenced by an additional
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aspect or theme: family. Most study participants made connections to some aspect of this

course experience and to their families or close friends. In the section that follows, I will

discuss the theme of family and describe and discuss its impact on the lived experience of

participating in this diversity training.

Family.

Family proved to be a major influencer to the lived experience of participating in

this diversity training. Connections to family were reflected in participant discussions

related to various situations. Examples included: comments made regarding certain racial

or ethnic groups at a family gathering; the content of candid, private conversations with

family members; fearful situations; or the reflective contemplation of how one family

may benefit from White privilege. The theme of close friends or family and how this

training event forced informants to recall certain familial events further contributed to the

confrontation of emotion that took place during this training.

An example of this concerned a discussion between a participant and her children

around whether racism even exists and the generational differences in perspective related

to the topic. A powerful example was shared by Lana as it related to her appreciation for

the educational aspect of the class and the positives associated with the dialogue it

provoked between her and her children:

I think it’s important for us to have dialogue. Even my young children, my

kids were raised in the military, they happen to be White because I had

them before I married my husband. They tried to tell me in some ways,

there is no such thing as racism. And I’m like, shit you might not feel it as

much as I feel it or as much as I did feel it because you personally don’t

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look at things that way, but I said, ask your friends. Ask your friends and

see what they say.

It is important to note that Lana, while herself White, was raised in a

predominantly Black inner-city community - this was highlighted above in the personal

experience section - and her upbringing significantly informed her view in the class. Her

quote highlights the generational difference in attitudes and opinions with respect to race

and racism. Family connections were further discussed when this informant recognized

how her own attitudes were shaped by her mother, as noted below:

My Mom took a stand, she was a part of Spike Moss and the riots and

flattening police car tires during that time and all that stuff. All of her

friends were doing that; I was raised around, you know, African-

Americans and to me they were no different.

In the case of Lana, her course experience and general attitude toward race

relations were ingrained at an early age through her mother and her community.

Throughout her diversity training experience, all information was filtered through this

lens. What’s more, participation in this course provoked the visceral emotion caused by

surfaced memories associated with her upbringing and strong belief that members of her

majority Black community were often mistreated or viewed as being something

“different.” While Lana’s familial experience may, in part, be described as one which

encouraged community, and activism, Daiane recalled comments made by her father

which may reflect the breadth of familial experiences. Daiane offered: “My Dad, who

lives in Wisconsin, he’s 70 and he’ll be like, ‘Oh, yeah, those Black folk,’ and I’m just

like, are you kidding me?”

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She continued:

And he’s like, “Well, he’s playing this music”. I say, “You know why he’s

playing his music loud? Because he’s 20.” Because now I’m 50 and I’m

like, “Ah, turn it down!” I think that there’s gonna be people that make

decisions about people when they have absolutely no idea about what it is,

they automatically assume.

In this case, Daiane was highlighting and describing some of the connections

between the myths discussed in class, primarily stereotyping, – the course content of the

class – and how stereotypes are perpetuated by using a family member as an example. It

is important to note that Daiane contends that these attitudes are often based on a lack of

exposure to other races, in this case, Black Americans. Further, she noted that in this

example she chose to share, the individual was most likely playing music loudly due to

age, not race and therefore, attribution of the behavior of playing loud music to race

caused a strong emotional reaction for her.

The range of the impact of statements regarding family was evident and

interestingly, almost exclusively related to Black Americans. Highlighting this is another

familial incident that was revealed regarding an experience where a participant’s mother

called him concerned because a group of Black kids were walking down the street.

Michael shared: "My Mom basically, she would say things like: “There were a bunch of

Black kids walking down the street and they were being really loud and I just locked the

door and felt kind of afraid.”

Michael continued:
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And I think there are a bunch of Black guys walking down the street and it

ended up being that they were a bunch of football players going off trying

to fundraise for the football team for the school down the road.

During this exchange, Michael discussed how the myths explored in the course reflect the

reality of some, in this case, the participant’s mother. Additionally, this situation served

as a reminder of the predispositions some hold. This contributed to this participant’s

desire to increase awareness, gain skills to address situations, and engage in dialogue. It

is important to note that Michael also described how his mother was very welcoming to

his Black friends when they would come over and was clear to note that his mother,

while she may have made a misjudgment on this occasion, is a good person.

Providing an additional example which further elaborates on the connections

between friends and family and reflections of the training event, Michael highlighted a

past experience in which he encountered a difficult situation while at a family barbeque.

He made further connections to a memory related to family and his motivation in terms

of what he hoped to obtain from the course.

I have friends that to me would not support things that I would definitely

support, that I feel are really important. Like the experience with my

brother-in-law. His Grandma told him a story: His Grandma said, “Oh,

Black kids are so cute when they’re kids but then they grow up.” And I

was thinking, because this guy, my wife’s sister and him, used to live up

here [Northern Minnesota] and he had a buddy named Darius, and I’m

like, “You wouldn’t say that in front of him, why?” And they’re from

Minnesota, a small town, a bunch of White people get together for a

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birthday party, but then he just says that, I mean to me, I felt that, that

wasn’t the time to say anything, but I wasn’t going to stay around to listen

to it either. But, like I said earlier, [I hoped] to just gain a better

understanding on how a person can say something meaningful at that point

without putting someone down, making them feel, whatever and actually

go in the right direction. Which is a really hard thing to do.

With this comment, the informant discussed why he took the class, the importance

of understanding, and explored how views differ from those closest to him. The power of

the emotion associated with this memory was evidenced by the frustration and

disappointment Michael felt hearing these words spoken by his friends and family.

What’s more, he felt that his brother-in-law betrayed their friend Darius by speaking

these words that he would not have spoken if Darius was present. Moreover, this

experience contributed to the overall training experience by reinforcing his desire to gain

skills to address these issues as they arise. In my view, this encounter ultimately had the

effect of adding validity to the stories Michael heard in class in that they demonstrated,

very clearly, biases that some hold and may only reveal when in safe circumstances such

as a gathering where no Black people are present.

Another course experience and family connection came from Mary. In addition to

provoking examination of how her family benefits from what she describes as White

privilege, she also discussed how her family influenced her course experience. She shared

the following story as an illustration:

My daughter was in this play called, “1776” over the summer and she is

obsessed with the Hamilton soundtrack. We listen to that soundtrack non-

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stop in our house, it’s always on. But it’s interesting hearing some of my

daughter’s interests from that time in our country and having to describe

the reality that folks came with slaves and perpetuated this fantasy. How

do we, how do I, wrap my mind around that. I think the ones that have to

do with our early history are really common myths, those are the hardest.

In this example, Mary was making connections between her course experience,

the myths which framed the training content, and her reflection on how her young

daughter may learn about the role of race in US history. Additionally, her course

experience caused her to reflect on having to engage in conversations with her young

daughter around what America was like during the Colonial period for some people

proved to be challenging and emotional. It was clear that this emotive experience served

to influence her overall course experience in this diversity training. Family influenced the

experience of participating in this diversity training and served to remind participants of

the complexity of these issues. Overall, familial interactions served to enhance the

emotion of this diversity training experience largely due to both the influence and

expectation of those closest to us.

Marking a change from previous themes, participant personal growth and

development arose as the primary reason that most participants decided to enroll in this

emotionally challenging course. What’s more, the personal growth and development of

others in the course served as a cause for anxiety for some study participants. In the

section that follows, I will explore the theme of personal growth and development and

how it contributed to the lived experience of participating in this diversity training.

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Personal Growth and Development.

Another emergent theme associated with this research was personal growth and

development. Specifically, personal growth and development served to influence

informant training experience in terms of providing the motivation for taking this

innovative, challenging, and envelope pushing diversity training course. Personal growth

and development was the primary reason most study informants decided to engage in the

training program. Furthermore, personal growth and development of other enrollees also

served as a point of concern for most participants in terms of how it would affect the

overall course experience. This theme was strongly associated with four informants and

to a lesser extent, all study participants. One particularly strong connection was found in

the comments from Stephanie in terms of how her experience in this training class

impacted her on both a personal and professional level.

I think, once again, the class motivated me to go back and open my mind,

ask the question, remind myself and question any of my own prejudices

that might be there. Once again, I think the awareness piece says, “am I

doing it?” And you know what? In my business if I start looking at my

clients based on race, I’m going to find patterns. If that’s how I approach

the next client because of his or her race, I will find the patterns because I

will go looking for them. If I choose not to, to remind myself again that

there are patterns of all kinds and really, a lot of them or socially and

economically driven, yeah, I could find those too. So, it reminds me to not

go looking for patterns. And not to go looking for groupings.

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With this comment, Stephanie was discussing key elements of learning from the

course and making connections between how the training contributed to her individual

personal development as well as how it may impact her approach to work. Further, it is

important to note that she has invested much in her personal development in this area and

reported a history of frequent prior participation in diversity-related training. The positive

influence of personal growth and development allowed her to process the emotion

confronted during the training event.

Another example of the connection between the experience of participating in this

diversity training and personal growth and development came from Michael. He made

very clear throughout our interview that he is very sensitive to, and interested in, matters

of race, race relations, and discrimination. Further, Michael recognizes the many

divergent views that exist with respect to the subject, however, he made clear that he

views continued education around these matters as essential to his personal development.

Michael’s comments discussing the impact of the class on his racial sensitivities provided

insight into his thinking about race relations and racism, how they manifest themselves in

individuals, and his personal responsibility to have a positive impact as it concerns these

matters. Michael offered:

It [the course] reinforced things and sometimes gave words to things I’ve

seen and my experiences. It gave titles to the myths of racism and

whatnot. So, that was interesting to me. I guess I would say that, in some

ways, I think it makes me think more about ways I can do more about it

and how can I be better. Like, great that I notice it but am I doing anything

to help the situation? How could I improve on that? I don’t know if there
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are great answers but there are better ways of going about things and to me

that would be beneficial and helpful. I guess, in a way it [the class] just

reinforced the beliefs I already had and made me think about some of it a

little bit more and in a sense categorized some of it.

Through this comment, Michael was alluding to the impact of the class on his

development in terms of providing guidance for how to respond when in situations in

which racial comments that could be considered unacceptable and untoward are made.

Additionally, he suggested that the myths themselves categorized some of what he

already believed to be true. It is noteworthy to consider that this participant was one of

the informants that reported, and in my opinion, demonstrated, a high level of awareness

of issues related to race and racism. He reported that he has participated in many diversity

training classes, studied the subject matter in college, and maintains a racially diverse

group of friends. It was clear that he was looking at how he can address situations

involving others when they occur in a respectful manner. For Michael, the emotion of

participating in the training class was influenced by the personal growth of both himself

and those closest to him with whom he often disagrees. What’s more, Michael reported

that he seeks to enlighten those around him and hopes that he may serve as a change

agent, or at least an educator, regarding issues related to race and racism and views his

continual growth and development as essential in that endeavor.

While some informants’ experience encouraged reflection and thoughtful

examination of where prejudices lie, and provided tools to address and engage others, for

one informant, the course experience was more profound in that it afforded an

opportunity to recognize areas for personal growth. The report of this experience came
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from Liz who, after self-identifying as someone who has done much work around this

area and was seeking an “envelope pushing class” found she had to confront and question

the reality of how her motivation for self-growth and development were exposed during a

class exercise. To illustrate this growth, she first described her previous work around

these issues while also recognizing that she cannot expect the same from everyone: “I’ve

taken grad[uate] classes on racial inequality. And, like, I’ve very intentionally attempted

to educate myself around this. And so, I can’t expect that of everyone who’s gonna be in

a room.”

