Modified Safe Zone training can help your staff feel more confident

Hey NIRSA friends,

In recent years, there has been an important expansion of research addressing diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice (DEIJ) in collegiate recreation. This month, I’m sharing one of those research articles titled “Impact of an LGBTQ Campus Recreation Student Employee Training Initiative on Professional Competencies” (Anderson, Knee, & Ramos, 2021).

While there is plenty to take away from this article, my favorite outcome is how the article demonstrates that small, targeted initiatives can make a measurable impact on your staff.

This is why research can be so valuable to practitioners—studies like this one can help us figure out the best ways to use our limited time!

Anderson, A. R., Knee, E., & Ramos, W. D. (2021). Impact of an LGBTQ Campus Recreation Student Employee Training Initiative on Professional Competencies. Recreational Sports Journal, 45(2), 139-148. https://doi.org/10.1177/15588661211010185

Disclaimer

Professionals in some states might not be able to easily pursue the suggestions below because of a “rising tide of anti-DEI legislation across the country.”

If you are facing such challenges, I’d love to hear from you about what you’re doing to create a welcoming environment that fosters belonging on campus. How are you approaching your diversity training efforts?

Opportunities to put this research into practice

This study provides evidence that proactive educational initiatives, even in very limited forms (a one-time training meeting and monthly training handouts) can have significant impacts on the confidence level of employees within campus recreation who are serving diverse participant groups. Here are a few ideas for turning this research into practical applications:

Learning outcomes

If you want to create your own LGBTQ-inclusion training, there is no need to start from scratch. The methods section of this study provides numerous topics that you can use to inform an outline as you create your own training(s).

Collaborate

The training utilized for this study was a modified version of “Safe Zone” training. While not every campus offers Safe Zone training, many do. There is likely an opportunity for you to collaborate with an office on your campus to offer a similar one-time training to your own staff.

Extend the learning

In this study, the training was followed up by monthly “inclusion notes,” which were emailed to participants to keep their learning fresh. That approach could work with your own staff; or, since emails are not always the best way to reach our staff, better yet you can weave those informational updates into staff meetings and trainings all semester to encourage the staff to continually apply their learning. Another ready-to-go resource that will help your staff apply their learning is having them process through the case studies listed in the NIRSA EDI Resource Guide.

Partner internally

Offering smaller, targeted trainings can have an impact and help staff feel more competent. So pick an option that works best within your individual role and responsibilities. Perhaps you can partner with another area of your unit, and you could lead an LGBTQ-inclusion training in the fall for both teams, and your peer works on leading another inclusion training in the spring, to maximize impact and empower your staff!