How Much Diversity is Enough? The Curvilinear Relationship Between College Diversity Interactions and First-Year Student Outcomes

被引:64
作者
Bowman, Nicholas A. [1 ]
机构
[1] Bowling Green State Univ, Dept Higher Educ & Student Affairs, Bowling Green, OH 43403 USA
关键词
Diversity; College students; Race/ethnicity; Student outcomes; Intergroup contact; CROSS-RACIAL INTERACTION; INTERGROUP CONTACT; CAMPUS DIVERSITY; STRUCTURAL DIVERSITY; ETHNIC-ATTITUDES; HIGHER-EDUCATION; EXPERIENCES; IMPACT; FRIENDSHIPS; ENGAGEMENT;
D O I
10.1007/s11162-013-9300-0
中图分类号
G40 [教育学];
学科分类号
040101 ; 120403 ;
摘要
Recent legal challenges to race-conscious college admissions processes have called into question what constitutes a sufficient level of diversity on college campuses. Previous research on the educational benefits of diversity has examined the linear relationship between diversity interactions and student outcomes, but multiple theoretical frameworks suggest that this relationship may be curvilinear. The present study investigated this possibility using a longitudinal sample of 8,615 first-year undergraduates at 49 colleges and universities. The results indicate that rare or moderate diversity interactions are associated with virtually no growth (and sometimes even slight declines) in leadership skills, psychological well-being, and intellectual engagement, whereas very frequent diversity interactions are associated with considerable growth. The results are similar regardless of students' race, institutional characteristics, and whether the interactions are interracial or across multiple forms of difference. Implications for institutional practice and future research are discussed.
引用
收藏
页码:874 / 894
页数:21
相关论文
共 88 条
[21]   College Diversity Experiences and Cognitive Development: A Meta-Analysis [J].
Bowman, Nicholas A. .
REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH, 2010, 80 (01) :4-33
[22]   Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation: The life and times of individuals varying in need for cognition [J].
Cacioppo, JT ;
Petty, RE ;
Feinstein, JA ;
Blair, W ;
Jarvis, G .
PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 1996, 119 (02) :197-253
[23]  
Chang M., 2011, QUALITY MATTERS ACHI
[24]   The educational benefits of sustaining cross-racial interaction among undergraduates [J].
Chang, MJ ;
Denson, N ;
Sdenz, V ;
Misa, K .
JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION, 2006, 77 (03) :430-+
[25]   Cross-racial interaction among undergraduates: Some consequences, causes, and patterns [J].
Chang, MJ ;
Astin, AW ;
Kim, D .
RESEARCH IN HIGHER EDUCATION, 2004, 45 (05) :529-553
[26]  
Chang MJ, 1999, J COLL STUDENT DEV, V40, P377
[27]  
Cohen J., 2013, APPL MULTIPLE REGRES
[28]   Cognitive Adaptation to the Experience of Social and Cultural Diversity [J].
Crisp, Richard J. ;
Turner, Rhiannon N. .
PSYCHOLOGICAL BULLETIN, 2011, 137 (02) :242-266
[29]   Seeing is believing: Exposure to counterstereotypic women leaders and its effect on the malleability of automatic gender stereotyping [J].
Dasgupta, N ;
Asgari, S .
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2004, 40 (05) :642-658
[30]   Cross-Group Friendships and Intergroup Attitudes: A Meta-Analytic Review [J].
Davies, Kristin ;
Tropp, Linda R. ;
Aron, Arthur ;
Pettigrew, Thomas F. ;
Wright, Stephen C. .
PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY REVIEW, 2011, 15 (04) :332-351