This description showed she had a fairly advanced level of awareness and

preparedness for participating in this course. During a course activity which involved

discussing a scenario in which a supervisor was receiving disparate treatment because of

race, Liz discussed how she would respond to this fictional situation by publicly allying

with the supervisor; however, after the exercise was completed, she reflected that

additional opportunities exist and noted that there was room for growth:

I put that as the thing I was walking away with is, I need to have more

conversations with the people of color in my life about how they

specifically would like me to ally in situations that we see.

Again, it is important to note that Liz has done much work around issues of race,

racism, and how to confront myths. Further, she noted that to a certain extent, her

experience being a racial minority while in the Peace Corps and the fact that she

identifies as a lesbian was perhaps pivotal to how she made meaning of her experiences.

This is consistent with her individual distinctive finding of: hoped for more prescriptive

content. For another participant, personal growth and development with respect to racial
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issues was inspired long ago and this course served as a step in the development process.

Mary discussed the impetus for her development generally and how she hoped to develop

or inspire others by sharing the course content and key learnings with others. Mary

stated:

I guess just seeing and observing things over the years and just coming

into your own consciousness on how racist your country is. Probably

working in the my early 20’s and really learning how problematic some of

these things really are; how unjust those things are and then um, thinking

how I feel tired, what the fuck? This is ridiculous. There is so much work

to be done.

Mary added:

I guess if you are looking for any ‘aha’ moment or different feelings from

before and after, I guess it’s nice to have some more tools to talk to my

parents about it [racism] and talk to other White people in my life, whether

it be touching on or giving those examples. I actually saved the sheet with

the stories because I thought they were interesting and shows how

entrenched racism is in our country and in the story of ourselves. Our story,

our history. So, yeah, that is one thing I definitely walked away with how

to be braver, how to have more conversations; use these ideas, these lessons

to point out that racism still exists and stuff.

Personal growth and development emerged as a theme across study informants. It

served as both a key influencer of the lived experience both in terms of informant desire

to take an advanced diversity training such as this and by providing an opportunity for
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further growth and the development of additional skills as related to race and race

relations. In the following section, I will discuss the theme of social media and its

influence on this diversity training.

Social Media.

One of the more surprising themes associated with the lived experience of

participating in diversity training was the impact of social media and how it influenced

the confrontation of visceral emotion associated with this experience. Among study

informants, social media proved influential in terms of highlighting differences in

opinions related to race, racism, and current events, serving as a source of information,

providing a means of assessing the climate with respect to racial issues, and

communication. Study informants offered many insightful comments which described the

role social media platforms play and how they were connected to their lived experience

of participating in this diversity training.

One such example of the power of social media came from Mary, who in

discussing how recent racial events have influenced her family, noted that her husband’s

social media habits have changed: “My husband too, he basically, on Twitter, he said, “I

only want to follow Black people, it’s the only reason I’m here.” My interpretation of this

comment is that following Black people on Twitter provided an opportunity for her

husband to engage Black Americans and gain their perspective – an opportunity that may

be more difficult to obtain in the real world.

From shifting to only follow black people in hopes of receiving accurate

information related to challenges faced, to engaging in conflicts on Facebook, social

media appeared to help shape participant experiences during the training course. As
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discussed previously, Michael described the impact of social media platforms while

discussing a personal experience driving a friend home and being stopped by the police.

Michael commented: “I think those things have made me somewhat sensitive to it and

Facebook can definitely heighten that experience, I mean, I see friends on both sides [of

many social issues related to] race and racism and law enforcement.”

With this comment, Michael described how a profound personal experience in

directly confronting racial profiling by police in turn influenced his learning and

experience in the course. Additionally, he was able to make connections to how the

content he views on social media platforms inform his interest in issues related to race

and contributed to the strong emotion associated with the experience of participation in

the training course. He further noted the challenges and emotions associated with

addressing race related issues and social media, specifically noting the role of Facebook:

There’s a lot of emotions that come out from both sides. On Facebook I’ll

challenge ideas but I’m not going to get in people’s faces about it, where

people stand. I don’t know, I don’t think there is a good way [to engage

regarding these topics] on Facebook for sure.

Michael was noting the power of social media, specifically, Facebook and how it

can offer a range of opinions with respect racial issues. Further, Michael appeared to have

reached the conclusion that Facebook may not be the appropriate medium to discuss

these issues. Yet, it was clear that social media influenced his experience in the course by

forcing him to recall previous emotional encounters on Facebook.

In addition to the key influencers that served to contribute to the visceral emotion

confronted throughout the training experience, my analysis of participant interview texts

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further suggested the experience in diversity training left study participants with a strong

desire to take some sort of action after the class. More specifically, after participating in

this course, reflecting on personal previous experiences, and absorbing and considering

all the information obtained during the training event, study informants were left with a

desire to take action in some way to effect change as it concerns issues of race and race

relations.

The desire to act was broad and described in many ways but may generally be

labeled as a desire to mobilize for change. This desire was strong and clear. Even

amongst study informants where this theme was less pronounced, it was clear that they

believed some change needed to happen. In the section that follows, I will explore the

emergent theme of a desire to mobilize for change.

Made me Want to…. Mobilize for Change.

The experience of participating in this diversity training left study informants with

a desire to take action in the future to produce change. In some cases, this action was

expressly stated, with others it was implied, but clearly identified from my analysis of

participant interview texts. This change was discussed in terms of both societal change

and in terms of the types of diversity training offered. It is important to note that this

change was described to varying degrees of specificity. Some informants were inspired to

mobilize large scale change consistent with levels associated with activism while others

were more inclined to focus on mobilizing change on a small scale by focusing on issues

related to those within their immediate social orbit such as close friends or family

members. In this section, the theme of mobilizing for change will be discussed.
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For one of the study informants, it was clear that she felt that sufficient steps have

been taken in terms of building awareness to racial issues and further advocated for a

class in which White privilege is examined and individuals are offered tools. Comments

from Mary follow:

I don’t know that I need another awareness building class. I would love to

take a class where after leaving, like [we learn how to] really undo White

supremacy, spend some energy into that. How is racism learned? How do

White people learn about other races? Really be proactive and dismantle.

You know, I haven’t seen [anything] beyond “how to not sound racist”

really? We are there? How to not sound racist? How about we not be

racist.

Furthermore, this informant views Whites as key stakeholders and contends that most of

the work required as it concerns issues of race is incumbent upon them. As a result, she

strongly believes that it is time to move beyond awareness training and toward an

examination of White privilege. Further, her emotion with respect to what she considers

as a lack of progress was evident. Mary specifically pointed to an organization called

Standing Up for Racial Justice or S.U.R.J., a majority White the group responsible to

producing the ubiquitous Black Lives Matter signs placed around the city. Mary

continued:

It is a movement where White people are trying to really deal with their

stuff as opposed to, like, “Hey, person of color can you please educate me

on how to get out of my racism.” It’s more of OK, White folks, you know

what to do, so let’s dig into this and work on this. How can we not just be
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a common ally but how can we affect this work and raise up community,

like support them. Not take over but in ways that are really supporting

other communities and non-profit organizations on behalf of African-

Americans or other people of color. So, it’s to champion ourselves as

White people, it’s really about opening ourselves to places. It’s about

White people [trying] to do something worth it, that we all need to be

doing as White people across the country.

It is important to note that Mary has paid much attention to racial issues and has

engaged in much personal reflection, as previously noted. Further, she offered that her

experience in the class served as a reminder that in her view, much work remains. In

addition, she viewed Whites as critical to the process of creating systemic change around

racial issues. Moreover, Mary expressed a profound desire to move beyond learning

interventions which simply seek to raise awareness and move toward those that recognize

Whites as key stakeholders in this process and engage them in finding solutions. Mary’s

recognition of Whites as critical to the social change process and robust support and

advocacy for a movement away from awareness courses and toward activism served as

two elements of her strong desire to mobilize change.

Further reflecting the breadth of perspectives, one course participant commented

on how she maintains sanity in these challenging times by managing her emotions and

raising her own personal awareness as it concerns issues of race. Reflecting her personal

resolve to push forward and her hope for increased awareness, Daiane commented:

I can’t let myself get totally despondent about things because then, just

like you do in the job, if you aren’t able to function and think about
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everything terrible that’s going on. But I do think and I’m hoping that

there’s just gonna be some more awareness of about [what] is really

happening here [racism and discrimination].

She continued:

I have to believe that there’s some potential for change or maybe like my

client, I just think, “Maybe if someone explained it to them they would get

it,” but I don’t know that people will until it does happen.

With these comments, Daiane was noting both the challenges of current times but

also the unfortunate nature of humans in that we often do not change our positions and

attitudes until personally impacted. Further, it is important to note that unlike Mary,

Daiane was one of the study informants whose desire for change was more localized in

terms of mobilizing change by developing herself and those close to her around these

issues.

After sharing with one informant my family’s racial make-up (my wife is White

and my children biracial) and my personal struggle to resist societal pressures to assign a

racial label to them, reflecting compassion while not straying far from her unburdened

nature, Stephanie commented: “There were some stories like that and some, make me

sad. That we are in a place where we have to do that. But it didn’t make me feel

responsible for it.” Stephanie recognized her responsibility for creating change but

rejected calls for broad activism. Moreover, she added the following: “Well, I’m

responsible for making the world a better place but only from my locus of control.”

From this comment, and the overall tone she displayed throughout the interview, I

can unequivocally state that this participant recognized the need for change. However,
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she does not believe that she is responsible for producing large scale change but rather

subscribes to the old adage of “be the change you want to see.”

Another informant, Lana, also viewed change as necessary, but noted minorities

should recognize the key role they play in the process. She commented:

The thing that we can do is, and especially in my view, people of color,

and I don’t care, that’s any color, need to put themselves in positions of

power to help change things. Because, so often the standing out in the

street holding the picket sign doesn’t do anything. It just frustrates me

because they’re not getting what they want out of it. And the only way to

change it is to be a part of the system and change the system.

Lana strongly believed that to mobilize large scale change, minorities must first

acquire power. Further, she asserted her belief that the current methods of non-

violent protest may not be producing change as hoped. This acknowledgement

was an emotional one for her and contributed to her overall emotional reaction to

the training experience. Lana’s desire to mobilize for change was on a smaller

scale by starting with those close to her and through encouraging others to get

involved. It is important to note that this participant was raised around Black

Americans and has many personal experiences with them. This, undoubtedly,

contributed to how she experienced the training and how the course impacted her

motivation to mobilize change as a result of her learning and participation.

Summary

Overall, the lived experience of participating in diversity training was found to be

emotional and influenced by multiple factors. It is important to note that in addition to the
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themes discussed above, there were additional individual distinctive findings associated

with study participants. These individual level findings emerged through analysis of key

statements associated with participant texts and were reinforced through connections with

other evident themes.

