Deaf college students' attitudes toward racial/ethnic diversity, campus climate, and role models

Deaf college students' attitudes toward a variety of issues related to racial/ethnic diversity were surveyed by contacting all racial/ethnic minority deaf students and a random sample of Caucasian deaf students attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), Rochester Institute of Technology; 38% completed the survey. Although racial/ethnic groups similarly perceived NTID's commitment and efforts related to diversity, they differed significantly on some items related to campus climate and role models. Furthermore, the racial/ethnic minority groups differed from each other in their perceptions of campus comfort level, racial conflict, friendship patterns, and availability of role models. Educational satisfaction was positively correlated with campus comfort level; both correlated negatively with perception of discrimination and racial conflict. Qualitative data analyses supported quantitative data analyses and provided rich detail that facilitated interpretation of deaf students' experiences related to racial/ethnic diversity.     

When Race and Class Both Matter: The Relationship between Socioeconomic Diversity, Racial Diversity, and Student Reports of Cross–Class Interaction

This paper delves into a facet of socioeconomic diversity relatively unaddressed in the literature: student reports of cross–class interaction (“reported CCI”). Previous research has found that student interaction across social class is a significant predictor of cross–racial interaction, but it is unknown whether the actual socioeconomic heterogeneity of a student body is significantly related to reported CCI. We use hierarchical linear modeling to identify predictors of reported CCI in the 2003 Freshman/2007 College Student Survey from the UCLA Higher Education Research Institute. In the final model, students who attended more socioeconomically diverse institutions and more racially diverse institutions reported higher levels of CCI. Findings suggest that reported CCI is linked to the actual socioeconomic heterogeneity of a student body. Measures of racial diversity (percent of students of color and diversity engagement), both at the institutional and student level, also predicted reported CCI. Thus, reported CCI is likely influenced by the racial diversity of a student body and other aspects of the campus racial climate, in addition to socioeconomic diversity. Implications for campus climate, diversity, and equity research are discussed.     

White Privilege? The Intersection of Hip-Hop and Whiteness as a Catalyst for Cross-Racial Interaction Among White Males

Given the prevalence of racial segregation in the U.S., college is an opportunity to prepare students for diversity through cross-racial interaction. Hip-hop, a culture steeped in black and Latino experiences, has significant white supporters. Through diversity and critical whiteness frameworks, this research considers how white hip-hop collegians discuss and practice diversity in ways that can inform work on cross-racial interaction in higher education. The findings indicate that the participants, through their awareness of social inequities and enactments of diversity, can function as catalysts for campus cross-racial interaction.     

Influence of expectation and campus racial climate on undergraduates' interracial interaction

In this study, the authors examine the influence of interracial interaction expectation and campus racial climate perception on attitudes toward interracial interaction which, in turn, influences the levels of interracial interaction among students at a multicultural university in Malaysia. Interaction across race is fundamental to students' growth and development. Responses from 193 Malay and 165 Chinese students were analysed by means of hierarchical regression. Results support the hypothesized influence of interracial interaction expectation and campus racial climate perception on attitudes toward interracial interaction for the Chinese students. For the Malay students, however, only interracial interaction expectation is significant. Attitudes toward interracial interaction, in turn, significantly predict levels of interracial interaction for both groups. The results support the hypothesized differential strength of relationships among the variables for the two racial groups. Implications for higher education are discussed.     

美国高校包容性校园氛围建设理念与实践———以加州大学伯克利分校为例

校国氛围是对校国内有关人际交往、学术交流和专业互动环境的客观判断以及主观感知,即学生及教职人员等个体和团体对校国环境的体验,以及不同背景的团体和个人间互动的质量和程度。加州大学伯克利分校包容性的校国氛围主要表现在五个方面：对＂差异＂包容的历史背景与脉络,政策层面上包容性的承诺与支持,研究与教学活动中反映的包容性,结构的差异以及不同团体间的互动与交往。     

Counteracting Victimization in Unequal Educational Contexts: Latin American Migrants’ Friendship Dynamics in Chilean Schools

This article addresses the role of friendship dynamics among newcomer Latin American migrant youth during their transitions to Chilean secondary schools. Drawing on qualitative life history interviews, we discuss ethnic minority well-being in two high-ethnic mix schools, and how power inequalities and racial discrimination are managed through social capital in the courtyard. In particular, we demonstrate the importance of ethnic diversity for counteracting victimization. We found few instances of internal segregation (homogenous or bonding forms of friendship groups); instead cross-ethnic friendships were more common, enabling participants to navigate gendered and class-based cleavages within the schools. Although concentrations of ethnic students in low-quality municipal schools represent deeper social justice issues, the research argues for the need to move beyond dichotomized notions of integration and segregation. Creating greater equity in these spaces, we suggest, does not depend on ethnic mix, but on the opportunities to develop social capital support.     

