Exposure to increased diversity has been found to produce beneficial results in both learning and democracy outcomes across races; however, this relationship is more consistent for White students than students of color (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002). Using the data from a campus-wide diversity survey, the relationship between two types of diversity (informal-interactional and classroom) with learning and democracy outcomes was examined in a mid-sized university. Additional analyses were conducted to identify trends in diversity attitude and perception of campus climate toward diversity. Increased classroom diversity and informal-interactional diversity were both found to be related to increased learning and democracy outcomes for White students. For students of color, only classroom diversity was related to increased learning and democracy outcomes. Students of color and females were found to possess more positive attitudes toward diversity. Students of color perceived the more negative campus diversity climate than did White students.
","abstract_html":"<p>Exposure to increased diversity has been found to produce beneficial results in both learning and democracy outcomes across races; however, this relationship is more consistent for White students than students of color (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002). Using the data from a campus-wide diversity survey, the relationship between two types of diversity (informal-interactional and classroom) with learning and democracy outcomes was examined in a mid-sized university. Additional analyses were conducted to identify trends in diversity attitude and perception of campus climate toward diversity. Increased classroom diversity and informal-interactional diversity were both found to be related to increased learning and democracy outcomes for White students. For students of color, only classroom diversity was related to increased learning and democracy outcomes. Students of color and females were found to possess more positive attitudes toward diversity. Students of color perceived the more negative campus diversity climate than did White students.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Williams, Chloe Elizabeth"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Psychological Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Elizabeth Shoenfelt (Director), Reagan Brown, and Amber Schroeder"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2015,"date_issued":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2015-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:52Z","subjects":["classroom diversity","informal-interaction diversity","race","learning outcomes","democracy outcomes","Psychology","Social Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1487","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Elizabeth Shoenfelt (Director), Reagan Brown, and Amber Schroeder"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Williams, Chloe Elizabeth"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychological Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["classroom diversity","informal-interaction diversity","race","learning outcomes","democracy outcomes","Psychology","Social Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1487"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Exposure to increased diversity has been found to produce beneficial results in both learning and democracy outcomes across races; however, this relationship is more consistent for White students than students of color (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002). Using the data from a campus-wide diversity survey, the relationship between two types of diversity (informal-interactional and classroom) with learning and democracy outcomes was examined in a mid-sized university. Additional analyses were conducted to identify trends in diversity attitude and perception of campus climate toward diversity. Increased classroom diversity and informal-interactional diversity were both found to be related to increased learning and democracy outcomes for White students. For students of color, only classroom diversity was related to increased learning and democracy outcomes. Students of color and females were found to possess more positive attitudes toward diversity. Students of color perceived the more negative campus diversity climate than did White students.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Effects of Classroom and Informal-Interactional Diversity on Learning and Democracy Outcomes"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Elizabeth Shoenfelt (Director), Reagan Brown, and Amber Schroeder"],"dc:creator":["Williams, Chloe Elizabeth"],"dc:description.abstract":["Exposure to increased diversity has been found to produce beneficial results in both learning and democracy outcomes across races; however, this relationship is more consistent for White students than students of color (Gurin, Dey, Hurtado, & Gurin, 2002). Using the data from a campus-wide diversity survey, the relationship between two types of diversity (informal-interactional and classroom) with learning and democracy outcomes was examined in a mid-sized university. Additional analyses were conducted to identify trends in diversity attitude and perception of campus climate toward diversity. Increased classroom diversity and informal-interactional diversity were both found to be related to increased learning and democracy outcomes for White students. For students of color, only classroom diversity was related to increased learning and democracy outcomes. Students of color and females were found to possess more positive attitudes toward diversity. Students of color perceived the more negative campus diversity climate than did White students.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1487"],"dc:subject":["classroom diversity","informal-interaction diversity","race","learning outcomes","democracy outcomes","Psychology","Social Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Effects of Classroom and Informal-Interactional Diversity on Learning and Democracy Outcomes"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychological Sciences"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:52Z"}