Awareness and introspection was featured as a theme with respect to some

participants. Several study informants expressed that this course experience inspired deep

thought and made them consider how they perpetuate the 5 Myths discussed in their own

lives and actions. Intersectionality was also featured as a theme related to some

informants. Whether related to their sexual orientation in terms of identifying as lesbian

or queer, having an African-American spouse, or having a Latino son-in-law from

Guatemala, some informants felt that they were able to make connections to their own

lives which lent credence to some of the stories that were shared throughout the training

program. Finally, it is noteworthy that while study informants felt the myths that framed

the course provided an appropriate framework to discuss controversial topics and share

personal experiences, not a single study participant was able to recall the five myths in

their entirety, reflecting the finding of: myths not remembered.

Throughout this training experience, study participants were forced to confront

strong visceral emotions. These emotions were primarily associated with engagement

with some of the training course content and through hearing the stories of other course

enrollees. Moreover, these emotional reactions were shaped by previous personal

experiences and other external forces and events.

Current events and the U.S. political climate served to highlight the discord

present in society today. This was echoed by the personal experience of study
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participants. While some participants grew up with individuals of other races and

backgrounds, others were able to recall the exact moment they first encountered a person

of color. Participants with higher levels of exposure to people of color - or those that

thought they could relate in some way to the minority experience - expressed a

heightened concern for minority participants enrolled in the class. Moreover, through

stories shared in the course, the personal experiences of some study participants were

forced to be recalled which added to the emotional nature of the experience.

Family also served as an influencer to the participant experience. As the myths

were explored, some study participants recalled memories or statements from family

members that reinforced the myths. This greatly added to the visceral emotion of the

training experience in that it forced study participants to consider the meaning of such

statements and their implications. Further, family was used to demarcate progression

between the attitudes of participants and those of their family members – usually to

convey progress being made. Personal growth and development served as a common

motivator for taking the course but also served as a point of concern for some study

participants. Study participants indicated they chose to enroll in this course because of its

challenging content, a sincere desire to learn from others, and to expand their own

personal growth and development. Many felt participation in the course would force self-

examination and provide an opportunity to question how they may consciously and

unconsciously perpetuate the myths that served as the content framework for the course.

It is also important to note that the personal development of others served as a source of

concern for some participants in terms of the abilities of others to participate with the

level of engagement necessary for a class of this type and format.

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Finally, social media emerged as a theme for determining the temperature or

current status with respect to recent events, learning where others stand on racial issues,

and learning about the minority experience. The lived experience of participating in this

diversity training proved impactful even before the experience began as study

participants contemplated what the experience would be like and how others would

respond. The findings of the present study suggest diversity training is somewhat unique

insofar as its content both relates to, and was impacted by, the state of current affairs. As

a country, we are living in trying and concerning times and that fact was reflected in the

words of the participants in this study. More specifically, this was evident in the

exasperation displayed in participant voices during interviews, comments and quotes

from informant texts, and reflected in the themes identified.

A final theme that emerged was that study participants were left with a desire to

mobilize for change in some way. While some believed large scale activism was

warranted, others were inclined to employ a more focused and local approach to creating

change. Regardless of the level of change advocated, study participants felt that we, as a

nation, are at a turning point and that to navigate this complexity, we must make changes

at individual, organizational, and societal levels. The lived experience of participating

and meaning making in this diversity training caused study participants to confront

visceral emotions. However, I contend that it would not be sufficient, nor accurate, to

simply leave it at that. I found that the visceral emotions confronted during this training

experience had been built up over time through the themes previously discussed. That is

because the training experience did not happen in a vacuum. Study participants were

aware of the challenges we face as individuals, a nation, and as members of an

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organization, in this case, large Midwestern County. Further, study participants brought

with them the sum of their experiences to this training and were forced to recognize that

others did the same.

In the following chapter, I will attempt to link the themes identified in this study

with the findings of related literature.

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CHAPTER FIVE:

POST ANALYSIS REVIEW OF LITERATURE

“Understanding is the heartwood of well-spoken words.” The Buddha

After analyzing the findings of the present study, a post analysis review of

literature was conducted to analyze and compare connections to themes discovered in the

present study. Again, the literature review was conducted primarily through electronic

means using my access to the University of Minnesota’s library database. Databases such

as Business Source Premier, EBSCO Host, Academic Source Premier, and Google

Scholar were used. Additionally, physical copies of human resource development

journals such as Human Resource Development Review and Advances in Developing

Human Resources were reviewed.

Initially, and to ensure significant alignment with the themes discovered in the

present study, initial queries reflected verbatim the themes which included “diversity

training and emotion,” “diversity training course content,” “diversity training course

content and emotion,” “learning from others’ stories in diversity training,” “influence of

personal experiences on diversity training,” “the impact of personal experience on

diversity training,” “diversity training and current events and the political climate,”

“diversity training and family,” “previous personal experiences and diversity training,”

“personal growth and development and diversity training,” “the impact of personal

growth and development on the diversity training experience,” “diversity training and

mobilize for change,” “diversity training course content and emotion” “the lived

experience of participating in diversity training,” “ and “diversity training and social

media.” After finding that certain connections were more pronounced in that queries such
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as “diversity training and emotion” produced more results than “the impact of personal

growth and development on diversity training” or “social media and diversity training”

the search criteria were expanded to include more general relationships and connections

through queries such as “learning and emotion,” “course content and emotion,” “the lived

experience of diversity training in schools” “family and learning,” and “social media and

diversity training.” This iterative process continued and was refined until an appropriate

number of connections were discovered. Utilizing a snowball method, the most relevant

publications were ultimately identified and included. In aggregate, approximately 52

studies were reviewed with approximately 26 included.

Articles were included in the literature review if they supported the connections

made in terms of the themes identified in the present study, had findings counter to those

discovered in the present study, or established general connections or substantiation

between themes identified in this study generally, such as emotion and learning or

diversity training and action.

This chapter will present the findings of my post-analysis review of literature and

discuss connections to the themes identified through this study which investigated the

lived experience of participating in diversity training. Additionally, this chapter will

examine and discuss how the extant literature either supports or disagrees with the

emergent findings of this largely exploratory study. Analysis of participant texts indicated

that the visceral emotion confronted during the training was driven by certain aspects of

the course content; more specifically, how certain course exercises and the reflective

learning that was inspired through hearing stories that were shared by course enrollees

throughout the training event interacted to produce an emotional experience for course
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participants. In the following section, I will expand on relevant connections between the

course content and reflective learning through shared stories in diversity training that

were discovered in the related literature.

Course Content

Connections between the content of learning, and specifically work-place related

learning, and their connection to emotion are found in the literature. Moreover,

relationships between the diversity training experience and emotion are also evident in

the literature. In fact, there exists some evidence that the association of emotion with the

diversity training experience is not only preferred but viewed as essential to the

awareness raising process. An example comes from Pinterits and Atkinson (1998) who in

their advocacy for using certain films in sensitivity diversity training asserted “The

capacity to evoke an emotional response for the viewer is one of the reasons films are

ideal for increasing diversity awareness” (p. 205). In addition, it is common for diversity

trainers to occasionally and purposefully elicit emotional responses from their trainees

(Brewis, 2017). Some scholars have argued that emotions are likely to influence the

training process and overall effectiveness of learning and advocated for a deeper

understanding of the impact of emotions on training (Short & Yorks, 2002). Further,

these authors concluded:

Emotions are integral to training: They can influence employees’ attitudes

toward learning needs and affect decisions about whether or not to attend

training courses. They can be brought into the training room and be

generated in response to course material, course process, course context,

and social interactions. (p .93)

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The ability of diversity training course content to elicit emotional responses is

well established in the literature, and more specifically, the higher education literature.

Jackson (1999) examined the experience of mental health students of color and faculty

reactions to a multicultural training course and noted that such courses produce emotional

reactions which include anger, silence, avoidance, and passivity, all of which may

produce resistance to the course content being explored. Further, the author observed

“Some students of color are very uncomfortable discussing issues related to racial and

cultural identities in such a public arena. Students who do discuss these issues run the risk

of exposing themselves to hostile judgments” (p. 32). It is important to note that some

participants in the present study expressed a desire for more minority participation in the

course as they thought such participation would provide a more robust learning

experience.

Another connection between emotion and diversity course content in higher

education comes from Perry, Moore, Edwards, Acosta, and Frey (2009) who qualitatively

studied the credibility and authority of university diversity course instructors at

predominately White colleges and universities and found that student resistance was

generated when the instructor was viewed as an “outsider.” Further, the authors observed

“systematic questioning by students of their participant-instructors’ integrity and fairness

in negotiating the diversity classroom processes and topics. Students also actively

devalued the subject matter of the diversity course” (p. 100). Finally, the study suggests

that the instructors took steps to reduce the emotional nature of the course through taking

measures to depoliticize the content and the overall training experience to disarm

students’ resistance to protect their credibility through ensuring all views and worldviews
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are considered. In my view, this supports the findings of this study in that the diversity

training experience is a complex and emotional phenomenon.

Hassouneh (2006) advocated for shift away from cultural based awareness

diversity training in nursing and toward antiracist education. “This narrow focus allows

nurses to depoliticize discussions of race and other social differences, largely ignoring the

influence that systems of oppression, imperialism, and historical trauma have had on

health in marginalized populations” (Hassouneh, p. 255). In other words, the author

argued that the focus on cultural awareness diversity education may remove some of the

emotional content associated with the training experience even though such emotion is

often required to produce a significant impact on trainees and inspire learning. Finally,

the author reflected on the emotion of her own experiences as a faculty member of color

and concluded “As my experience and that of others documented in the literature

demonstrates, faculty of color engaged in anti-racist pedagogy in primarily White schools

face many challenges, challenges that can be personally painful and professionally

taxing” (p. 261) indicating that the diversity training experience is emotional for faculty

as well. Further, faculty teaching diversity courses can influence the student experience in

diversity training through course content that includes the use of various media, the

inclusion of experiential exercises, and assignments which identify what students are

bringing into the course and areas for further development (Beitin et al., 2008).

Overall, my review of the literature suggests that the connection between diversity

course content and emotion is acknowledged and strong. This relationship is notable

because diversity training is largely unique as a training intervention. Diversity training

may cause its participants to challenge their worldviews, and, as suggested by the
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findings of this work, challenge the views of those closest to the participants such as

family and friends. Moreover, diversity training is extraordinary in that its subject matter

is often controversial, political, and experienced differently by all participants. The

findings of support in existing literature, seem to support this. I contend that the

qualitative exploration of diversity training provides a proverbial “look behind the

curtains” and allows for a deeper exploration of the phenomena that is diversity training.

Another key finding of this study was how the participant experience, and the

emotion contained therein, was greatly induced by hearing and learning from the stories

and experiences of other course enrollees. This connection was clear and profound. In the

following section, I will explore the role of learning from others and discuss its

prominence in the literature.

Learning from Others’ Stories

The impact of, and reflexive learning from, the stories shared by other course

enrollees in terms of contributing to the emotion of the training experience cannot be

understated and was associated within the interview text from five study participants. The

concept of learning from others is common in awareness-based diversity training

programs. Awareness-based programs seek to develop trainee awareness of, and

sensitivity to behaviors that may be discriminatory and prejudicial (Chavez & Weisinger,

2008). Central to awareness training methods are lecture, experiential exercises, and

group discussion (Sanchez & Medkik, 2004). This approach to diversity training

contends that through lecture, key information can be communicated to course

participants and through experiential exercises, trainees may gain additional insights

which may contribute to their development. Further, as trainees hear about the
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experiences of diverse others through group discussion, their ability to empathize may be

increased. Additionally, face-to-face interactions with people of different races often

serves as a powerful tool in countering stereotypes (Rossett & Bickham, 1994). Roberson

et al., (2001) offered that diversity training may be helpful for trainees with limited

diversity training experience by providing interactions with heterogeneous groups and

assisting with recognizing the need for change.