Guests in someone else’s house? Sense of belonging among ethnic minority students in a Hong Kong university

The evolution of globalisation and ensuing internationalisation of higher education need radical reform of institutional policies and practices to promote education for diversity, equity and inclusion. Extant literature on university/college student persistence/retention witnesses a lack of research on the subjective sense of belonging on campus among ethnic minoritised students who have been historically marginalised in higher education and are now part of the emerging demographic on campus. This study attempted to fill the gap. Engaging qualitative individual interviews with 12 university students of South/Southeast Asian ethnicity in Hong Kong, the purpose of this study was to examine their perceptions and experiences of institutional affiliations and engagement in university. Findings suggested that being connected to the programme and university, and the depth and quality of intragroup dynamics, are key to a sense of belonging among ethnic minority students. Findings also elucidated a lack of cross-cultural interaction and racial/ethnic diversity within the university environment, which shaped participants’ feelings of isolation and exclusionary experiences as they sought to adjust to the campus academically and socially. The study’s findings could help inform the development and evaluation of institutional strategies that can sustain minoritised students in university transitions and promote institutional connectedness and academic success among all students on campus.     

Questioning The Aloha in a Multicultural Teacher Education Course

Hawaii is often perceived as the “Land of Aloha”, a racial paradise where everyone gets along. But do we? The author explores Hawaii's distinct cultural dynamics with pre-service teachers in a multicultural education course that problematised race and ethnicity. Using an inquiry approach and culturally relevant activities, the class examined the social inequity that exists between privileged “non-minorities” like Japanese, Chinese and Whites, and “disadvantaged minorities” like Filipinos, Native Hawaiians and Samoans. This study found that living among diversity in Hawaii made recognising racism and social inequity difficult. Patterns of student engagement reflected one's positioning in Hawaii's racial and socioeconomic hierarchy. Students from privileged groups minimised and deflected their role in contributing to racism, while students from disadvantaged groups assumed a more critical stance towards society. This study reframes the dialogue on race in education and provides implications for multicultural teacher education.     

REPORT ON FIVE CITIES

This article examines one university's policies regarding Native mascots and ethnic fraud through a Tribal Critical Race Theory analytic lens. Using the principle of interest convergence, we argue that institutions of higher education allow and even work actively towards a particular form or level of diversity, but they do not extend it far enough. Once racial remedies no longer hold value or benefit the institution itself, the status quo is maintained. Ultimately, the university has an interest in “celebrating” diversity and supporting superficial multiculturalism, but it does not have an interest in critical, social justice-oriented policies that challenge the status quo, the current racial order, or the institution's privilege and power.     

Counter-stories as representations of the racialized experiences of students of color in higher education and student affairs graduate preparation programs

In this paper, we employ Critical Race Theory theoretically and methodologically to examine the racialized experiences of students of color in higher education and student affairs (HESA) graduate preparation programs. We employ counter-storytelling as a method for constructing narratives that disrupt the master narrative found within HESA graduate preparation programs, which often boast an espoused commitment to diversity and social justice. Based on a study of 29 graduate students of color in 21 master’s programs across the United States, the counter-stories reflect the endemic nature of racism in graduate education including the classroom, academic program, and campus. Students expressed experiences of tokenization, disappointment, feelings of frustration, anger, and racial battle fatigue. Implications for improving racial climates in graduate education are also shared.     

We've got minorities,yes we do: visual representations of racial and ethnic diversity in college recruitment materials

Colleges and universities have expanded their use of the internet and social media in marketing strategies, but the direct mailing of admissions brochures continues to be at the heart of recruitment efforts. Because admissions brochures often serve as a potential student's introduction to the campus, they are carefully crafted to provide a specific impression of the institution. This study examined one aspect of the marketing of colleges by examining the portrayal of racial and ethnic diversity. Through a content analysis of over 10,000 photographs from 165 four-year institutions in the US, the accuracy of the photographic portrayal of diversity in recruitment materials was assessed. Findings indicate that the majority of institutions provided images of diversity to prospective students in 2011 that were significantly different than the actual student body. Furthermore, diversity was typically symbolized by portraying African American students at higher rates rather than presenting a more representative student body.     

