Does Socioeconomic Diversity Make a Difference? Examining the Effects of Racial and Socioeconomic Diversity on the Campus Climate for Diversity

Abstract

This article considers whether the socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate student body and experiences with cross-class interaction (CCI) are significantly related to cross-racial interaction (CRI) and engagement with curricular/co-curricular diversity (CCD) activities. Individual students who reported higher levels of CCI had significantly higher levels of CRI and CCD. While the socioeconomic diversity of the student body had no direct effect on student involvement in CCD activities or CRI, it had an indirect effect on these activities via CCI. In other words, a socioeconomically diverse institution is associated with more frequent interactions across class lines, which is associated both with more frequent interactions across race and greater involvement in CCD activities. Findings indicate that both socioeconomic and racial diversity are essential to promoting a positive campus racial climate and that racial and socioeconomic diversity, while interrelated, are not interchangeable. Implications for the campus climate for diversity are discussed.

Keywords

affirmative action campus climate racial diversity social class socioeconomic diversity

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Allison

P. D.

(2002). Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Allport

G. W.

(1954). The nature of prejudice. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley.

Antonio

A. L.

Chang

M. J.

Hakuta

Kenny

D. A.

Levin

Milem

J. F.

(2004). Effects of racial diversity on complex thinking in college students. Psychological Science, 15(8), 507–510.

Aries

(2008). Race and class matters at an elite college. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.

Bastedo

Jaquette

(2009, November). Institutional stratification and the fit hypothesis: Longitudinal shifts in student access. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Vancouver, Canada.

Bernal

E. M.

Cabrera

A. F.

Terenzini

P. T.

(2000). The relationship between race and SES status: Implications for institutional research and admissions policies. Removing Vestiges, 3, 6–13.

Blau

P. M.

(1977). Inequality and heterogeneity. New York, NY: Free Press.

Blau

P. M.

Schwartz

J. E.

(1984). Crosscutting social circles: Testing a macrosocial theory of intergroup relations. Orlando, FL: Academic Press.

Bond

T. G.

Fox

C. M.

(2007). Applying the Rasch model: Fundamental measurement in the human sciences (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

10.

Bowman

N. A.

(2009). College diversity courses and cognitive development among students from privileged and marginalized groups. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 2, 182–194.

11.

Bowman

N. A.

(2011). Promoting participation in a diverse democracy: A meta-analysis of college diversity experiences and civic engagement. Review of Educational Research, 81, 29–68.

12.

Bowman

N. A.

(2012). Promoting sustained engagement with diversity: The reciprocal relationships between informal and formal college diversity experiences. Review of Higher Education, 36, 1–24.

13.

Cabrera

A. F.

Crissman

J. L.

Bernal

E. M.

Nora

A., P. T.

Pascarella

E. T.

(2002). Collaborative learning: Its impact on college students’ development and diversity. Journal of College Student Development, 43(2), 20–34.

14.

Cancian

(1998). Race-based versus class-based affirmative action in college admissions. Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, 17(1), 94–105.

15.

Carnevale

A. P.

Rose

S. J.

(2003). SES status, race/ethnicity, and selective college admissions. New York, NY: Century Foundation.

16.

Chang

M. J.

(1999). Does racial diversity matter? The educational impact of a racially diverse undergraduate population. Journal of College Student Development, 40(4), 283–301.

17.

Chang

M. J.

Astin

A. W.

Kim

(2004). Cross-racial interaction among undergraduates: Some causes and consequences. Research in Higher Education, 45, 527–551.

18.

Chang

M. J.

Denson

Sáenz

Misa

(2006). The educational benefits of sustaining cross-racial interaction among undergraduates. Journal of Higher Education, 77, 430–455.

19.

Clegg

(2009, December 16). Reactions: Is it time for class-based affirmative action? Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved from http://chronicle.com/article/Reactions-Is-It-Time-for/62615/

20.

Cohen

West

S. G.

Aiken

L. S.

(2003). Applied multiple regression/correlation analysis for the behavioral sciences (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

21.

Denson

(2009). Do curricular and co-curricular diversity activities influence racial bias? A meta-analysis. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 805–838.

22.

Denson

Chang

M. J.

(2009). Diversity matters: The impact of diversity-related student engagement and institutional context. American Educational Research Journal, 46, 322–353.

23.

Engberg

(2004). Improving intergroup relations in higher education: A critical examination of the influence of educational interventions on racial bias. Review of Educational Research, 74(4), 473–524.

24.

Espenshade

T. J.

Radford

A. W.

(2009). No longer separate, not yet equal: Race and class in elite college admission and campus life. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

25.

Fischer

G. H.

Molenaar

I. W.

(1995). Rasch models: Foundations, recent developments, and applications. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.

26.

Frankenberg

Lee

Orfield

(2003). A multiracial society with segregated schools: Are we losing the dream? Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Civil Rights Project.