My analysis of participant interview text suggested that the impact of hearing

stories from other course enrollees afforded an opportunity for reflexive learning and

connection with other enrollees. What’s more, the stories brought to life the experiences

that some study informants may have heard of from their friends and family or may have

experienced themselves - this will be expanded in greater detail later in this chapter.

There is some support in the literature for stories shared during a diversity training having

a profound impact on participants. In their study of a cultural awareness diversity

training, which included the sharing of food to enhance participation and promote

cultural awareness, Chavez and Weisinger (2008) observed that stories shared during a

diversity training prompted the exploration of difference among trainees. Further, the

authors noted “This approach resulted in an atmosphere of openness and dialogue within

which participants shared aspects of themselves (the “me”) that might otherwise have

been overlooked in the collective identity (the “we”) of the organization” (p. 338).

The findings of the present study suggested that the course content and stories of

others produced an emotional experience for course participants. What’s more, my

findings indicate the emotional nature training experience was influenced by several

additional factors which included: current events and the political climate, previous
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personal experiences, family (and close friends), personal growth and development, and

social media. Additionally, the net effect of the training intervention, in terms of

participant desire to mobilize for change will be explored further. These influencers,

combined with the course content and the stories of other enrollees interacted to cause

study participants to confront visceral emotion that had been developed over time by the

influencers and left participants with a desire to mobilize for change to varying degrees.

Consequently, this confrontation of visceral emotion was identified as the meta-theme of

this study and will be presented and discussed next.

In the following section, I will discuss the emergent meta-theme of this study and

present similar findings in the related literature.

Meta Theme: Confrontation of Visceral Emotion

The emergent meta-theme of this study was the confrontation of visceral emotion

experienced by course participants. This emotion was primarily inspired by elements of

the course content and through hearing the stories of others enrolled in the class. This

finding was present in the text from the interviews with all six study participants. My

post-analysis review of the literature found few studies that directly identified emotion, or

the confrontation thereof, as the primary outcome of participation in a diversity training

event. That said, evidence of emotion as an outcome as it relates to diversity training can

be found in the literature. Curtis-Boles and Bourg (2010) examined the experiences of

students of color in a diversity training and found that almost two-thirds or 65% of study

participants reported feelings of sadness, anger, and frustration as a result of racism they

experienced in both the outside world and the class itself. Further, the authors concluded

that their study demonstrated that multicultural diversity courses may have the ability to
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reactivate painful memories of racism and thus, provoke strong emotional responses. It is

important to note that the authors also observed that as study participants were provided

with the opportunity to process their emotional reactions, acceptance of themselves and a

better understanding was acquired. Finally, it is important to note that the authors

observed higher emotions in among Blacks and Latino participants and fewer emotion in

Asian participants.

Emotion also featured prominently in another study which investigated how

learning about racism influenced awareness and emotion. Kernahan and Davis (2007)

used a mixed methods design to examine the effects of participation in a diversity course

among 49 undergraduate students. Moreover, the authors chose to focus on how “a

psychology of prejudice and racism course can increase students’ awareness of White

privilege and racism” (p.49). The authors found that overall, course enrollees became

more aware of racism, its pervasiveness, and the extent of White privilege. The authors

also reported that course enrollees also displayed emotional changes which included guilt

and discomfort when it was learned that they were benefiting from White privilege.

Many scholars have argued support for a connection between emotion and

learning. One of these arguments is that emotion can impact a learning experience by

activating adrenaline which, consequently, increases receptors in the brain which causes

the experience to be stored (Wolfe, 2006). Further, the author postulated that “By

intensifying the student’s emotional state, they may enhance both meaning and memory

(p.39). Moreover, Dirkx (2001) acknowledged the role of emotion in the meaning making

process when he argued “personally significant and meaningful learning is fundamentally

grounded in and is derived from the adult’s emotional, imaginative, connection with the
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self and with the broader social world” (p.64). This assertion echoes that of Shuck,

Albornoz, and Weinberg (2007) who offered “Experience is not isolated, but connected

to previous opportunities for learning often associated with emotions. Emotions, the

cognitive manifestations of behavioral acts, are at our deepest core” (p.108). The role of

emotion and its connection to the learning and the meaning making process have been

explored by many scholars (Boekaerts, 2011; Bower, 1992; Christie, Tett, Cree,

Hounsell, & McCune, 2008; Dirkx, 2001; 2008). However, despite this, it is important to

note that my review of the literature produced few studies that identified the

confrontation of emotion and the primary outcome of a training intervention.

In the following section, I will briefly discuss human resource development and

diversity training.

Human Resource Development and Diversity Training

Numerous HRD scholars and practitioners have studied various aspects related to

the phenomena of diversity training (Bierema, 2010; Combs & Luthans, 2007; Hite &

McDonald, 2006; Hite & McDonald, 2010; Holladay, Knight, Paige, & Quinones, 2003;

Holladay & Quinones, 2008). However, my review of the HRD related literature suggest

that few, if any, studies have qualitatively explored the lived experience of participating

in diversity training. Moreover, few studies identified emotion as the primary outcome of

a diversity training intervention and examined connections between diversity training,

course content, and emotional responses from course participants.

This current state of research was recently confirmed in a systematic review of

literature conducted by Alhejji, Garavan, Carbery, O’Brien, and McGuire (2015). This

study highlighted three key findings:

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(1) research on diversity-training outcomes is published in a diverse set of

publication outlets; (2) studies utilize a narrow range of theoretical

perspectives; (3) methodologically, studies suffer from significant

limitations including small sample sizes, poor use of diversity-training

measures, too much reliance on self-report measures and little longitudinal

investigation of outcomes. (p. 46)

Some of these findings support my assertions offered in this study. Specifically,

the authors finding that diversity studies utilize “a narrow range of theoretical

perspectives” suggest that much can be gained from exploratory work such as this which

may offer additional insights and expand the use of theories underpinning diversity

studies. Additionally, the use of poor diversity training measures serves to highlight the

importance of work such as this to inform future measurement approaches. Finally, the

wide dispersion of diversity training studies suggests that HRD scholars are missing an

opportunity to lead in this area by applying a focus on diversity in HRD related journals.

Again, it is important to note that my review of HRD literature was unable to find a study

which identified the confrontation of visceral emotion as a primary outcome of a training

intervention.

My review of the literature for HRD connections between diversity course content

and reflexive learning produced no results. I contend this finding is troubling considering

as noted by McGuire and Bagher (2010) “With the dual effects of globalization and

workforce mobility increasing, diversity training is becoming a more pressing priority for

human resource development (HRD) professionals” (p. 494). However, despite this
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recognition, there is scant evidence to support that HRD is a diversity leader (Bierema,

2010).

My hermeneutic analysis of informant text also strongly suggested that the

experience of this diversity training, and the confrontation of emotion contained therein,

was greatly influenced by several factors external to the training event itself. The key

influencers of the visceral emotion confronted during this training event were found to

include: current events and the political climate, previous personal experiences, family,

personal growth and development, and to a certain extent, social media. In the section

that follows, I will discuss the first of these identified influencers, the political climate

and current events, and discuss connections discovered in the literature.

Political Climate and Current Events

Analysis of participant texts revealed that current events and the political climate

served to influence the emotion encountered during the training experience. Whether

used to provide examples of the current state of race relations or highlight the discord

present in society today, this finding was associated with all six participant interview

texts. The ability of training to elicit considerations of politics and the political climate

may be found in the literature. One example comes from Curtis-Boles and Bourg (2010)

who studied the experiences of students of color in a diversity training and noted as a

limitation that “Although the course format was the same for each class, variations in

class dynamics based on student composition as well as concurrent sociopolitical events

could have affected participants’ responses and limit generalizability” (p.211). While

there is no direct finding in this study that the political climate or current events shaped
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the experience of the students in the study, I argue the finding is implicit in the

limitations presented.

Overall, my post analysis review of literature produced few results which

contained findings that the influence of the political climate and current events as key in

the creation of meaning as it relates to a diversity training. Mickens (1994) advocated for

the inclusion of sexual orientation in diversity training programs and discussed enlisting

the help of gays and lesbians in formal training initiatives. Additionally, the author

offered: “Whether the educational approach is by example or through diversity training,

its impact is increased exponentially with personal testimony-i.e., by having an open and

visible lesbian or gay employee make political abstractions into tangible reality” (p. 270).

I offer that this is relevant to the present study in that study participants indicated that

current events and the political climate served to make tangible certain experiences (i.e.,

getting pulled over while driving a Black American home and connections to Black Lives

Matter). Again, it is both concerning and important to note that few, if any, studies of

diversity training have noted the role of current events and the political climate in shaping

the participant training experience.

The current U.S. political climate and current events served to influence the

training experience of study participants. While there are few studies whose results

substantiate the findings of the present study, there is some support in the literature. For

example, another finding discovered in participant texts which greatly influenced the

participant lived experience in this diversity training was the impact of the previous

personal experiences of the participants. In the section that follows, I will explore
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connections between participant previous experiences and their impact to the diversity

training experience evident in the literature.

Previous Personal Experiences

Analysis of interview texts revealed that the previous personal experiences of

course participants served to influence the emotion confronted during the training

experience. These previous personal experiences produced anxiety, understanding,

motivated reflection, inspired empathy, and provided unique insights for study

participants as it concerned the training. This finding was strongly associated with five of

the six participant texts.

When individuals participate in diversity training, the experience is often unique

and emotional. Participants bring with them their personal histories which may interact

with their past in painful ways (Jackson, 1999). In the present study, the previous

personal experiences of study participants influenced the emotion of the overall

experience by adding credibility to the stories shared in the class, reinforcing biases

displayed and discussed during the training event, and by providing concrete connections

to and validating the material discussed in the class. Arguments for, and the proven

ability of, previous personal experiences to influence or contribute to the emotion of a

diversity training encounter is supported in the literature. In their article which presented

the ethical case for diversity training in organizations, Jones, King, Nelson, Geller, and

Bowes-Sperry (2013) discussed the role of advanced organizers and noted in diversity

training they typically focus on the framing of the course. The authors further argued that

diversity trainers could then ask trainees to engage in discussion around when they were

angered by injustice and describe their feelings with the idea being that such emotional
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exercises may allow for trainees to make connections between previous personal

experiences and the material being explored in the course.

An example of this comes again from the work of Curtis-Boles and Bourg (2010)

who found in phase two (reflection and journal review) of their study on the experiences

of students of color in a graduate level diversity course that students made connections

between the course material and their personal experiences and feelings about racism. In

addition to noting all study participants reported heightened awareness and sensitivity to

racism in their everyday interactions, the authors observed “Sixty-five percent of the

participants reported feelings of anger, frustration, and sadness at the racism they

experienced in the outside world, and more immediately, in the classroom” (p. 207). I

submit, these connections between personal experience and diversity training highlight

the visceral nature of the diversity training experience and support the findings of this

similar work.

