Students' support for institutional diversity: The impact of diverse college experiences

This study examines how different college experiences affect African American, Asian Pacific American (APA), Latino, and White students' support for institutional diversity initiatives and mission. The study assesses the effects of diverse college experiences and the socio-historical context on students' support for institutional diversity. A conceptual model focusing on institutional climate and subcultures, co-curricular and curricular experiences, diverse peer interactions, and a specific sociohistorical event (September 11th) was developed. This model incorporates findings from research in education, organizational behavior, psychology, and sociology that investigates the impact of different experiences on racial attitudes. This study uses data from the Diverse Democracy Project, which administered surveys to incoming freshmen in 2000 and a follow-up in 2002 at nine public universities across the country. The sample consisted of 220 African American, 747 APA, 370 Latino, and 3360 White undergraduate students.; A different structural equation model (SEM) was developed for each racial group, based on the conceptual model, theory, and results from blocked hierarchical regression analyses. SEM indices indicated that each group has an acceptable model, with NFI, NNFI, CFI ≥ .90, and RMSEA < .10. Key findings suggest that participation in co-curricular diversity activities and perception of a negative climate for diversity contribute to all students' support for institutional diversity. Results also indicated that distinct experiences affect each racial group's support for institutional diversity. Specifically, structural diversity has a negative relationship with African American students' support for institutional diversity---the less diverse in terms of racial make-up of the student body, the more supportive African American students are of institutional diversity initiatives. Gender (female) contributes indirectly (positively) to APA students' support for institutional diversity. For Latino students, the indirect effects on the outcome measure are mediated through interaction with APA students. White pre-college environments have an indirect, negative effect on White students' attitudes toward institutional diversity---White students who come from predominantly White pre-college environments are less likely to support institutional diversity efforts. The study concludes that institutions can positively affect students' support for institutional diversity by creating campus-facilitated diversity co-curricular and curricular experiences that guide cross-race interactions.