Racial diversity matters : the impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context

Nida Denson, Mitchell J. Chang

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    This study addressed two questions: (a) Do different forms of campus racial diversity contribute uniquely to students’ learning and educational experiences when they are simultaneously tested utilizing multilevel modeling? (b) Does a campus where students take greater advantage of those diversity opportunities have independent positive effects on students’ learning? Consideration of racial diversity extended beyond student composition and included social and curricular engagement. Results suggest that benefits associated with diversity may be more far-reaching than previously documented. Not only do students benefit from engaging with racial diversity through related knowledge acquisition or cross-racial interaction but also from being enrolled on a campus where other students are more engaged with those forms of diversity, irrespective of their own level of engagement.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)322-353
    Number of pages32
    JournalAmerican Educational Research Journal
    Volume46
    Issue number2
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2009

    Keywords

    • cultural pluralism
    • education, higher
    • learning, psychology of
    • multiculturalism
    • multilevel models (statistics)
    • university students

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Racial diversity matters : the impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this