Ethnic Heterogeneity,Group Affinity,and State Higher Education Spending

A rich interdisciplinary literature exists exploring the determinants of state higher education funding policies. However, that work has collectively ignored an important finding from political economy literature: namely, that citizens’ preferences regarding public spending are strongly influenced by the state’s ethnic and racial context. Drawing on a unique panel of state-level data covering the years 1982–2009, we find that states demarcated by increased racial and ethnic diversity and eroding white majorities do tend to spend less on subsidies to public higher education, resulting in decreased state appropriations as well as more tepid support for financial aid programs. Critically, however, we find that the negative effects of increased ethnic and racial fractionalization can be mitigated—and in some circumstances, fully offset—by a high degree of positive social interaction between ethnic and racial groups. These results are discussed within the pragmatic context of continued state emphasis on degree attainment as a mechanism to foster economic growth as well as broader considerations about equality and social justice.     

Institutionalising campus diversity in South African higher education: Review of diversity scholarship and diversity education

Increasingly the social, educational, cultural,linguistic, religious and racial diversity ofSouth African society is finding expressionwithin South African institutions of highereducation. Consequently, ``diversity'',``diversity issues'' and ``diversification'', havebecome part of the education debate and policy,and pose new challenges to South Africantertiary institutions. Most institutions areattempting to respond to these challengeswithin the context of a transformation processwhich impacts on every aspect of academic lifefrom student access and support, outreachprogrammes, staff recruitment and retention, toacademic programme development, research,scholarship and the social and learningenvironment on campus. This paper looks at howSouth African higher education institutionshave met these challenges. It highlights howthe ideas, initiatives or practices arounddiversity have been appropriated and made partof the mainstream intellectual and academicdiscourses. It also investigates the social andepistemological conditions of possibility formeaningful scholarship and curriculum practicesin addressing the challenges posed by socialdiversity on campuses. More specific questionsin this regard include: What counts asknowledge in diversity scholarship? Whoproduces and disseminates it? Who accesses itor utilises it? What is its space in thecurricula?     

少数民族地区高校校园文化建设的辩证性刍议

在少数民族地区的高校校园文化建设中,我们会注意到它的民族性、单一性和社会依赖性,但另一方面我们也要思考它的开放性、多样性和独立性。这种校园文化建设的辩证性在少数民族地区的普通高校中体现得十分强烈,只有真正认识到这一辩证性,处理好他们的对立统一关系,才更有利于高校校园文化建设和高校自身的长远发展。     

审美认同、种族与美国民间音乐

本文运用审美认同的概念来探究音乐类型、社会运动与种族认同之间的关系。在20世纪的美国,其民间音乐在某个时期会破坏黑人与白人之间的绝对边界,而在另一个时期又强化了这种边界。审美认同是艺术类型与社会群体的文化结盟,借助这种结盟,群体就会感觉到某种艺术类型是代表了＂我们的＂或者＂他们的＂艺术、音乐和文学。这样,艺术类型的边界就成了社会的边界。民间音乐颠覆了艺术类型与社会边界的这种常规关系。民间音乐总是一些＂他者＂的文化,或者是种族的、地区的、阶级的文化,或者是民族的文化。在被叫作民间音乐之前,美国的本土音乐更多地体现了种族的完整性而不是其社会性,它是占支配地位的欧洲音乐和主要受非洲音乐影响的音乐相互混合的产物,但是又很好的表现了这两者。在商业唱片时代之前,黑人和白人音乐家们唱着同样的音乐,相互学习歌唱技巧和歌曲,并且共享一个表演的社会空间。民间音乐的概念是由学术精英创造出来的,但直到20世纪30年代到40年代后期,当有组织的左派把它当作一个文化事业时,它对大多数人来说仍然是陌生的。无论是学术精英还是政治活动家都将艺术类型建构成另一种种族化的艺术类型,而商业唱片工业又以＂种族唱片＂和＂山地音乐＂将之双重化。在那个特定的种族极端化的时代,美国的共产主义者和他们的同盟者非常有意识的使用民间音乐作为一种加强种族团结的工具。由于麦卡锡主义的压制,直到20世纪60年代,民间音乐作为种族统一的类型而得到复兴,但迅速被白人化了。为什么民间音乐的复兴与白人有关,我的解释是有三个因素：连续商业化的种族遗产;新左派不能像老左派那样有效地通过文化设施来控制音乐;在某个时候,当黑人努力要进入白人中产阶级青年所抵制的体制中时,一种把民间音乐理解为＂他者＂音乐的文化动力。     

Post-9/11 Arab and Muslim American Community College Students: Ethno-religious Enclaves and Perceived Discrimination

Apart from the widescale media attention that Arabs and Muslims have received in the United States and abroad since 9/11, these two target populations have been largely unexamined at both the two-year and four-year college levels. This study represents a pioneering effort in investigating whether the post-9/11 backlash against Arabs and Muslims has penetrated community college campuses, focusing upon the inter-relationships among the level of perceived discrimination, the degree of diversity of Arab and Muslim students' campus friendships, and their sense of belonging to the college. Two conflict theories are advanced to explain why perceived discrimination might promote ethnic and religious clustering among Arab and Muslim community college students.

