India is a culturally pluralistic country with a diverse population, and this diversity is reflected in its higher education settings, in students' language, caste, class, gender, socioeconomic status, and regional backgrounds. This diversity encourages keen interactions among students and educators inside and outside the classrooms. An atmosphere of respect, acceptance, tolerance, appreciation, adjustment, and compassion among individuals nurtures a conducive learning environment. To evaluate the existence of such an environment it is essential to understand the perception of students on cultural pluralism in higher education settings.
To gauge students' perceptions a sample of 149 undergraduate students with diverse regional backgrounds was selected from six higher education institutions in Union Territory Chandigarh and the State of Punjab. Data was collected using a self-developed and validated instrument, the Cultural Pluralism Perception Scale (CPPS). It was found that 40.27% of the students had a favourable perception of cultural pluralism and 45.64% of the students had less favourable perceptions. However, no significant differences were found between the perceptions of males (mean score= 165.14) and females (mean score=170.44) nor between the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe (mean score=168.2) and others (mean score=165). The results show that it is significant to cater for the perception of students to address the areas for enhancing a more inclusive and culturally diverse environment in higher education institutions.

Authors:
Lalita, Panjab University, India
Kuldip Puri, Panjab University, India

About the Presenter(s)
Ms. Lalita is a Research Scholar in the Department of Education, at Panjab University, Chandigarh. She is working on Cultural Pluralism in Higher Education Institutions. She is focused on the academic environment at Higher educational institutions.

Connect on Linkedin
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lalita-madeel-76a332139/

Connect on ResearchGate
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lalita-Lalita-3

Additional website of interest
https://www.facebook.com/lalita.kashyap.5

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