According to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education this morning, a new study questions the educational benefits of diversity (link requires subscription).
“In a sense, diversity is like free speech — almost everyone approves of it in the abstract, but its application in concrete situations can produce great controversy,” write the authors, Stanley Rothman, director of the Center for the Study of Social and Political Change and a professor of government at Smith College; Seymour Martin Lipset, a professor of public policy at George Mason University; and Neil Nevitte, a political-science professor at the University of Toronto
Attempting to take a broader approach, the three primary authors
not only asked administrators, professors, and students at 140 colleges how they felt about campus diversity, but they also inquired about the institutions’ general educational environment, making no references to diversity. Following the survey, the responses were correlated to the number of black students at each institution, since the authors argue that the debate over affirmative action has primarily centered on black students at predominantly white colleges.
They were surprised by the results.
As the number of black students increased, student satisfaction with their educational experience dropped, as did their opinion on the quality of education and the work ethic of their peers. In addition, the more diverse the institution, the more likely students were to respond that they experienced discrimination. The survey did not distinguish minority respondents from nonminority respondents.
The responses were similar among students, professors, and administrators. For instance, as the number of black students on a campus increased, the more likely it was that faculty members criticized the work habits of students.
Supporters of race-based diversity, such as Gary Orfield of Harvard, were critical of the new study.
The study was published in the spring issues of the International Journal of Public Opinion Research and The Public Interest (not online yet).
The paper Chronicle that I received today has articles against Top-X% plans from the left (Section A) AND from the right (Roger Clegg and a co-author).
Which one will Discriminations take on first?
I haven’t read the paper but I think the finding of a positive correlation between # of black students and # of discrimination complaints to be expected. As the number of black students increases there are more interactions between black and white students and not all of them will be nice.
My Acrobat reader is a bit shaky, but this link should lead to the paper in question.
http://www.nas.org/reports/sup_ct_mich/rothman_et_al.pdf
thank you for your astute comments and facts on why diversity programs are not likely to work. more lengthy response at the screen-name address
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