American Educational Research Journal · 2008 · 363 citations · 45 references
EducationEthnic StudiesHigher EducationAfrican American EducationInclusive EducationStudent EngagementAcademic EngagementDiversityEthnicity In EducationRace In EducationRace In SchoolingStudent ParticipationCompositionCurricular InclusionEngagement In Higher EducationRace In Higher EducationRacialized Experiences In Education
The study investigates whether distinct forms of campus racial diversity independently enhance students’ learning and whether higher engagement with diversity opportunities at a campus yields additional learning benefits. The authors examined racial diversity by incorporating both social and curricular engagement dimensions beyond mere student composition. Students gain learning benefits from engaging with racial diversity and also from attending campuses where peers are highly engaged in diversity, regardless of their own engagement level.
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.
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