A study suggests that the prevailing rationale for diversity in higher education, namely that diversity is instrumental to education, is a view preferred by White but not Black Americans, and that the rationale is associated with better educational outcomes for White than Black students. Among the rationales that institutions of higher education use for diversity and inclusion is the instrumental rationale, sanctioned by the US Supreme Court, which states that diversity provides compelling educational benefits and is instrumentally useful. Jordan G. Starck and colleagues investigated the views on such a rationale held by White and Black Americans as well as educational outcomes through a series of eight studies involving a total of 1,200 participants. The authors found that White Americans preferred the instrumental rationale over a moral rationale that, for example, uses intrinsic values, such as justice, to drive diversity and inclusion efforts. Further, surveys of parents and admissions staff indicated an expectation that Black students would fare poorly at universities that use the instrumental rationale instead of the moral rationale. The authors further found that usage of the instrumental rationale was associated with increased disparities in graduation rates between White and Black students. According to the authors, institutions' rationales for inclusion and diversity may have far-reaching implications.
Article #20-13833: "How university diversity rationales inform student preferences and outcomes," by Jordan G. Starck, Stacey Sinclair, and J. Nicole Shelton.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jordan G. Starck, Princeton University, NJ; tel: 609-258-2600; email: jstarck@princeton.edu
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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences