Navigating diversity with nursing students through difficult dialogues: A qualitative study Deirdre E. van Jaarsveldt a,⇑ , Annemarie Joubert b a Centre for Teaching and Learning (IB7), University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa b School of Nursing (Int 99), University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa article info Article history: Received 11 August 2014 Received in revised form 23 February 2015 Accepted 24 February 2015 Available online 16 March 2015 Keywords: Civil discourse Difficult Dialogues Diversity Intergroup conflict Nursing education Nursing students abstract The Difficult Dialogues project is an international initiative that promotes the development of the art and skill of civil discourse as an essential outcome of higher education. At the University of the Free State, South Africa, the project is implemented by the Centre for Teaching and Learning. When intergroup conflict started disrupting the academic performance of first year nursing students, the School of Nursing consulted with the centre to facilitate a Difficult Dialogues session. This article describes the engineering of a session programme to facilitate learning about navigating diversity and responding to conflict in a constructive way. The rich data of a qualitative inquiry conducted via the Critical Incident Questionnaire are triangulated with literature and other feedback provided to describe to what extent the session contributed towards student learning. A number of participants indicated that they had learnt to respect diversity and had realised that they could co-operate as a team in spite of individual differences. As additional evidence, the students listed specific skills that could aid them in navigating diversity and conflict in future. Considering that the School strives to establish inclusion during the orientation of students, this case raises questions about the sufficiency of such endeavours. In conclusion it is asked to what extent nurse educators should be expected to implement strategies to address issues of diversity in the classroom on a continuous basis. Ó 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). 1. Introduction and background The Difficult Dialogues project promotes the development of the art and skill of civil discourse in higher education. The initiative originated in the United States of America (USA) where its main mission is to strengthen a democratically engaged society, hereby reflecting a commitment to pluralism and academic freedom [The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression (TJCPFE), 2006]. This mission is pursued through the encouragement of respectful, transformative dialogue on contro- versial topics and complex social issues. University classrooms are ideal venues for creating democratic spaces in which students can master this art and skill of civil discourse. Civil discourse involves respectful argumentation where competing points of view are expressed, considered and evaluated in an environment of mutual respect (Landis, 2008, p. viii). Handling controversy with civility is listed as one of the key dimensions of leadership for positive social change and is deemed to be an essential outcome of higher education [Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) 1996, cited in Komives, Wagner & Associates, 2009, p. xiii]. Conversely, Barkley (2010, p. 111) explains that student incivility, ranging from a lack of considera- tion and respect to overt hostility and aggression, not only under- mines the sense of community in the classroom, but also seriously disrupts the learning environment. As citizens of a democracy, stu- dents need to learn to resolve conflicts of interest constructively thus taking a nonviolent approach to dealing with difficult issues (Johnson & Johnson, 2010, p. 223; Landis, 2008, p. viii). Therefore respectful discussions on contentious issues provide enriching and transformative learning opportunities for students (Jaschik, 2009; Mezirow, 2012, p. 80). Efforts to help students achieve higher order skills are closely linked to the University of the Free State’s vision to be ‘‘recognised across the world for excellence in academic achievement and in human reconciliation’’. One of the strategic initiatives of this uni- versity is the Human Project that strives, amongst others, to create a culture of inclusion through the promotion of respect, discussion, dialogue and dissent [University of the Free State (UFS), 2012]. The http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2015.02.002 2214-1391/Ó 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +27 (0)51 401 9380 (work). E-mail address: vjaarsvd@ufs.ac.za (D.E. van Jaarsveldt). International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences 2 (2015) 34–41 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ijans