Another connection between previous personal experience and the emotion of a

training experience comes from antiracism training. Davis (2016) explored an antiracism

project in social work doctoral education which involved a cross racial group of social

work doctoral students engaging in shared journaling with the goal of increasing self-

awareness, and engaging across difference, in essence, awareness diversity training. The

author found that participant thoughts focused on personal experiences and how emotions

such as empathy were described. Finally, the author discussed: “Through engaging in

critical reflection on personal experiences with racism and White privilege, participants

deepened their understanding of their racial identity, and considered its impact on their

personal relationships and professional roles” (p. 372).

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In summary, my post analysis review of literature found that the previous

personal experiences of diversity training course participants can produce emotional

responses in trainees. This was evidenced, in part, by the findings discussed above.

However, it is important to note that my review also suggests that HRD is lagging in the

exploration of this phenomenon and the phenomenon of diversity training generally.

Moreover, my review also produced few studies which employed qualitative

methodologies and discovered these connections. This represents an opportunity for

future research.

In addition to the influence of previous personal experiences, the text associated

with participants in the present study also indicated that family/close friend interactions

served influenced the emotional nature of the training and contributed to the visceral

emotion confronted throughout the experience. In the following, section, I will explore,

and present connections found in the literature which support the impact of friends and

family and emotion in a diversity training event.

Family

My analysis of participant text revealed that participant’s family and close friends

served to influence the training experience and contribute to the emotional nature of

event. The findings of the present study indicated that whether used to highlight

prejudice, denote familial progress with respect to awareness of racial issues, or serve as

a real-life example of the content that was discussed in the course, the influence of family

was clear and associated with five participant texts. The contention that, and subsequent

findings, of the impact of family on diversity training can be substantiated in the

literature. Betin, Duckett, and Fackina (2008) conducted a phenomenological

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examination of six students enrolled in a marriage and family therapy diversity class

whose content was specifically focused on race, class, gender, ethnicity, culture,

spirituality, religion, and sexual orientation. The authors found when students enter

diversity classes, they bring with them complicated identities and ideas with respect to

the content and noted that these issues are influenced by childhood exposure to diversity,

society, and family messages. Further, the authors observed:

The participants in this study worked hard to differentiate themselves from

their families of-origin on issues related to race, culture, gender, religion,

and sexual orientation within their families-of-origin. Five of the six

participants reported that their families were conservative in their

discussions of diversity and carried biases and stereotypes, which were

expressed to all family members. (p. 259)

These findings support the findings of the present study in that family served to

influence the training experience in that participants often differentiated themselves from

their family after highlighting examples of prejudice from family members. Further, this

work lends support to my findings that when individuals engage in diversity training,

they do so in a way that is largely unique for a training intervention in that the training

often challenges norms and elements of participant upbringing.

In another example of diversity training, family was used to highlight the absence

of bias. For example, Israel et al. (2017) studied the reactions of law enforcement

officers to LGBTQ diversity training whose content included participating in group

activities and discussions, answering trainer questions, and answering questions related to

how they learned about gender and sexuality and the role or influence of the media,
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family, and peers growing up and interactions with members of the LGBTQ community,

to name a few. Further, the authors found that one participant made a point of noting that

he was raised in a tolerant family and did not receive any negative messages regarding

the LGBTQ community from his family. Moreover, the authors found some “officers

seemed to struggle with the idea that they could have any bias against this marginalized

community, or that they had received any negative messages from family, media, or peers

about LGBTQ people” (p. 11).

In my view, these findings offer support for my finding that the influence of

family on diversity training is a real phenomenon. Whether the influence is positive or

negative, the influence of family is something that participants note when participating in

diversity training. Family can prove instrumental in the forming of views regarding

certain groups or motivate a shift in views. An example of this is the finding that those

who have a family member that is homosexual are twice as likely to be supportive of gay

rights (Walsh, 2010). Overall, my post analysis review of literature suggests that

opportunities to further explore the connection between family and diversity training

exist. Further, the field of HRD is well positioned to explore these connections so that we

may consider this relationship when designing diversity training interventions.

In addition to the current events and the current U.S. political climate, previous

personal experiences, and family, study informant text indicated that their own personal

growth and development served to influence their diversity training experience. In the

section that follows, I will detail the role of personal growth and development and how it

contributed to the emotional nature of the experience and present findings from my post

analysis review of literature.

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Personal Growth and Development

The interview texts of four study participant revealed that personal growth and

development served to influence the training experience and contribute to the emotional

nature of the intervention. Interestingly, personal growth and development served to both

motivate study participants to enroll in this emotionally challenging course while also

producing anxiety related to whether other course enrollees would be advanced enough in

their development to engage in such a course without subjecting others to a painful

experience through insensitive comments or behaviors. Before I move to present my

findings and connections from the related literature, I must first state that I was unable to

locate a single study which found that individual personal growth and development

directly influenced the emotional of a diversity training. This may be due the fact that few

phenomenological studies of diversity training have been undertaken by scholars and

reaction measures are ineffective at identifying motivation to enroll in a course and pre-

course concerns regarding other enrollees.

In their examination and presentation of models of diversity training, Ferdman

and Brody (1996) presented the “Moral Imperative” for diversity training which

recognizes certain ethnic and racial groups have been victims of discrimination

throughout American history while others, mainly White males, have benefited. Further,

the authors noted that it is through heightening of awareness of the inequities that

beneficiaries may contribute to a better society, in essence engaging in personal growth

and development through diversity training. Findings of personal growth and

development as an influence of diversity training are scant in the literature. One notable

exception is from Pattison (2003) who examined one part of the experiences of a diverse
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group of international counseling post graduate students and reported significant findings

as related to personal growth and development. Specifically, the author found “Several

participants referred to experiences of personal growth and development, often involving

a strengthening of what they regarded as their 'core self” (p. 111). Additionally, the

author noted personal development for some students included an increased or raised

awareness of the needs of others. It is important to note that while this was not a

diversity training per se, the exposure to and interaction with a diverse group of peers

served as an experiential learning exercise in diversity.

Rooney, Flores and Mercier (1998) expressed concern regarding the level of personal

development of others in a diversity training when the authors noted that in addition to

the influence of the diversity training instructor, the tone of the class is set by other

course participants and noted the required balance for learning to occur.

The findings of my post analysis review of literature suggest that there is some

evidence that the impact of personal growth and development may be associated with the

experience of diversity training, however, it is important to note that direct connections in

the literature are few and this may represent an opportunity for further research into the

complex phenomenon of diversity training. Further, as indicated by Rooney, Flores and

Mercier (1998), the level of personal development of others may prove impactful to the

training experience of others.

In addition to the current events and the current U.S. political climate, previous

personal experiences, family, and personal growth and development, my hermeneutic

analysis of study informant texts indicated that social media served to influence their

diversity training experience. In the section that follows, I will discuss the role of social
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media and how it contributed to the emotional nature of the experience and present

findings from my post analysis review of literature.

Social Media

My examination of study participant interview texts revealed that in addition to

current events and the political climate, previous personal experiences, family, and

personal growth and development, social media also served to influence the training

event. While primarily discussed within the context of “taking the temperature” with

respect to certain issues or gaining the perspective of others, social media was associated

in interview with three study participants. While my review of literature produced no

studies which directly linked social media to the emotional experience of diversity

training, there is evidence of the impact of social media on learning generally and

emotion.

Learning resources are critical for organizations. Further, the current learning mix

common in organizations, which is based on formal training and development, informal

learning, and knowledge sharing have great influence on human capital in organizations

(Noe, Clarke, & Klein, 2014). Further, the authors asserted “Social learning remains

relevant, but the social context for learning has drastically changed with advancements

such as social media providing access to a greater number of models or social others to

learn from” (p. 250). This learning from others was evident in the present study and was

discussed within the context of assessing and engaging with social others around racial

matters. What’s more, the emotional nature of the training experience was influenced

through participant interactions on social media through social learning and interactions

with others who hold both similar and dissimilar views.

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Another example of social media and emotion comes from Dai, Han, Dai, and Xu

(2015) examined vocal media communication, social networks, and the transmission of

emotion information and concluded “The widespread use of emerging vocal social media

has greatly facilitated communication as well as emotion propagation on social networks

and is therefore having greater impacts on social psychological cognition and group

behaviors than ever before” (p. 787). These findings are consistent with those of

Schwartz et al (2013) who studied personality, gender, and age through the analysis of

700 million words, phrases, and topics from 75,000 volunteers from Facebook and noted:

Online social media such as Facebook are a particularly promising

resource for the study of people, as ‘‘status’’ updates are self-descriptive,

personal, and have emotional content. Language use is objective and

quantifiable behavioral data, and unlike surveys and questionnaires,

Facebook language allows researchers to observe individuals as they

freely present themselves in their own words. (p .13)

These assertions support the findings of the present study in that the influence of

social media on learning in organizations cannot be understated. As it relates to the

phenomenon of diversity training, the impact of social media may be more profound.

This is the case because as noted above, the emotion that is often displayed on social

media can, as this study finds, heighten the training experience. What’s more, as

organizations shift to include and integrate more social learning into their learning and

development strategies, they must consider and account for the social media effect on

interventions.
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Overall, my review of literature found scant evidence which supported

connections between social media, diversity training, and the confrontation of emotion.

However, it is clear that the advent of social media will require organizations to shift

learning strategies to account for the social learning which takes place through social

media. As noted by Noe, Clarke, and Klein, (2014) “research that addresses the use of

social media and blended learning in today’s workplace is especially needed owing to

employees’ and organizations’ increased use and demand for technology-aided

instruction (p.266). I submit, this assertion holds especially true for diversity training

interventions as the trainee experience and resulting views are increasingly shaped by

social learning through social media.

After processing the information gained through participating in this diversity

training, study informants were motivated to take some form of action to produce change.

This change was described in broad contexts which ranged from mobilizing for change

by focusing on those close to study participants, to shifting to more challenging course

offerings to large scale activism. In the following section, I will situate this finding within

the context of extant literature and explore connections in findings that may exist.

Mobilize for Change

Reflecting the unique nature of diversity training, my analyses of interview

transcript texts indicated that after this training event, study participants were left with a

desire to take positive action in some form to mobilize for change. This action was

discussed in local contexts, such as by creating change through self-reflection and

encouraging the development of those within their locus of control, advocating for more

robust diversity training offerings, or engagement in large scale activism. Moreover, my

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post analysis review of literature suggests that some support for my finding that diversity

training participants were motivated to act in some form to mobilize for change as it

concerns race, race relations, and societal change exists. My review of the related

literature indicated that the connection between diversity training and social action are

most prominent in the study of higher education and usually in the context of cross racial

exposure through a diversity training and democratic action.

An example of this comes from Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, and Gurin (2002) who

compared how different types of diversity experiences are associated with differences in

educational outcomes among students of different racio-ethnic backgrounds. Analyzing

longitudinal data from both a nationwide and University of Michigan student databases,

the authors found support for their postulate that diversity experiences, both informal

through cross racial interactions and classroom diversity, were positively related to

democracy outcomes. Democracy outcomes included the motivation and ability to

participate in an increasingly diverse democracy and consider the multiple perspectives

that often arise when diverse others interact through placing emphasis on the common

good and appreciation of common values. It is important to note that the Michigan study

found some differences with respect to the African and Asian Americans in the sample,

in that some diversity experiences proved more powerful. I contend, these findings

suggest that as individuals encounter and interact with diverse others, through informal or

formal means, they are better prepared and more inclined to take democratic action and

mobilize for change.

