Here are some of the best questions for a parent survey about diversity and inclusion, plus a few tips to build yours. You can generate a customized, conversational survey in seconds using Specific—just build your own survey now and start gathering richer insights instantly.
The best open-ended questions for a parent survey about diversity and inclusion
Open-ended questions invite honest, detailed feedback and let parents speak in their own words. These questions are ideal early in your survey or whenever you want deeper insights into parents’ perceptions, needs, and suggestions. Open-ended questions help you uncover nuanced experiences that structured options might miss, building a stronger foundation for action.
How would you describe the way diversity and inclusion are taught or represented in your child’s school?
Can you share a moment when your child felt especially included (or excluded) at school?
What does a diverse and inclusive school environment look like to you?
How does the school support families from different cultural or ethnic backgrounds?
Are there any aspects of the school’s approach to diversity and inclusion that you feel could be improved?
What resources or events do you wish the school offered to promote diversity and inclusion?
How comfortable does your child feel talking about their identity (race, culture, gender, etc.) at school?
Have you noticed any barriers that prevent your child or others from fully participating in the school community?
What role do you think parents should play in advancing diversity and inclusion at school?
Is there anything else you’d like to share about your family’s experience with diversity and inclusion at this school?
Open-ended questions like these help uncover real stories and lived experiences. In fact, in a 2022 survey, 63% of parents said schools don’t do enough to promote diversity and inclusion, suggesting a significant gap between perception and action. [3]
The best single-select multiple-choice questions for a parent survey about diversity and inclusion
Single-select multiple-choice questions are your go-to when you need to quantify attitudes or perceptions, or when respondents might find it easier to select from concise options instead of crafting a detailed response. These give you clean data for charts and quick comparisons—plus, starting with easy choices can encourage more parents to participate and lead to richer follow-up discussion.
Question: How inclusive would you say your child’s school environment is?
Very inclusive
Somewhat inclusive
Not very inclusive
Not at all inclusive
Other
Question: Does your child’s school celebrate diverse cultures, people, and experiences?
Yes, regularly
Sometimes
Rarely
No
Question: Do you feel your concerns about diversity and inclusion are heard by the school?
Always
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
When to follow up with "why?" Adding a follow-up “why?” is valuable when you want to dig deeper—especially if someone selects a non-committal or concerning answer. For example, if a parent chooses “Not very inclusive,” following up with “Why do you feel the environment isn’t very inclusive?” helps you understand the reasoning behind that response—something that 70% of parents say is crucial to creating an environment where every child can thrive. [3]
When and why to add the “Other” choice? Include “Other” in your options when you expect your choices might not capture everyone’s reality. Following up on “Other” responses can surface perspectives you didn't anticipate, giving space for unexpected but important feedback that informs broader inclusion efforts.
NPS question for parent survey about diversity and inclusion
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) question is a versatile way to gauge overall sentiment. It asks: “How likely are you to recommend this school to other families, based on its approach to diversity and inclusion?” Parents answer on a scale from 0 (not at all likely) to 10 (extremely likely), giving you both a clear metric and an opening for follow-up. Use it to track sentiment year over year and spot changes in parental trust and confidence. The NPS format is especially helpful if you want a quick pulse check with room to explore specifics—something you can do easily in Specific’s dedicated NPS survey builder.
The power of follow-up questions
Follow-up questions are the heart of a conversational survey. Instead of leaving responses vague or superficial, follow-ups like those explained in our guide on automated follow-up questions help uncover context—the key reason Specific stands out as a survey platform.
Specific’s AI engine automatically asks smart, real-time follow-ups tailored to the previous answer and the broader conversation. This means you get context-rich insights right away, without waiting for a second round of emails or interviews. Automated follow-ups make the whole survey process feel natural—which is a game-changer for parent engagement and for getting to the heart of what matters most for diversity and inclusion.
Parent: “Sometimes my child feels left out during group projects.”
AI follow-up: “Can you share any examples of what happened during a group project that made your child feel left out?”
How many followups to ask? Generally, 2-3 targeted follow-ups are ideal for gathering enough detail without overwhelming parents. It’s best to have a setting where respondents can move on once their point is clear—Specific offers this out of the box.
This makes it a conversational survey—not just a static questionnaire, but a dynamic conversation that adapts to each parent and draws out what’s most important.
AI response analysis makes open-text easy. Even with unstructured, open-ended feedback, you can quickly analyze all responses using AI—see how it works here—so you never get lost in the weeds, even as the scale of feedback grows.
These smart follow-ups are still new for many. Try generating your own survey and experience the difference firsthand.
Prompting ChatGPT to generate questions for your parent survey
If you want AI-generated question inspiration, try prompting GPT models. Start simple, and then add more context for better results. Here’s how:
Start with this base prompt:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for parent survey about diversity and inclusion.
You’ll get even better results if you provide more background about your school, your goals, or what you already know:
Our elementary school is in a diverse urban area. We want parents to feel like their voices shape our diversity and inclusion strategy, and we’re especially interested in ways we could improve the curriculum and school events. Suggest open-ended questions that encourage honest feedback and practical suggestions.
Next, add:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Then, for the categories that matter most to you, go deeper:
Generate 10 questions for categories "Curriculum inclusivity" and "School environment." (Be sure to specify actual categories from your new list!)
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey isn’t just a list of questions delivered all at once. Instead, it feels like a real conversation—dynamic, responsive, and tailored to each respondent. With an AI survey generator like Specific, you aren’t limited to static forms. Your survey is interactive and capable of follow-ups on the fly, almost like having a professional interviewer running the show for each parent.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
---|---|
Fixed, one-size-fits-all questions | Dynamic, adapts follow-ups in real time |
Easy to miss context | Explores answers, asks "why," clarifies details |
Responses often vague or incomplete | Encourages rich, actionable feedback |
Manual follow-up by email/interview | Automated, feels like a natural conversation |
Harder to analyze open-ended responses | AI summarizes and explains themes instantly |
Why use AI for parent surveys? AI makes it dramatically easier to build, launch, and analyze surveys quickly—and conversational surveys drive much higher engagement and richer insights. Try an AI survey example to see how it transforms the process and makes parents feel genuinely heard. In fact, 91% of parents say they understand what diversity and inclusion mean in education—so give them the room to share those insights fully, not just as checkboxes. [3]
Specific leads the way in conversational surveys, offering the best user experience for both survey creators and parents—your insights come alive and parents leave feeling heard. Curious? Learn how to create your own survey in just a few minutes.
See this diversity and inclusion survey example now
Your feedback program can be up and running in minutes—with clear, actionable survey questions, automated follow-ups, and powerful analysis. Don’t miss the chance to collect stories and perspectives that truly shape your school’s direction. Try creating your survey and watch parent engagement—and your understanding—grow.