27.

Gittleman

Wolff

E. N.

(2000). Racial wealth disparities: Is the gap closing? (Levy Economics Institute Working Paper 311). Retrieved from http://ssrn.com/abstract=243769

28.

Goodman

(2009, November). Does diversity impact all students equally? A critical quantitative analysis of the effects of diversity, race, and class on first-year students’ need for cognition. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Vancouver, Canada.

29.

Gurin

Dey

Gurin

Hurtado

(2004). The educational value of diversity. In Gurin

Lehman

Lewis

(Eds.), Defending diversity: Affirmative action at the University of Michigan (pp. 97–188). Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

30.

Gurin

Dey

E. L.

Hurtado

Gurin

(2002). Diversity in higher education: Theory and impact on educational outcomes. Harvard Educational Review, 72(3), 330–366.

31.

Gurin

Nagda

B. A.

(2006). Getting to the what, how, and why of diversity on campus. Educational Researcher, 35(1), 20–24.

32.

Hall

W. D.

Cabrera

A. F.

Milem

J. F.

(2011). A tale of two groups: Differences between minority students and non-minority students in their predispositions to and engagement with diverse peers at a predominantly White institution. Research in Higher Education, 52, 420–439.

33.

Hamon

Mesbah

(2002). Questionnaire reliability under the Rasch model. In Mesbah

Cole

B. F.

Lee

M. L. T.

(Eds.), Statistical methods for quality of life studies: Design, measurement, and analysis (pp. 155–168). Boston, MA: Birkhauser.

34.

Hausmann

L. R. M.

Schofield

J. W.

Woods

R. L.

(2007). Sense of belonging as a predictor of intentions to persist among African American and White first-year college students. Research in Higher Education, 48, 803–839.

35.

Heck

R. H.

Thomas

S. L.

(2008). An introduction to multilevel modeling techniques (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Routledge.

36.

Hurtado

Carter

D. F.

(1997). Effects of college transition and perceptions of the campus racial climate on Latino college students’ sense of belonging. Sociology of Education, 70(4), 324–345.

37.

Hurtado

Engberg

M. E.

Ponjuan

Landreman

(2002). Students’ precollege preparation for participation in a diverse democracy. Research in Higher Education, 43, 163–186.

38.

Hurtado

Griffin

K. A.

Arellano

Cuellar

(2008). Assessing the value of climate assessments: Progress and future directions. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 1, 204–221.

39.

Hurtado

Milem

J. F.

Clayton-Pedersen

A. R.

Allen

W. R.

(1998). Enhancing campus climates for racial/ethnic diversity: Educational policy and practice. Review of Higher Education, 21(3), 279–302.

40.

Jayakumar

U. M.

(2008). Can higher education meet the needs of an increasingly diverse and global society? Campus diversity and cross-cultural workforce competencies. Harvard Educational Review, 78(4), 615–651.

41.

Johnson

D. R.

Soldner

Leonard

J. B.

Alvarez

Inkelas

K. K.

Rowan-Kenyon

Longerbeam

(2007). Examining sense of belonging among first-year undergraduates from different racial/ethnic groups. Journal of College Student Personnel, 48(5), 525–542.

42.

Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. (2009). Disappointing progress in enrollments of low-income students at America’s most selective colleges and universities. Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. Retrieved from http://www.jbhe.com/features/61_lowincome.html

43.

Kahlenberg

R. D.

(1996). The remedy: Class, race, and affirmative action. New York, NY: Basic Books.

44.

Kim

(2006). God’s whiz kids: Korean American evangelicals on campus. New York, NY: New York University Press.

45.

Kluegel

J. R.

(1990). Trends in Whites’ explanations of the Black-White gap in socioeconomic status, 1977–1989. American Sociological Review, 55, 512–25.

46.

Linn

R. L.

Welner

K. G.

(2007). Race-conscious policies for assigning students to schools: Social science research and the Supreme Court cases. Washington, DC: National Academy of Education.

47.

Locks

A. M.

Hurtado

Bowman

N. A.

Oseguera

(2008). Extending notions of campus climate and diversity to students’ transitions to college. Review of Higher Education, 31(3), 257–285.

48.

Long

(2007). Affirmative action and its alternatives in public universities: What do we know? Public Administration Review, 67(1), 311–325.

49.

Long

Tienda

(2008). Winners and losers: Changes in Texas university admissions post-Hopwood. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 30(3), 255–280.

50.

Martinková

Zvára

(2007). Reliability in the Rasch model. Kybernetika, 43, 315–326.

51.

Massey

D. S.

Charles

C. Z.

Lundy

G. F.

Fischer

M. J.

(2003). The source of the river: The social origins of freshmen at America’s selective colleges and universities. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

52.

McDonough

P. M.

(1997). Choosing colleges. Albany: State University of New York Press.