Another connection between participation in a diversity training and the

compulsion to mobilize for change comes from Laird, Engberg, and Hurtado (2005) and
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their examination of how certain diversity courses “promote the importance students

place on taking personal responsibility for social issues and problems” (p.449). The

authors analyzed the responses of 367 students (227 from a diversity courses and 140

from a management course) and found that previous enrollment in a diversity course, and

enrollment in one of the courses which was included in their study, served as positive

determinants of the quality of students’ interactions with diverse others. Further, the

authors also noted that their “study also shows that previous enrollment in diversity

courses and enrollment in one of the diversity courses in the study positively influenced

students’ commitment to social action engagement, an outcome that indicates students’

desire to take actions in their communities and relationships in order to end social

injustices” (p. 468). Again, I submit, these findings serve to support the findings of this

work in that after a diversity training, participants were motivated to mobilize for social

change.

In addition to the findings noted above, further support for the results of the

present study were offered from Ross (2014) who explored diversity and intergroup

contact in higher education among 61 undergraduate students guided by Allport’s (1954)

intergroup contact theory. Ross found the majority of course participants believed

coalition building, or cooperation amongst diverse groups for mutual benefit, was

possible based on their experience in the course. Moreover, the author identified

intergroup cooperation as the democratic outcome of interest as it is through coalition

building and cooperation that change is produced. The findings of these studies support

the findings of the present study in that participation in diversity training can produce a

desire to mobilize for change.

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Overall, the ability of participation in a diversity training to motivate and inspire

social action is substantiated in the literature. Unfortunately, my review of the literature

also suggests that HRD, as a field of research and professional practice, has been so far

reluctant to engage in the study of the diversity training experience. What’s more, my

findings suggest that by comparison, the higher education literature has pioneered the

discovery of these important connections. I contend that for HRD professionals to

appropriately design and advise organizations with respect to diversity training as a

phenomenon, a deeper understanding of the phenomenon must be developed through the

qualitative exploration of the lived experience of participating in diversity training. It is

through qualitative methodologies that the nuances of participation may be developed,

and new paths explored.

Summary

In the following section, I will summarize my findings from my post analysis

review of the literature and their connections to the present study. Overall, my post

analysis review of the literature produced results that were able to substantiate the themes

discovered through the present study. While some findings were more robust than others,

connections to the literature exist. There is much literature to support the connection

between diversity training and emotion. This does not come as a surprise considering

both the intentional, often provocative, design of diversity training and the often-

controversial subject matter contained therein. Further, these emotions are often

exacerbated by the comments and interactions of course enrollees. The impact of stories

that are shared during a diversity training cannot be underestimated in terms of their
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ability to produce emotional reactions for course participants through challenging their

worldviews, highlighting discrimination, and sharing individual realities.

The ability of a training participant to be influenced by factors external to the

training itself can be found in the literature as well, however, my review of the literature

indicates that opportunities for further investigation exist. My post analysis literature

review found that family, previous personal experiences, and personal growth and

development may influence the participant experience in diversity training. While

connections regarding the ability of social media to influence a diversity training event

were less pronounced in the literature, connections to learning generally, and emotion

specifically, are found in the literature.

Another critical finding of my post analysis review of the literature was that the

field of HRD is generally lagging in terms of investigating diversity training as an

organizational phenomenon. I find this to be deeply troubling in that we are missing the

opportunity to conduct research which informs practitioners as they assist organizations

in navigating the complexity created by increased organizational diversity. HRD scholars

have made the case for the study of diversity, investigated many facets of diversity

training, produced reviews of literature, and offered meta analyses of findings. However,

the field has been reluctant to harness the power of phenomenology, as a methodology, to

gain a profound understanding of this complex phenomenon. Until HRD researchers

acquire this understanding, knowledge related to diversity training programs will be

incomplete, at best.

Finally, my findings indicate that an opportunity for qualitative study of the

phenomenon of diversity training exists. My review produced few studies which applied
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phenomenological methodologies to investigate the experience of diversity training as

lived by the participants. In my view, this approach to the investigation allows for

researchers to gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of diversity training and have

the ability to inform practice and may produce new theories which may guide researchers

as they develop seek to develop profound knowledge of diversity training as a

phenomenon.

In the following chapter, I will discuss my conclusions from this study, offer

study implications for future research, and reflect on my profound experience conducting

this study, and offer my final summarizing statement

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CHAPTER SIX:

DISCUSSION, IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH, RESEARCHER

REFLECTION, LIMITATIONS, AND CONCLUSION

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences,

and failing to achieve anything useful.” - Margaret J. Wheatley

This chapter will discuss the findings of the present study, explore its implications

for future research, offer my personal reflection after completing this work,

supplementing and making connections to the bracketing essay presented earlier, and

discuss the implications for future research. Finally, I will note the study limitations and

offer the conclusion to the present study. In the following section, I will discuss the

findings of this research and how it contributes to the phenomenon of diversity training in

organizations.

Discussion

The present study endeavored to investigate the lived experience of participating

in diversity training. The findings of this study suggested that the experience in diversity

training is complex and multifaceted. Analysis of participant interview texts revealed that

the experience is rife with strong emotion and largely influenced by several factors

external to the training itself. Participants of this study were forced to confront visceral

emotion during the training experience which served as the hallmark of the intervention.

This confrontation of emotion was clear and profound as a defining experience of

diversity training participation. Emotions encountered were myriad and included anxiety,

sadness, fear, concern for others, appreciation, and hopefulness.

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Figure 1. presents a conceptual model of the lived experience of participating in

diversity training derived from the data obtained through my analysis of participant

transcripts. The model reflects the pre-course concerns and emotions experienced by

study participants. This model further details the influence of external forces identified as

current events and the political climate, personal growth and development, family, social

media, and the participants previous personal experiences. The model also reflects the

identified meta-theme, confrontation of visceral emotion, and its emergence following the

interaction of pre-course concerns, the identified influencers to the training experience,

and the training experience itself. Finally, the model reflects the participants’ desire to

take action through mobilizing for change after the completion of the course and with the

consideration of all of the previously identified themes.

Figure 1. Conceptual model derived from the lived experience of participation in

diversity training.

Research on the lived experience of diversity training is underdeveloped at best. Some of

the findings of this work are supported by the findings of other scholars. For example,

connections between emotion, learning generally, and diversity training have been

established in the literature (Boekaerts, 2011; Curtis-Boles & Bourg, 2010). Moreover,

the ability of diversity course content to provoke emotional responses from participants
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has also been substantiated in the literature (Perry et al., 2009) as has the purposeful

elicitation of emotion during a diversity training event (Brewis, 2017; Hassouneh, 2006).

Further, connections between the findings of the present study that external influencers

contribute to the diversity training experience may also be found in the literature.

Much of the knowledge acquired concerning diversity training and its impact has

been obtained using trainee reaction measures (De Muese, Hostager, & O'Neill, 2007;

Hanover & Cellar, 1998; Holladay & Quinones, 2005; 2008). While insightful, these

measures also contribute to a limited understanding of this complex phenomenon. Much

like Goldstein (1993) who argued that training evaluation that is solely focused on

reactions can provide misleading information, I contend that relying exclusively on

quantitative measures of diversity training will likewise provide us with an incomplete

understanding of the phenomenon.

The findings of this study suggest that the experience of being a participant in

diversity training may be summarized as follows: participants entered the training with

emotions that ranged from general anxiety regarding what the experience would be like,

to pre-course concerns for the minorities in the course, to the individual development of

other enrollees and how it may impact the training. The course content and the sharing of

stories interacted to produce an emotional experience for study participants. These

emotions were exacerbated as participants considered the influencers to the overall

experience and made connections to their own world through the influence of their own

previous personal experiences which included instances of discrimination, interactions

with law enforcement, and spending time abroad in a majority Black nation, to name a

few. The influence of the current political climate and recent events were felt as
 146

participants discussed the 2016 U.S. presidential election, President Donald J. Trump,

and the Trayvon Martin murder, among others. Family and close friends influenced the

training event through causing participants to consider previous private discussions with

family members, their biases, and recalled various statements made which reflect the

myths discussed in the course. Participants were also influenced by their desire to

identify where they were in their own personal development around racial issues. They

were motivated to continue on their individual journeys, but interestingly enough, were

also concerned with how the personal development of other course enrollees would

contribute to and influence the training experience. Finally, several participants

referenced discussions they held on social media such as Facebook and how it influenced

their training experience. These influencers are important nuances to the overall training

experience.

Analysis of participant interview texts further revealed that after digesting all of

the facets noted above, and engaging in reflection, informants were left with a desire to

mobilize for change in some way. This finding is notable for several reasons. First, this

motivation largely occurred after learning about the experiences of others through stories,

reflexive learning, and connecting their own previous personal experiences with the

content explored in the course. It is important to note that for some participants, this

desire to mobilize for change was already present and thus strengthened and perhaps

more sharply focused by their experience in the course. This suggests that learning did

occur and that this course and the learning group writ large, had a profound effect on

study participants. Secondly, this desire was expressed in terms of both mobilizing for

change by continuing to focus on individual development, informing and enlightening

 147

those closest to them, and through engaging in more large-scale activism. This finding

suggests that the impact is profound and its reach broad. Finally, this desire for change

was personal. Participants felt that they had a personal responsibility for making things

better. This responsibility was conveyed to include making things better for their friends,

family, co-workers, clients of their agencies, citizens of the county, and the nation as a

whole. These findings represent the unique nature and experience of participating in

diversity training programs. Again, these findings contend that diversity training is

unique as a training intervention and must be recognized as such.

Implications for Future Research

The implications of this research are quite broad. First, this study discovered that

the diversity training experience is incomparable to any other training intervention

offered in organizations. The interview texts analyzed in this study indicated that when

individuals engage and participate in diversity training they do so willing to accept the

accompanying emotion within the context of several external forces and experiences.

Further, this finding suggests that organizational diversity scholars and researchers have

an opportunity to further explore and examine these connections as well as identify

individual nuances that contribute to the diversity training experience and impact its

effectiveness.

Secondly, the present study also noted that HRD, as a field, has proven to be

reluctant to engage in the exploration of diversity training using qualitative

methodologies. If we are to appropriately advise, create, deliver, and evaluate diversity

training in organizations, we must do so with a comprehensive understanding of the

phenomenon and fully aware of the emotional nature of such interventions. While HRD
 148

scholars have contributed knowledge to the collective understanding of diversity training,

we are far behind other researchers, specifically those who research diversity training and

education in the context of higher education. This disconnect can create challenges for

those who are responsible for HRD functions in higher education in that there is a paucity

of scholarship resources available to guide them.

With the acknowledgement of the small, all White sample of government

employees, some speculative implications of this work may include: the adaptations of

new models of diversity training which account for the heightened emotion experienced

by course participants, the exposure of HRD practitioners (trainers) to different theories

which may guide their interventions, and the development of a more comprehensive

understanding of this complex organizational phenomenon. Another item to note is that

HRD scholars and practitioners should be aware of the role of emotion in organizational

life. Callahan and McCollum (2002) discussed the effects of emotion on theory and

practical organizational interventions and noted “It is our contention that the ways that

researchers in practice and academe conceptualize the nature of emotion and its role in

individual and organizational functioning can have profound effects (p. 7). I submit, these

effects extend to diversity training interventions and represent an opportunity for further

study.