The study employs a mixed methods design consisting of a 92-item survey and three focus groups. The survey sample consists of 753 Arab Christian, Arab Muslim, and non-Arab Muslim students from 21 community colleges in Southern California and Southeast Michigan. The primary finding was that there was a modest but positive relationship between the level of perceived discrimination and the percentage of campus friends who are of the same ethnicity but different religion. Student focus groups furnished insight into some students' reluctance to report discrimination in surveys. The implications of the study are to develop sensitive measures of the campus climate that draw out more subtle forms of discrimination. Also desirable would be to expand upon the existing research on the denial or minimization of personal discrimination.     

School Choice in Black and White: Private School Enrollment Among Racial Groups, 1990–2000

This study investigates how much the racial composition of communities influences the private school enrollment rates of members of different racial groups. Some scholars argue that private school enrollment contributes to racial segregation in public schools because White families attempt to enhance the social status of their children by leaving public schools serving communities with higher percentages of children who are Black. A second group of scholars argue that private school enrollment is primarily based on nonracial factors. A third, related perspective argues that race is of diminishing importance in driving behaviors such as school choice. This study explores these perspectives using 1990 and 2000 Public Use Micro Data Samples to estimate private school enrollment rates by student race and community racial composition. Findings indicate that private school enrollment rates among Asian, Black, and Hispanic students do not fluctuate much with community racial composition. By contrast, private school enrollment rates among White families are strongly and positively correlated with the percentage of children in their communities who are Black—even after holding constant a series of individual and community-level factors that may account for this trend. Moreover, the association between race and choice has changed little between 1990 and 2000.     

Parental Expectations and Children's Academic Performance in Sociocultural Context

In this paper, we review research on parental expectations and their effects on student achievement within and across diverse racial and ethnic groups. Our review suggests that the level of parental expectations varies by racial/ethnic group, and that students' previous academic performance is a less influential determinant of parental expectations among racial/ethnic minority parents than among European American parents. To explain this pattern, we identify three processes associated with race/ethnicity that moderate the relation between students' previous performance and parental expectations. Our review also indicates that the relation of parental expectations to concurrent or future student achievement outcomes is weaker for racial/ethnic minority families than for European American families. We describe four mediating processes by which high parental expectations may influence children's academic trajectories and show how these processes are associated with racial/ethnic status. The article concludes with a discussion of educational implications as well as suggestions for future research.     

Raising the Voice: Teaching Through a Multicultural Lens

Questions pertaining to racial and cultural identification are salient among social work educators in their role as teachers in the classroom. In the context of the 21st century, as an increasing number of people cannot be classified by race, an awareness of the complexities of cultural and racial identity is more important than ever. For social work pedagogy there is a need for critical reflection, increased awareness, sensitivity to multiculturalism, and cultural diversity. As social work educators, it is crucial for us to teach through the lens of multiculturalism and create spaces for voices of students who belie traditional racial and ethnic categories. This article elevates the voices of Black ethnic women, underscoring the complexity of identity construction within the United States. Qualitative interviews explore the dynamic social constructions of identification for 10 women who identify as Black and ethnic, as one example of a nuanced differentiation of race and culture. This article is a discussion of research findings and includes implications for teaching social work practice that broaden our range of understanding and highlight representations of women with marginal identities, thus furthering our social justice mission.     

A Test of Leading Explanations for the College Racial-Ethnic Achievement Gap: Evidence from a Longitudinal Case Study

In this study, we examined racial/ethnic differences in grade point average (GPA) among students at a highly selective, private university who were surveyed before matriculation and during the first, second and fourth college years, and assessed prominent explanations for the Black-White and Latino-White college achievement gap. We found that roughly half of the observed gap was attributable to family background characteristics and pre-college academic preparation. Of the within-college factors we considered, perceptions of campus climate and selection of major field of study were most important in explaining racial/ethnic differences in GPA. Personal resources, such as academic effort, self-esteem and academic identification, and patterns of involvement in campus life were significantly associated with GPA, but these factors did not account for racial/ethnic differences in academic performance. Overall, our results suggest that efforts to reduce the college achievement gap should focus on assisting students with the process of selecting major fields of study and on fostering a welcoming and inclusive campus environment.