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Do Diversity Courses Make a Difference? A Critical Examination of College Diversity Coursework and Student Outcomes

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Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research

Part of the book series: Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research ((HATR,volume 32))

Abstract

Colleges and universities can play a critical role in shaping intergroup dynamics in an era of increased racial heterogeneity in the United States. One avenue through which institutions can prepare college students for participation in an equitable and just society is through diversity courses. Diversity coursework holds a unique position on many campuses as a shared – and sometimes introductory – experience to issues of difference for college students. While an increasing number of studies explore how diversity courses might affect college students, no systematic review has considered the extent to which diversity courses predict a broad range of student outcomes in higher education. Our search and selection criteria resulted in 92 primary studies examining the relationship between diversity courses and student outcomes over the span of 25 years (i.e., 1990–2014). The majority of the research reported mixed findings, which is due to the variation in the outcome(s) examined, diversity course(s) examined, research design, and analytic approach. The mixed findings are almost exclusively a combination of positive and nonsignificant results, with only a handful of significant negative relationships across hundreds—and perhaps over 1000—effect sizes reviewed here.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Some papers conducted multiple studies, so these have been included in more than one category.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Sciences & Psychology, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia

    Nida Denson

  2. University of Iowa, N491 Lindquist Center, Iowa City, IA, 52242, USA

    Nicholas A. Bowman

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  1. Nida Denson
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  2. Nicholas A. Bowman
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Correspondence to Nida Denson .

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  1. Department of Educational Policy and Leadership Studies N491 Lindquist Center, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

    Michael B. Paulsen

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Denson, N., Bowman, N.A. (2017). Do Diversity Courses Make a Difference? A Critical Examination of College Diversity Coursework and Student Outcomes. In: Paulsen, M. (eds) Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research. Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, vol 32. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48983-4_2

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