Can We All Get Along? How College Impacts Students' Sense of the Importance of Promoting Racial Understanding. ASHE Annual Meeting Paper.

This study, using data collected from 18,817 college students by the American Council on Education and the Higher Education Research Institute, addresses the extent to which college impacts students' sense of the importance of promoting racial understanding. Multiple regression analysis is used to study the manner in which various background characteristics, experiences, involvements, and college characteristics are related to the development of this particular attitude toward diversity. Specifically, the development of this attitude is mediated by many variables that are independent of the student's race, or any other background characteristics, and almost entirely dependent on the sorts of activities and courses she or he elects. These findings strongly support the notion that students' college activities, courses, and involvements are highly predictive of attitude formation regarding issues of diversity, even after controlling for other influences--a finding that provides support for the injection of ethnic/gender studies courses into the curriculum, and the provision of venues for the discussion of diversity issues. Contains 11 references. (Author/GLR)