53.

McPherson

Smith-Lovin

Brashears

M. E.

(2006). Social isolation in America: Changes in core discussion networks over two decades. American Sociological Review, 71, 352–375.

54.

McPherson

Smith-Lovin

Cook

J. M.

(2001). Birds of a feather: Homophily in social networks. Annual Review of Sociology, 27, 415–444.

55.

Milem

J. F.

Chang

M. J.

Antonio

A. L.

(2005). Making diversity work on campus: A research-based perspective. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

56.

Milem

J. F.

Umbach

P. D.

Liang

C. T. H.

(2004). Exploring the perpetuation hypothesis: The role of colleges and universities in desegregating society. Journal of College Student Development, 45(6), 688–700.

57.

Moody

(2001). Race, school integration, and friendship segregation in America. American Journal of Sociology, 107(3), 679–716.

58.

Museus

S. D.

(2008). Understanding the role of ethnic student organizations in facilitating cultural adjustment and membership among African American and Asian American college students. Journal of College Student Development, 59(6), 568–586.

59.

Nelson Laird

T. F.

Engberg

M. E.

Hurtado

(2005). Modeling accentuation effects: Enrolling in a diversity course and the importance of social action engagement. Journal of Higher Education, 76(4), 448–476.

60.

Norton

M. I.

Ariely

(2011). Building a better America—One wealth quintile at a time. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 6(1), 9–12.

61.

Orfield

(2009). Reviving the dream of an integrated society: A 21st century challenge. Los Angeles, CA: Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles.

62.

Orfield

Lee

(2005). Why segregation matters: Poverty and educational inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Civil Rights Project.

63.

Ostrove

J. M.

Long

S. M.

(2007). Social class and belonging: Implications for college adjustment. Review of Higher Education, 30(4), 363–389.

64.

Park

J. J.

(2009). Taking race into account: Charting student attitudes towards affirmative action. Research in Higher Education, 50(7), 670–690.

65.

Park

J. J.

(2011). “I needed to get out of my Korean bubble”: An ethnographic account of Korean American collegians juggling diversity in a religious context. Anthropology & Education Quarterly, 42(3), 193–212.

66.

Park

J. J.

(2012). When race and religion collide: The effect of religion on interracial friendship in college. Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, 5(1), 8–21.

67.

Park

J. J.

(in press). When diversity drops: Race, religion, and affirmative action in higher education. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.

68.

Park

J. J.

Denson

(2010, Fall). Does socioeconomic diversity make a difference? Examining the effects of racial and socioeconomic diversity on college student outcomes. Paper presented at the annual conference of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, Indianapolis, IN.

69.

Park

J. J.

Eagan

M. K.

(2011). Who goes early? A multi-level analysis of enrollment via early action and early decision admissions. Teachers College Record, 113(11), 2345–2373.

70.

Pike

G. R.

Kuh

G. D.

(2006). Relationships among structural diversity, informal peer interactions and perceptions of the campus environment. Review of Higher Education, 29, 425–450.

71.

Porter

S. R.

(2006). Institutional structures and student engagement. Research in Higher Education, 47(5), 521–558.

72.

Raudenbush

S. W.

Bryk

A. S.

(2002). Hierarchical linear models: Applications and data analysis methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

73.

Raudenbush

S. W.

Johnson

Sampson

R. J.

(2003). A multivariate, multilevel Rasch model for self-reported criminal behavior. Sociological Methodology, 33(1), 169–211.

74.

Reardon

S. F.

Yun

J. T.

Kurlaender

(2006). Implications of income-based school assignment policies for racial school segregation. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 28(1), 49–75.

75.

Sáenz

(2010). Breaking the segregation cycle: Examining students’ precollege racial environments and college diversity experiences. Review of Higher Education, 34(1), 1–37.

76.

Sáenz

Ngai

H. N.

Hurtado

(2007). Factors influencing positive interactions across race for African American, Asian American, Latino, and White college students. Research in Higher Education, 48(1), 1–38.

77.

Strayhorn

T. L.

(2010). When race and gender collide: Social and cultural capital’s influence on the academic achievement of African American and Latino males. Review of Higher Education, 33(3), 307–332.

78.

Titus

(2006). Understanding college degree completion of students with low socioeconomic status: The influence of institutional financial context. Research in Higher Education, 47(4), 371–398.

79.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2009). Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States: Reports, P60-236(RV), and historical tables—table F-05. Washington, DC: Author.

80.

Walpole

(2008). Emerging from the pipeline: African American students, socioeconomic status, and college experiences and outcomes. Research in Higher Education, 49(3), 237–255.

81.

Zuniga

Williams

E. A.

Berger

J. B.

(2005). Action-oriented democratic outcomes: The impact of student involvement with campus diversity. Journal of College Student Development, 46, 660–678.