College diversity courses and cognitive development among students from privileged and marginalized groups.

Abstract

Previous research has suggested that diversity courses generally have positive effects on college students' cognitive development. However, it is unclear how many courses students need to take to maximize their cognitive gains, or whether some groups of students benefit more from taking these courses. Within a longitudinal sample of over 3,000 first-year students at 19 institutions, students who take at least one diversity course have greater gains in their general interest in ideas and effortful thinking than those who take no courses; however, taking more than one course is not associated with greater benefits than taking a single course. In addition, the number of diversity courses taken is virtually unrelated to gains in critical thinking and moral reasoning. Further analyses reveal that students from middle-or lower-income families and White students experience the greatest cognitive growth from taking diversity courses. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

White Women, Racial Identity, and Learning about Racism in Graduate Preparation Programs

“…Meanwhile, White students defend their "right" to have their experiences centered, despite the ways in which this "right" marginalizes racially minoritized classmates (Bondi, 2012). Interacting with diverse peers generates many college student outcomes that appear to be desirable on the surface (Bowman, 2009;Zúñiga, Williams, & Berger, 2005). The cost of these interactions for students of Color is rarely calculated, raising the question: desirable outcomes for whom?…”

“…Even in programs offering a required course on multiculturalism and diversity, many students and recent alumni do not consider these courses to be "enough" to do "any of the issues any justice" (Gayles & Kelly, 2007, p. 199). Although students can make some inroads in a single course (Bowman, 2009), this limited experience is not sufficient to the ongoing task of developing meaningful racial consciousness or integrating an actionoriented, anti-racist perspective into their future work as HESA professionals (Ortiz & Rhoads, 2000). To cultivate such a perspective, White individuals must recognize and overcome resistance (Watt, 2007(Watt, , 2015.…”

Understanding what students bring to the classroom: Moderators of the effects of diversity courses on student attitudes.

“…These effects should be enhanced for White students, who may have more to learn about such content because it is likely to be discrepant with previous life experience (Bowman, 2009;Gurin et al, 2002). However, for outcomes that are related to social development, that is, comfort with racial outgroup members and willingness to act as an ally, we expect that empathy will moderate the effect of diversity courses.…”

Experiencing the Unexpected: Toward a Model of College Diversity Experiences and Attitude Change

“…At the very least, a detailed understanding of psychology can improve the design of research studies. For instance, the presence of disequilibrium and discomfort during early diversity experiences suggests that the relationship between diversity experiences and subsequent outcomes may be curvilinear, and studies that have explored the possible presence of non-linear effects of diversity coursework have supported this claim (Bowman, 2009(Bowman, , 2010cChang, 2002b). Thus, future research may better gauge the relationship between diversity experiences and outcomes by examining possible curvilinear associations.…”