Effects of Biracial Learning Teams on Cross-Racial Friendships

  • In the post test, the experimental group indicates a significantly higher number and proportion of cross-race friendships than did the control groups. Black students named more White friends than White students named Black friends.
  • The percentage of minority students in class was not significantly related to the number or proportion of cross-race friendships.
  • However, the effect of multiracial learning groups was more pronounced in classes with high or low percentages of Black students than in racially balanced classrooms.
  • One pair of classes was analyzed in nine month follow-up. The experimental students made cross-race friendship choices three times as often as the control group students.
  • The proportion of cross-race friendships made by experimental group students was four times that of the control group students.
  • The research supports multiracial learning teams as a strategy to improve cross-racial attraction, thereby improving race relations in desegregated environments.