2002 - Interracial Contact in High School Extracurricular Activities

Attribution: Clotfelter, Charles T.
Researchers: Charles T. Clotfelter
University Affiliation: Duke University
Email: charles.clotfelter@duke.edu
Research Question:
Document and measure the extent of interracial contact within schools.
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: The Urban Review
Journal Entry: Vol.34, No.1, pp. 25-46
Year: 2002
Findings:
  • Interracial contact is reduced if students of different racial groups are disproportionately assigned to some tracks.
  • There is general tendency of self-segregation observed in almost every setting.
  • The teams, clubs, and other groups associated with extra-curricular activities also affect interracial contact.
  • None of the regressions suggest that school organizations are any more a vehicle for segregation in the South as in the rest of the country.
  • There is evidence that actual interracial contact is not as great as would be suggested by enrollments, due to academic tracking and self-segregation in friendship patterns.
Keywords: Contact TheoryExtracurricular ActivitiesLong Term OutcomesPeer EffectsTrackingRegions: SouthMethodologies: MixedAnalysis Methods: Regression Sampling Frame:High School Yearbooks
Sampling Types: NonrandomAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Mixed-Longitudinal
Data Description:
  • 1997-1998 Data from yearbooks for 194 high schools
  • 8875 high school teams and other organizations
  • Focuses on organizational membership.
  • Data for the study obtained from a detailed examination of these yearbooks.
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts