Assessing the Value of Climate Assessments: Progress and Future Directions Sylvia Hurtado Kimberly A. Griffin Lucy Arellano Marcela Cuellar Higher Education Research Institute University of California at Los Angeles Wednesday, May 28th, 2008 2008 Annual Forum Seattle, WA 1 Presentation Goals Introduce diversity frameworks
Climate Practices Outcomes Synthesize racial/ethnic diversity research Evaluation of diversity assessments New directions 2 Background Advancing progress toward diversity goals, becomes more complex with increasing diversity Diversity/climate studies part of evidencebased decision-making, planning/evaluation Evidence on the benefits of diversity (e.g. Michigan Study and use of CIRP data)
3 Research Questions 1. What are the central findings of diversity research? 2. How are campuses assessing the racial climate, the efficacy of diversity-oriented practice, and diversity-related outcomes? Methodology Critical Literature Review Summarize and identify limitations Over 80 manuscripts Peer reviewed articles or dissertations Quantitative survey
methodology Findings addressed diversity: Survey Assessment 70+ surveys Examine diversity measures Phase 1: identify diversity themes Phase 2: determine depth and breadth Climate
Practices Outcomes 5 Breakdown of Surveys 6 Multi-Campus Surveys ACT College Outcomes Survey ACT Student Opinions Survey Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement Campus Life in America Survey (2004) CIRP Freshman Survey
CIRP College Senior Survey CIRP Your First College Year College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ) EBI Climate Survey National Study of Student Success in Community Colleges Noel-Levitz Institutional Priorities Survey Noel-Levitz Student Satisfaction Survey (4 yr college and university) National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Preparing Students for a Diverse Democracy (2000)
Preparing Students for a Diverse Democracy (2002) 7 Campus Racial Climate Government/Policy Context Sociohistorical Context Historical Legacy of Inclusion/Exclusion Structural Diversity Psychological Climate
Behavioral Dimension Institutional Context (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, & Allen, 1999) 8 Assessing Campus Racial Climate Structural Diversity First step Necessary, but not sufficient Linked to behavioral climate and outcomes Population and representation
Diversity scorecard Institutional priorities and commitments Rate your satisfaction with: The racial/ethnic diversity of the student body The racial/ethnic diversity of faculty (CIRP Your First College Year) 10 Psychological Climate Positionality shapes perceptions Hostile climate = negative outcomes Limited research on Asian, Latina/o, and
Native Americans Highly represented across surveys Same as overall climate? Targeted assessments Agree or disagree: Diversity issues prevent some people here from taking full advantage of what the university has to offer (CLASS) To what degree do you believe your contributions to class discussion are devalued? 11 Behavioral Climate Diverse interactions
lead to positive outcomes Long term effects Frequency and quality Attention to context Benefits of longitudinal design How often have you had serious conversations with students of a different race or ethnicity than your own? (NSSE, CSEQ, CIRP) To what extent have you had guarded, cautious interactions with students in a racial/ethnic group other than your own? (Diverse Democracy, CIRP) 12 Diversity Related Practices Institutional Strategic Initiatives
Community Outreach Academic Support Curriculum Co-Curricular Activities Safe Space Initiatives Integrative Learning 13 Practices Limited literature Programs studied: Curriculum Co-curricular Programs Integrative Learning Related to positive outcomes
Limited attention on surveys Few longitudinal assessments Few multi-campus efforts Lack of attention to process Please indicate the degree to which you participated in the activities below during your first two years of college: Theme dorms Racial/ethnic oriented courses (CLASS) In how many of the courses you teach do you include the following: Readings on racial/ethnic issues (CIRP Faculty Survey) 14
Assessing Diversity Practice Measures Outcomes Traditional outcomes Citizenship in a multicultural society Emerging construct Attitudes as outcomes 16 Outcomes Cognitive Socio-Cognitive
Citizenship in a Multicultural Society Values and Attitudes Analytical problem solving Leadership skills Pluralistic orientation* Civic values Critical thinking Cultural awareness
Civic contributions Commonality of values with different groups Openness to diversity and challenge Social identity awareness Interest in equity and social justice Tolerance of differences Attributional complexity*
Self-efficacy for social change Voting behavior Attitudes towards different identity groups Sociohistorical thinking Perspective taking skills Political involvement Knowledge about different racial/ethnic groups
Reduction of intergroup anxiety Social action engagement Intellectual and social self confidence Conceptions of democracy 17 Rate yourself on each of the following traits as compared with the average person your age: Ability to see the world from someone elses perspective
Tolerance of others with different beliefs Openness to having my own views challenged Ability to discuss and negotiate controversial issues Ability to work cooperatively with diverse people (Plurastic Orientation Scale: Diverse Democracy, 2002; CIRP Your First College Year)
Descriptions: (Very Much Like Me, Not At All Like Me ) I am interested in understanding how my own thinking works when I make judgments about people I think a lot about the influence that society has on my behavior (Attributional Complexity Scale: Diverse Democracy 2002) Outcomes Traditional outcomes Citizenship in a multicultural society Emerging construct Attitudes as outcomes Overlap with predispositions Attitudes-driven Multi-campus surveys
Broad assessments Student assessments of impact Hybrid models 19 Assessing Outcomes Future Directions in Research Diversity broadly defined Climate
Multidimensionality Faculty and staff experiences Going beyond Black and White Practice What works? Why and how do they work? Outcomes Comprehensive outcomes linked to citizenship in a multicultural society
21 Moving Towards a New Survey Integrated assessment of climate, diversity practice, and outcomes Inclusive of diverse social identities Modules targeting specific groups Depth of experience Longitudinal Widely available 22 Thank you! For more information or a copy of this paper please contact: Higher Education Research Institute www.heri.ucla.edu HERI New Papers 3005 Moore Hall, Box 951521
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1521 [email protected] Topics for Discussion What do you want and need in a diversity assessment? How can we make this information available? Does our categorization of outcomes resonate with your needs? 24
