Meera E. Deo

Does Diversity at Undergraduate Institutions Influence Student Outcomes

Using two separate samples, this study establishes and replicates a model of the influence of two types of educational diversity on student outcomes. Study 1, using survey data regarding undergraduate experiences from a volunteer sample of 1,963 incoming law students, confirms measurement models for diversity and outcome constructs and tests models predicting student outcomes from Classroom Diversity and Contact Diversity. Study 2 utilizes data from a nationally representative sample of 6,100 incoming law students to replicate results from Study 1. Both studies find a positive relationship between diversity and educational outcomes. Results suggest that institutions of higher education should support informal interactions between students of diverse backgrounds and should encourage students to enroll in courses dealing with diversity.

Everyday Discrimination in a National Sample of Incoming Law Students

Everyday discrimination experiences are associated with negative mental and physical health, less positive cross-racial counseling relationships, and alienation in educational environments for underrepresented racial and ethnic groups. This report describes the prevalence and experiential and attitudinal correlates of self-reported everyday discrimination in a national sample of over 8,000 incoming students from 64 U.S. ABA-accredited law schools. Race/ethnicity, gender, past lifetime discrimination, neighborhood context, beliefs about societal discrimination experienced by minorities, and expectations about future professional encounters with racial discrimination were associated with reported everyday discrimination. Parental racial socialization and affirmative action support did not show associations. These data provide diversity officers and admissions professionals with a descriptive snapshot of this experiential diversity that exists as students begin their legal education. This diversity may provide insight into student differences in managing of academic stress, forming relationships with faculty and students, and assessing the quality of the educational experience.