1. College Students’ Classroom Preparation for a Diverse Democracy Sylvia Hurtado Thomas F. Nelson Laird Lisa Landreman Mark E. Engberg Edith Fernández University of Michigan April 3, 2002

2. Purpose Explore the effect of diversity courses on: –Quantity and quality of interaction with diverse peers –Level of importance students place on taking action for social justice

3. Methods 3 Courses –2 Diversity Courses (1 Education and 1 Women’s Studies) –1 Management Student Thinking and Interacting Survey (STIS) –Administered Pre and Post

4. Sample 316 students in this study Female –80.4% Diversity Courses, 47% Management Students of Color –25.8% Diversity Courses, 25.4% Management 1st Yr Students –49.0% Diversity Courses, 16.4% Management A/A- GPA –42.0% Diversity Courses, 32.8% Management

5. Percentage of Students Indicating Some or Substantial Interaction with Students of Color

6. Percentage of Students Indicating Some to a Great Deal of Positive Interaction

7. Predictors of the Level of Importance Students Place on Taking Action for Social Justice Beginning of Term Sex Race Acad. Self-Conf Invl w/ Frat/Sor (–) Invl w/ Political Act. Pos. Qual. of Int Neg. Qual. of Int (–) End of Term Pre-test Course Pos. Qual. of Int

8. Discussion and Implications After controlling for student characteristics and predispositions, we still evidence a positive effect of diversity courses Implication for teaching: Attention to both the positive and negative quality of interaction should accompany increasing the amount of interaction

9. Want more? Preparing College Students for a Diverse Democracy http://www.umich.edu/~divdemo divdemo@umich.edu