The Impact of Diversity Courses on Student Attitudes Toward Sexual Orientation and Racial Diversity.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of enrollment in diversity courses on undergraduate students’ attitudes about race/ethnicity and sexual orientation, and to determine if influences on these attitudes are the same for two cohorts of students, one decade apart, at the same institution.

Survey data come from two studies: The Undergraduate Experience at Michigan begun in 1990 and the Preparing College Students for a Diverse Democracy Project begun in 2000. Both surveys measure the impact of diversity-related experiences in the first and second years of respondents’ undergraduate education. Both samples were representative of Michigan’s student populations, and included 905 cases from the first cohort and 757 cases from the second cohort.

The results show that enrollment in diversity courses had a significant effect on attitudes about race/ethnicity. Although enrolling in a diversity course did not have a direct effect on attitudes about sexual orientation, the course experience appears to work indirectly through the formation of racial attitudes during college. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) further indicates that students’ attitudes regarding sexual orientation at entry had a significant and positive influence on their belief that universities fulfill the real purpose of higher education by including a multicultural perspective in the curriculum. Student attitudes regarding race/ethnicity at entry did not influence this measure of campus mission, but were highly positive in the second year of study. SEM analyses of the source variable (comparing both cohorts) showed significant relationships for both attitude measures at entry but no direct relationship with either second-year measure.

The study contributes to our understanding of how diversity-focused coursework promotes the development of an understanding and respect for difference. These findings suggest that student participation in diversity courses and the resulting development of positive changes in attitudes toward race/ethnicity and sexual orientation can influence their understanding of the campus commitment to diversity. The results thus offer important implications for educators concerned with cultivating positive attitudes toward diverse students and in preparing students to participate in a diverse democracy.