Racial and Ethnic Diversity in Education and Individual Student Development: Understanding the Full Picture in the Era of School Choice

Abstract

A primary through-line of the research literature on the correlates of structural diversity in education has focused on intergroup outcomes, including prejudice reduction and improving attitudes toward racial and ethnic out-groups. Over the past two decades, advances in theory have illustrated how individuals may cognitively adapt to ongoing interactions with diverse others, informing new investigations into the potentially beneficial effects of educational diversity for individual development outside the intergroup context and beyond the impacts of more equitable resource distribution. The current article summarizes the state of research on links between children and youth’s experiences in racially and ethnically diverse schools and classrooms and their individual development in academic, social-emotional, and executive function domains. Overall, the emerging research on these individual effects is promising. Implications within the context of increasing support for school choice are discussed.

Classroom ethnic diversity, teacher support, and peer victimization: Evidence from four European countries

“…The latter finding is in line with prior studies showing that the victimization of ethnic majority students is higher in classrooms with a higher proportion of ethnic minority students (Durkin et al, 2012; Plenty & Johnson, 2017). A possible explanation might be a lower representation of ethnic ingroup members which can trigger social isolation, a decreased sense of peer belonging and therefore greater vulnerability (Rjosk et al, 2017; Rucinski, 2022). We further found no support for ethnic competition theory (Scheepers et al, 2002), which would assume that ethnic majority students show more aggressive behaviour towards ethnic minority students in response to perceived threats (Bayram Özdemir et al, 2018; Vervoort et al, 2010).…”

“…A fourth limitation refers to our measure of victimization which did not capture ethnic victimization so that it remains unclear if students were victimized by cross‐ethnic or same‐ethnic peers, both forms of victimization are equally common in classrooms (Tolsma et al, 2013). Finally, Rucinski (2022) argued in her review of the literature that ethnic diversity effects are likely to differ depending on outcomes, developmental periods, and the socio‐historical and cultural context in which youth grow up.…”

Classroom ethnic diversity, teacher support and peer victimization: Evidence from four European countries

“…This is in line with prior studies showing that the victimization of ethnic majority students is higher in classrooms with a higher share of ethnic minority students (Durkin et al, 2012;Plenty & Johnson, 2017). A possible explanation for the higher levels of ethnic majority victimization at intermediate levels of diversity might be a lower representation of ethnic ingroup members which can trigger social isolation, a decreased sense of peer belonging and therefore greater vulnerability (Rjosk et al, 2017;Rucinski, 2022). Another possible explanation is that the numerical representation of ethnic groups 34 DIVERSITY AND ADJUSTMENT served as a cue for the status of groups and that minority members felt sufficiently empowered to challenge the status of ethnic majority students (Durkin et al, 2012).…”

“…A third limitation refers to the use of self-reports which would ideally be cross-validated by peer nominations (e.g., Plenty & Jonsson, 2017) and/or teacher observations (e.g., Klein & Cornell, 2010). Finally, Rucinski (2022) argued in her review of the literature that ethnic diversity effects are likely to differ depending on outcomes, developmental periods and the socio-historical and cultural context in which youth grow up.…”

Protecting Youth from Racism and Prejudice: Contexts, Interventions, and Future Directions

“…In the next article, Melanie Killen, Katherine Luken Raz, and Sandra Graham (Killen et al, 2021) examine one critical benefit of diverse settings: cross-group friendships. As they detail, “same race/ethnicity friendships can set in motion a process whereby youth develop stronger connections to who they are (racial identity), which in turns gives them the confidence to both embrace and accept outgroup members.” Finally, Christina Rucinski (Rucinski, 2021) examines how racially diverse interactions can have benefits that extend beyond positive intergroup interactions. She notes how children and youth’s experiences in racially and ethnically diverse schools and classrooms can actually improve their individual development in academic, social-emotional, and executive function domains.…”