It is my hope that this work inspires other researchers to engage in

phenomenological investigation of diversity training so that a deeper understanding may

be obtained. Scholars have studied diversity training guided by a limited set of theoretical

lenses which in turn, have the effect of limiting our understanding of this complex

phenomenon. In my view, the information discovered through qualitative inquiry may

 149

have the effect of both enhancing our knowledge related to this unique phenomenon and

expanding the theoretical frameworks which guide our research.

In the section that follows, I will reflect on the themes identified during this work,

offer my thoughts, and make connections to my bracketing essay presented earlier to

limit my individual bias.

Researcher Reflection

In this section, I will reflect on the themes discovered during this study, how they

connect to my personal experiences as both an educator and professional and make

connections between the bracketed information presented earlier which was conducted to

limit my individual bias while carrying out this work.

As I stated previously, I believe the power of organizations to bring people of

diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities together to work toward a common goal. I

decided to investigate the lived experience of diversity training because I firmly believe

that the contribution of such a study could do much to further the collective knowledge

base as it relates to the phenomenon of diversity training. Further, as a constructivist, I

generally believe that reality is socially constructed, and as such, I believed that

phenomenological investigation of the lived experience of diversity training served as a

natural fit for my doctoral dissertation.

The diversity training experience of study participants, and my resulting analysis

of the texts associated with participant interviews, indicated the training experience was

emotional. This finding was not surprising to me but rather was expected. It is important

to note that the reason I was not surprised was because when I initially conceived this

study, I envisioned it having participants who represented multiple racial groups and I
 150

expected the minorities in this conceived sample to be emotional. I was, however,

surprised at the level of emotion conveyed by this all White group of participants. The

women and man who agreed to participate in this study cared deeply about both their

own personal development around racial issues and diversity generally from both a

societal and organizational standpoint. Additionally, the confrontation of emotion that

study informants encountered was greatly influenced by the experiences of other course

enrollees learned through the sharing of personal stories and experiences and, at times,

reinforced through their own personal experiences.

My personal experiences have greatly influenced my views on diversity, and more

specifically, racio-ethnic and religious diversity and consistent with the findings of the

present study, were largely influenced by my family and upbringing. As previously

noted, I was exposed to diversity at an early age. I was fortunate because my early

experiences with diversity engrained in me what the world looks like and cultivated what

would become one of my life’s most important purposes – the study of and subsequent

advocacy for the benefits of organizational and societal diversity. As I reflect on this

experience, I am, however, reminded that my commitment to diversity was not always as

resolute as it now is. As previously mentioned, there was a time when I held racist views,

limited my circle to those who looked like me, and even expressed these views to those

closest to me: my family. Ironically, it was my family that supported and allowed me to

go through this period unencumbered by their emotion. They recognized I needed to

grow and allowed me to go on my journey alone hoping I would return to my more

appreciative roots. This must have been difficult to do but must have also been done with

some confidence that the genuine me would eventually emerge. This experience taught
 151

me that respect and appreciation for diversity are not static but rather fluid in nature and

often reflect the preponderance of our experiences at the time. I was encouraged to find

that participants in this study did not indicate they underwent the same journey as none of

them expressed espousing racist views in any way at any time. Perhaps this is because

they did not feel comfortable with making such a revelation. However, considering the

extent of out interviews and the content discussed, I am confident that if they held such

views at one time, it would have come up, if not expressly, then perhaps in my

examination of the interview texts.

Through this work, I am reminded, and deeply troubled, that we currently live in

an environment where our politics is messy and personal, our disagreements omnipresent

from social media to the workplace training room. Furthermore, our political climate is

divisive and at times, racially charged. What’s more, we now live in a time where certain

government organizations and politicians are more inclined to question the benefits of

diversity than disavow statements that are clearly racist. During the time of the passage of

the Civil Rights Act, it was government leading the change and organizations lagging to

integrate it, and when they did, as discussed earlier, it was with the point of avoiding

litigation and financial risk for organization. It appears the roles have reversed as

organizations are now the leading proponents of diversity and inclusion with most having

expressed some values-based commitment to diversity and inclusion. Consequently, it

comes as no surprise that one of the findings of this study was that the diversity training

experience was greatly influenced by current events and the political climate.

Diversity training does not happen in a vacuum. Because its content may

challenge our worldview, often expose us to diverse others we may not generally interact
 152

with otherwise, and either attempts to enlighten or create behavior change, it is often

complex and emotional. My participants, like myself, experienced this phenomenon, in

part, through the lens of current events taking place in the United States today. They, too,

were aware of the current political climate, the relatively recent U.S. presidential election,

and cognizant of the current challenges that exist in this environment between Black and

Brown Americans and law enforcement. Further, they have engaged in discussions, both

face to face and digitally with friends and family regarding these hot button issues and it

is no coincidence that these topics were revealed during our interviews and emerged as

during text analysis.

As I reflect back on the execution of this study, its findings, and the general

experience, I am encouraged. I was encouraged to see individuals purposely choosing to

enroll in one of the more challenging diversity courses offered by this county thus placing

personal development and understanding over the potential conflict associated with the

discussion of personal and political views. I am further encouraged that six of these

course enrollees consented to participate in this research to share their experience and

contribute to the collective knowledge of the diversity training experience. I am also

encouraged by the organizational commitment to diversity at this county and I

wholeheartedly believe they are doing their part to address some of the societal

challenges we face through addressing the organizational challenges associated with

increased organizational diversity.

Many personal lessons were learned from this endeavor. I, too, have participated

in diversity trainings, some voluntarily, some required and for the most part found my

experiences to mirror the findings of the present study as well as the findings included in
 153

the work of Curtis-Boles and Bourg (2010) in that I was reminded of discriminatory

encounters and societal racism more broadly. I recall trying to limit sharing my personal

thoughts and experiences to avoid offending others and because I thought it to be a

useless endeavor. Through the participants associated with this study, I learned that as it

concerns these participants, they desire minority participation. Our (minority) voices

provide unique insight into our challenges and may serve to motivate others in addressing

these challenges and finding solutions. It was clear that this group of White participants

was genuinely distraught by some of the information they learned from this course. While

expressed to varying degrees, it was clear.

Upon further reflection, the most promising finding of this work was that after the

training experience and with the consideration of the reflexive learning that was inspired,

was the finding that study informants were motivated to mobilize for change in some

form. Their desire to mobilize for change mirrors my desire to mobilize change. In a

country where minority birth rates are higher than White birth rates and where most

respectable demographic projections indicate that we are on path to becoming a minority

majority country in the not too distant future, change must be made. I understand that this

information can be unsettling or even produce anxiety for some as it represents a

dramatic change from the past and people are always reluctant to cede power. I submit

that this is the wrong lens with which to view the change. We should begin to look at

how diversity adds a unique richness to our lives, like travel, and resist the urge to

stereotype and engage in tribalism. Diversity training can be one way to support this

transition and is often the most prevalent way of addressing and managing diversity in

organizations.
 154

Diversity training, however, is messy. Its delivery requires a facilitator skilled in

creating a learning environment of trust, openness, fairness, and group learning. The

findings of the present study indicate that diversity training is unlike any other training

intervention that individuals will encounter during their careers. It requires much from its

participants and mandates respect. While diversity training must be able to produce

motivation for change to be effective, we must also recognize that this change is also

difficult for individuals to comprehend and furthermore, study after study has informed

us that individuals prove resistant to change generally and diversity training specifically.

As I reflect on this experience and the findings that emerged from this study, I firmly

believe that while diversity training may not produce a profound commitment or

appreciation for diversity in all of its participants, it can, perhaps, serve as a Ms. Baker

for some.

Limitations

In the following section, I will offer my conclusion to this study and discuss the

limitations of this work. As this study investigated the lived experience of participating in

diversity training and employed elements of both case study and phenomenology

methodologies, there are several limitations to note. First, as this study was conducted at

one large Midwestern county using participants recruited from one section of one course,

the generalizability of the results is limited and not reflective of the experience of other

sections of the same course or of other diversity courses offered by this governmental

organization. Further, as this sample of course enrollees contained one man, an

opportunity to develop a more profound understanding of the phenomenon as it relates to

men, and specifically White men may exist to supplement the existing knowledge and
 155

answer questions such as why White men are often resistant to diversity training.

Conversely, a sample of minority men may add richness to the understanding of their

experience and answer questions such as why minority men are reluctant to actively

participate and engage when in diversity training.

The participants in the present study were all White and of Midwestern origin

therefore offering a limited range of experience and geographical background. To

expand, the lived experience of a racially diverse and geographically dispersed group of

participants may have produced more variability in the experience. Finally, as the present

study is limited to the experiences of six participants, its generalizability is further

limited. Future research should investigate the lived experience of a larger sample of

organizational members to enrich our understanding.

Conclusion

When I began this study, I did so after much thought and with a genuine desire to

learn what the experience of diversity training was like for its participants. What’s more,

I wanted to know if HRD scholars and practitioners had an accurate understanding of this

complex organizational phenomenon. I was also driven to make a unique contribution to

the field of HRD and attempt to respond to the concerns of Bierema (2010) and expand

HRD’s role in diversity education and research. A summary of findings from this study is

the primary role of the confrontation of strong and visceral emotions in response to

participation in diversity training in a public-sector organization. Further findings

highlighted that these strong emotions were developed over time and were influenced by

many facets of life including current events and the U.S. political climate, participants’

previous personal life experiences, the participant’s own personal growth and
 156

development as well as that of other course enrollees, family, and social media.

Furthermore, study participants were left wanting to act and were mobilized for change.

It seems the diversity training course merely provided the context for this convergence to

occur. It also discovered that the training event provoked several emotions in study

participants which arose before the course began. These findings cannot be overstated,

and I argue, have increased our knowledge of diversity training.

The findings of my literature review suggest that the field of higher education has

so far led the way in qualitative research of diversity training. This is problematic. If

(HRD) is to claim as its responsibility the training and development of human assets in

all contexts, my results indicate we have work to do. Moreover, as the focus of most

HRD scholars largely remains on for profit organizations, we must recognize that many

institutions of higher learning contain as many, if not more, organizational members than

most for profit enterprises that we choose to study. This represents opportunity for HRD

scholars. Finally, it is important to note that the study of HRD in governmental contexts

is severely lacking and represents an opportunity for further exploration. It is my hope

that this work inspires others to pursue similar lines of inquiry so that we may, as a field,

reach the full potential that we help organizations develop in themselves and their

members.
 157

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Appendices
APPENDIX A

Human Subjects IRB Letter

EXEMPTION DETERMINATION

August 22, 2017

Kenneth Bartlett

612-624-4935 bartlett@umn.edu

Dear Kenneth Bartlett:

On 8/22/2017, the IRB reviewed the following submission:

Type of Review: Initial Study
Title of Study: What is the Lived Experience of Participating in a
Diversity Training in a County Government setting?
Investigator: Kenneth Bartlett
IRB ID: STUDY00000952
Sponsored Funding: None
Grant ID/Con Number: None
Internal UMN Funding: None
Fund Management None
Outside University:
IND, IDE, or HDE: None
Documents Reviewed • Revised form, Category: Consent Form;
with this Submission: • Revised form, Category: Recruitment Materials;
• Revised Protocol, Category: IRB Protocol
The IRB determined that this study meets the criteria for exemption from IRB review. To arrive
at this determination, the IRB used “WORKSHEET: Exemption (HRP-312).” If you have any
 180

questions about this determination, please review that Worksheet in the HRPP Toolkit Library
and contact the IRB office if needed.

