Educational Trajectories and Outcomes of Multiracial College Students

Abstract

Although higher education research has identified racial/ethnic disparities in college enrollment and degree completion, few studies investigate the educational outcomes of multiracial students relative to monoracial student groups. This paper begins to fill this gap and aims to open a conversation about the precarious state of data collection and empirical research on the growing multiracial population. Using several waves from the Educational Longitudinal Study (ELS) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health), we center multiracial college students in our empirical analysis, which investigates the following questions: (1) how do enrollment rates and patterns of enrollment based on institutional type differ, if at all, for multiracial college students relative to monoracial college students? and (2) how does retention and overall degree attainment differ between multiracial and monoracial groups of college students? Our analyses identify several trends that suggest that multiracial people enroll in college at significantly lower rates, are more likely to enroll in private colleges and universities and four-year institutions, and are less likely to earn bachelor’s degrees relative to other racial groups.

Defining mixed-race college students: Multiracial (re)categorization and the visibility of graduation gaps.

“…We found that the statistically significant differences in graduation odds using self-selected categories did not mirror the same analysis when performed with data that adhere to IPEDS reporting standards. While the use of disparate survey data sources may account for the differences in Mitchell and Warren's (2022) findings, the present study yielded contradictory results from the same data set of students who are categorized by race/ethnicity in two distinct ways. Yeilding different findings about multiracial student outcomes across multiple data sources highlights the differential micro-racialization (Harris, 2016) of these students based on the needs and purpose of a given quantitative instrument.…”

“…Building on Mitchell and Warren’s (2022) findings, this study suggests that measuring graduation gaps related to multiracially catergorized students with multiple data sources can produce contradictory results. We found that the statistically significant differences in graduation odds using self-selected categories did not mirror the same analysis when performed with data that adhere to IPEDS reporting standards.…”

“…While some studies compare the academic challenges and barriers reported by multiracial students to that of their monoracial peers (e.g., Harris & BrckaLorenz, 2017; Smith & Maton, 2015, Stevens et al, 2018), few studies utilize inferential statistics to predict the graduation likelihood of multiracial students in relation to monoracial peers. Utilizing survey data from multiple waves of the Education Longitudinal Study (ELS), Mitchell and Warren (2022) found that multiracial college students had approximately 10% lower predicated probability of earning a bachelor’s degree or higher than monoracial reference groups, but this finding was not replicated in their parallel analysis of survey data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). While the ELS instruments allowed students to self-report more than one race and gave researchers the opportunity to triangulate the self-reported racial background of students’ parents (see Mitchell & Warren, 2022), data on respondents in college were collected via follow-up survey in 2006, precluding the inclusion of institutionally reported two or more races data that align with the current IPEDS guidance.…”

Mental health differences between multiracial and monoracial college students in the United States: Emerging racial disparities

“…Part of these efforts to understand multiracial identity requires deliberate examination of ‘multiracial’ as a heterogenous group, which may be achieved by pooling years of data for statistical power. In doing so, we may be able to examine multiracial identity through an intersectional lens, to explore how multiracial mental health may be conditional on gender and sexuality (Felipe et al, 2022; Paz Galupo et al, 2019) and socioeconomic status (Bratter & Kimbro, 2013; Hitlin et al, 2006; Mitchell & Warren, 2022). Moreover, there is rich qualitative research on the lived experiences of multiracial individuals (Franco et al, 2020; Museus et al, 2015), which should be included in interdisciplinary conversations about how to advance efforts to address multiracial mental health.…”