Racial diversity in colleges and universities has been shown to improve over the years. According to the Census Bureau, “more people aged 25 and older earned a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2019 than in 2010. This increase can be seen across racial groups: Asians with bachelor’s degrees rose from 52.4% in 2010 to 58.1% in 2019, White from 33.2% in 2010 to 40.1% in 2019, Black from 19.8% in 2010 to 26.1% in 2019, and Hispanic/Latinx: from 13.9% in 2010 to 18.8% in 2019.” (Courtesy from Bradley University, 2023).
Diversity is a huge educational and social component in colleges and universities that allows students from a range of backgrounds to come together to learn, socialize, and grow. Though diversity has been frequently emphasized in higher education, policymakers and the Courts seem to not understand its importance as they continue to challenge diversity policies like affirmative action programs. Affirmative action increased diversity in higher education and taking these programs away can impact the diversity component of institutions today. As affirmative action continues to be questioned in the courts, we must explore the relationship between diversity and student development in higher education.
For this study, I tested the relationship between interactional diversity and student development, my research question being, “How does interactional diversity like students of different races and backgrounds studying together or taking ethnic-based courses impact student development in colleges and universities?” I hypothesized that students across races studying and interacting with each other outside of the classroom or taking ethnic-based courses will lead to an increase in social and learning outcomes. Social outcomes were measured by looking at students’ ability to get along with someone from a different race/ethnicity, and learning outcomes were measured by looking at critical thinking skills and academic abilities.
Previous research found an association between multiracial interactions and student development in higher education. They found that when students interact with each other, whether it is partying, attending racial workshops, or studying together, they improve civically, and academically. These studies were done in 2003, hence why recent research is necessary as affirmative action is being questioned today.
After collecting survey data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) at the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at UCLA, regressions were conducted on R studio to measure the relationship between the independent variables (studying with someone from a different race/ethnicity and taking ethnic-based courses) and the dependent variables (ability to get along with someone from a different background, academic ability, and critical thinking skills). The survey is known as the College Senior Survey, and it is conducted with over 15 million students from 1,900 institutions, asking them about their growth in civic, educational, and diversity outcomes based on their college experiences. I controlled college and high school GPAs for a stronger test. Students reported their growth to be 1 = much weaker to 5 =much stronger. The Significant levels I used are P values <0.05, <.01, <.001.
When I tested the relationship between students taking ethnic-based courses and the ability to have a good relationship with someone from a different race/ethnicity there was a 0.027 significance, meaning there is a positive association. The graph below also shows the results for students taking ethnic-based courses and the ability to get along with someone from a different background. Although there are more responses for students that did not take ethnic-based courses, students that did take the courses landed in the four or five range of increased ability to get along with people from a different race/ethnicity.
There was also a 0.022 significance between taking ethnic-based courses and the ability to think critically.
When I tested the relationship between students of different races/ethnicities studying together and their academic abilities, there was a 1.22e-11 significance, showing that there is a positive association. There was also a 2e-16 significance between students of different races/ethnicities studying together and their ability to think critically.
Overall, this study shows that diversity amongst the student body in an institution is highly associated with increased student development. My findings support most of the previous studies on this topic, and even when I focused on the most recent data, the results are still similar. These findings go against the argument that the ethnic and racial diversity of a student body in an institution has no benefit on their education. This study suggests that diversity contributes to students’ improvement in both educational and social outcomes. As the Supreme Court continues to hear cases about affirmative action policies in higher education, these empirical findings provide educational justification that serves as strong evidence that could potentially persuade decision-makers to continue to support race as a consideration for admissions and affirmative action programs in general.
Haoulia Barry is a Senior at Indiana University Majoring in Law and Public Policy and double minoring in French and Media Persuasion. She hopes to attend law school in the future with a focus on international law.
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