This study met the following category(ies) for exemption:

 (2) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude,
achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures or observation of public
behavior, unless: (i) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that Human
Subjects can be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; and (ii)
any disclosure of the Human Subjects responses outside the research could reasonably
place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects
financial standing, employability, or reputation.

Ongoing IRB review and approval for this study is not required; however, this determination
applies only to the activities described in the IRB submission and does not apply should any
changes be made. If changes are made and there are questions about whether these activities
impact the exempt determination, please submit a Modification to the IRB for a determination.

In conducting this study, you are required to follow the requirements listed in the Investigator
Manual (HRP-103), which can be found by navigating to the HRPP Toolkit Library on the IRB
website.

For grant certification purposes, you will need these dates and the Assurance of Compliance
number which is FWA00000312 (Fairview Health Systems Research FWA00000325, Gillette
Children's Specialty Healthcare FWA00004003).

Sincerely,

Clinton Dietrich, MA, CIP IRB

Analyst

We value feedback from the research community and would like to hear about your experience.
The link below will take you to a brief survey that will take a minute or two to complete. The
questions are basic, but your responses will help us better understand what we are doing well
and areas that may require improvement. Thank you in advance for completing the survey.

Even if you have provided feedback in the past, we want and welcome your evaluation.

https://umn.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5BiYrqPNMJRQSBn
 181

APPENDIX B

IRB Modification Approval Letter

MODIFICATION ACKNOWLEGED

September 28, 2017

Kenneth Bartlett

612-624-4935 bartlett@umn.edu

Dear Kenneth Bartlett:

On 9/28/2017, the IRB reviewed the following submission:

Type of Review: Modification/Update
Title of Study: What is the Lived Experience of Participating in a
Diversity Training in a County Government setting?
Investigator: Kenneth Bartlett
IRB ID: MOD00000866
Sponsored Funding: None
Grant ID/Con Number: None
Internal UMN Funding: None
Fund Management None
Outside University:
IND, IDE, or HDE: None
 182

Documents Reviewed • MODIFIED PROTOCOL, Category: IRB Protocol;

with this Submission: • Invitational letter sent to participants.pdf, Category:
Recruitment Materials;
• Invitational letter sent to participants.pdf, Category:
Other;

The IRB determined that the criteria for approval continue to be met and that this study
continues to qualify for Exempt category 2.

Modifications/updates included:

Due to a lower than anticipated response rate, I would like to have recruitment email
re-sent to class enrollees.

You will be sent a reminder from ETHOS to submit a Continuing Review submission for this
study. You must submit your Continuing Review no later than 30 days prior to the last day of
approval in order for your study to be reviewed and approved for another Continuing Review
period. If Continuing Review approval is not granted before, approval of this protocol expires
immediately after that date.

You must also submit a Modification in ETHOS for review and approval prior to making any
changes to this study.

If consent forms or recruitment materials were approved, those are located under the Final
column in the Documents tab in the ETHOS study workspace.

In conducting this study, you are required to follow the requirements listed in the Investigator
Manual (HRP-103), which can be found by navigating to the HRPP Toolkit Library on the IRB
website.

For grant certification purposes, you will need the approval and last day of approval dates listed
above and the Assurance of Compliance number which is FWA00000312 (Fairview Health
Systems Research FWA00000325, Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare FWA00004003).

Sincerely,

Jeffery P Perkey, CIP, MLS

IRB Analyst

We value feedback from the research community and would like to hear about your experience.
The link below will take you to a brief survey that will take a minute or two to complete. The
questions are basic, but your responses will help us better understand what we are doing well
and areas that may require improvement. Thank you in advance for completing the survey.
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Even if you have provided feedback in the past, we want and welcome your evaluation.
https://umn.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_5BiYrqPNMJRQSBn
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APPENDIX C

INVITATIONAL LETTER SENT TO PARTICIPANTS:

THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATING IN
DIVERSITY TRAINING:
A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY

My name is Jeremy Michael Clark and I am a doctoral student of Human Resource

Development in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development
at the University of Minnesota. Additionally, I have had the pleasure of serving as a
Planning Analyst in Integrated Planning and Analysis for the last year and a half. During
this time, I have been able to witness firsthand Hennepin County’s commitment to
diversity and inclusion.

I am passionate about workforce diversity and its implications for organizations and on
organizational life. My dissertation explores the lived experience of participating in
diversity training in a county government setting. Additionally, I am interested in
understanding the emotions, thoughts, and feelings elicited through participation in a
diversity training. Further, I am interested in how the experience of participation varies
across diverse racial groups as the extant research literature suggests individuals (and
groups) may react differently to the content discussed in diversity trainings.

I have been provided the names of participants currently registered for Hennepin
County’s 5 Myths of Racism diversity training program that will take place on September
7, 2017. I am inviting you to participate in this study. At the completion of the training,
I would like to individually interview you to learn more about what the experience of
participation was like for you? Questions will be designed to assess aspects such as: Was
the information presented in the training new to you? Did you feel will the information
covered in the training connected with you? Were those connections positive or negative?
Was participation an emotional experience? This line of inquiry will allow for a
comprehensive assessment of the lived experience of participating in a diversity training.
Additionally, participant identities and all content of the interview will remain
confidential and will be treated with the utmost care. Further, Hennepin County will not
be made aware of your participation or as this study addresses content that may be
emotional for some.

Women and men from any orientation, participating in this diversity training in Hennepin
County are welcome and encouraged to participate in this study.

Should you be interested in participating in my study, please contact me by email:

clar1422@umn.edu, or by phone: (707)616-5142 (cell).
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The study has no foreseeable risks. However, questions regarding your experiences may
recall events or moments that were painful, emotional, or frightening. You may a range
of emotions. Please remember that that your participation in this study is voluntary and
that you may choose to leave the study at any time with no explanation and no risk or
negative consequences. You may refuse to answer any question without having to
provide a reason. All answers will be coded so that your identity is protected.

The benefits to participation are: The study does not represent any immediate benefits for
participants, however, the outcomes of the study will contribute to gaining knowledge
about the experiential aspects of diversity training. Further, your participation may help
inform future diversity training content and focus at Hennepin County as well as
contribute to the body of scholarly knowledge available with respect to the phenomena of
organizational diversity training.

Future participants may gain knowledge, so they may more effectively deal with
particular experiences through their careers.

NOTE: If you agree to participate in this study, you will be asked to participate in a face
to face interview after completing the 5 Myths of Racism diversity training at Hennepin
County. The interview should last approximately 1 hour and will be scheduled at a time
that fits your schedule. Interviews will take place at a location of your choosing where
confidentially can be maintained. In the interview you will have an opportunity to discuss
your experience and express your feelings and perceptions in regards to diversity training
in the workplace.

Sincerely,

Jeremy Michael Clark, M.A.

PhD Candidate
University of Minnesota
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APPENDIX D

CONSENT FORM SENT TO PARTICIPANTS

CONSENT FORM

THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPATING IN

DIVERSITY TRAINING:

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL CASE STUDY

You are invited to be in a research study focusing on the experience of

participating in a diversity training. You were selected as a possible participant because
you read an invitational letter that was sent to your professional organization and after
you read the invitation you contacted me and agreed to participate in this study. We ask
that you read this form and ask any questions you may have before agreeing to be in the
study.

This study is being conducted by Jeremy Michael Clark, a doctoral student. His
advisor is Dr. Kenneth Bartlett, Professor in the Department of Organizational
Leadership, Policy, and Development at the University of Minnesota. The purpose of this
study is to examine of the lived experience of participating in a diversity training.

Background information

The purpose of this study is to gain an in-depth understanding of what it feels like to
participate in a diversity training in a county government setting.

Procedures:
If you agree to be in this study, we will ask you to do the following:

You will be asked to attend the 5 Myths of Racism training at Hennepin County. Once the
training is complete, you will be asked to participate in one interview. In this face to face
interview you will have an opportunity to discuss your experience and express your
feelings and perceptions regarding diversity training. The interview will last
approximately one hour. The interview will be conducted at a mutually agreed-upon time,
date, and location convenient for you. Additionally, interviews will be transcribed for
analysis and themes identified by the researcher will be shared with participants to ensure
accuracy. The results of your participation will contribute to gaining and sharing
knowledge of the related to the personal experiences of participating in diversity training.
Please note that while future participants, practitioners, and scholars may gain a deeper
understanding of the effects of diversity training, however, there are no direct benefits to
you for participating in this study.
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Risks and Benefits of being in the Study

The study has no foreseeable risks. However, questions regarding your experiences may
recall events or moments that were painful, emotional, or frightening. You may a range
of emotions. Please remember that that your participation in this study is voluntary and
that you may choose to leave the study at any time with no explanation and no risk or
negative consequences. You may refuse to answer any question without having to
provide a reason. All answers will be coded so that your identity is protected.

The benefits to participation are: The study does not represent any immediate benefits for
participants, however, the outcomes of the study will contribute to gaining knowledge
about the experiential aspects of diversity training. Further, your participation may help
inform future diversity training content and focus at Hennepin County as well as
contribute to the body of scholarly knowledge available with respect to the phenomena of
organizational diversity training.

Future participants may gain knowledge so they may more effectively deal with
particular experiences through their careers.

Compensation:

You will not be paid for participating in this study.

Confidentiality:

The records of your participation will be kept confidential. In any reports to be published,
no information will be included that will make it possible to identify your responses.
Records of your responses will be kept in a secure location that will only be accessed by
the researcher and advisor and will not be available to others. Audio recordings of the
interview session will be made so as not to miss any key points. A coding system will be
used to handle the generated idea. Audio recordings and transcriptions of interviews will
be deleted once the study is complete. Findings will be presented as group data using
quotations and pseudonyms.

Participation in this research will only be known by me and you. Your participation will
not be shared with any other enrollee in the course and Hennepin County will not be
aware of your participation at any point in the research process

Voluntary Nature of the Study:

Participation in this study is voluntary. Your decision whether or not to participate will
not affect your current or future relations with the Hennepin County, the University of
Minnesota, or your current or future professional affiliations. If you decide to participate,
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you are free to not answer any question or withdraw at any time without affecting those
relationships.

Contacts and Questions:

The researcher conducting this study is: Jeremy Michael Clark. You may ask any
questions you have at any time. If you have questions once the interview has been
completed, you are encouraged to contact Mr. Jeremy Clark at (707)616-5142 (cell) or by
email: clar1422@umn.edu or Dr. Kenneth Bartlett at (612)624-4935 (office) or by email:
bartlett@umn.edu.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this study and would like to speak with
someone other than the researcher(s), you are encouraged to contact the Research
Subjects’ Advocate Line: (612)625-1650; submit feedback online:
z.umn.edu/hrppfeedback; or send a letter to HRPP, D-528 Mayo MMC 820, 420
Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455

You will be given a copy of this information to keep for your records.
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APPENDIX D

LIST OF PROBES

• What was the experience like of participating in this training?

• Can you describe the emotions elicited, if any, from participating in this

experience?

• Can you tell me about a time during the training when you felt that way?

• I want to make sure I understand you, did you mean…?

• How does this relate to how you felt before this training?

• What was your takeaway?

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APPENDIX E
PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS