Gurin, Patricia, Nagda, Biren A., & Lopez, Gretchen
Researchers: Biren A. NagdaGretchen LopezPatricia Gurin
University Affiliation: University of Michigan
Email: pgurin@umich.edu
Research Question:
Does participation in diversity education affect the process of learning to be citizens?
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: Journal of Social Issues
Journal Entry: Vol. 60, No. 1, pp. 17-34
Year: 2004
Findings:
- Students that participated in the curricular diversity program showed significantly greater motivation to take the perspective of others, they less often evaluated the University’s emphasis on diversity as producing divisiveness between groups, and in fact showed greater mutuality in their involvements with their own groups and with other groups.
- Multicultural programs would help students learn sentiments and skills needed in a plural democracy.
- Students that participated in the curricular diversity program expressed more democratic sentiments.
- Multicultural curriculum increases White students perspective taking and sense of commonality in values with African American students. No negative effects on non-White students.
- Participants showed significantly greater motivation to take the perspective of others. They less often evaluated the University’s emphasis on diversity as producing divisiveness between groups, and in fact showed greater mutuality in their involvements with their own groups and with other groups. During the college years they had thought more about their own group memberships but they had also enjoyed learning about the experiences and perspectives of other groups more than the control students.
- Participants were more interested in politics and, also, had participated more frequently in campus political activities. However, they had not taken part more frequently in community service activities during college.
- The program is associated with a greater increase in the participants’ sense of commonality in work and family values with groups other than their own after we controlled for how much commonality the students had felt toward these groups when they entered college.