In search of the beloved community: Understanding the dynamics of student interaction across racial and ethnic communities.

Abstract

Many have held out the hope that the hallowed halls of higher education are the key to bridging racial difference, given the atmosphere of reason, inquiry and collegiality. Scholars and the popular media have criticized diverse campuses for breeding ethnocentrism and self-segregation among college students. Although emerging research suggests that students do have a range of diversity experiences on campus, few studies have sought to understand students' pre-college experiences with diverse others. The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of the relationship between pre-college experiences, values, beliefs, and behaviors and the amount of interaction students engaged in prior to college. Through survey data of 7,000 first-year students at four public universities, the study investigates how students' values, beliefs, experiences, and behaviors relate to their frequency of pre-college contact with diverse others. The sample for this study include White, Black, Latino, and Asian American/Pacific Islander students in the entering class of 2000 at four public institutions. Institutions include: one historically Black university, one Hispanic-serving university, and two predominantly White universities located throughout the United States. Four outcome variables were identified: amount of interaction with Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders. Multivariate analyses consisted of twenty ordinary least squares regression equations, one for each interaction outcome measure specified in the model. Findings extend the work of Allport (1954), Blau (1977), and Massey, Charles, Lundy, and Fisher (2003). Findings include: (1) geographic location and varying institutional contexts produce different patterns of interaction, (2) intragroup interaction is substantial across all groups and likely to continue in college unless patterns are re-engineered by college experiences, (3) students of different racial/ethnic groups do have distinct, varying patterns of cross-racial interaction and (4) the model is less predictive at minority-serving institutions and for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Latinos. In addition, all groups appear to have substantial interaction with Whites. Consistent with other recent studies, results illustrate that many students are relatively unprepared for the diversity they will likely encounter in college.