ERIC Number: EJ1296742
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-2227-7102
EISSN: N/A
Tipping Point: Perceptions of Diversity in Black and White
Grier-Reed, Tabitha; Houseworth, James; Moody, James; QuiƱones, Miguel
Education Sciences, v11 Article 241 2021
By 2044, the USA is projected to be a majority-minority nation. Research suggests that when people of color reach 40-60% of the population, a tipping point occurs in which white individuals experience a collective existential threat and threat to their status and resources, resulting in more negative attitudes toward diversity. Institutions of higher education are microcosms of society. We were interested in how perceptions of diversity might differ across two universities--one that had reached the tipping point of only 50% white Americans; 543 black and white undergraduates completed items from the Diverse Learning Environment Core Survey measuring perceptions of belonging, diversity, and discrimination. We found that white students in the more diverse context were less satisfied with diversity on campus than their white counterparts (at the less diverse university); moreover, these students reported the highest level of discrimination in the study--even higher than that of black students in the less diverse context. These findings highlight the ways in which increasing representation and enfranchisement of racially and culturally different others may result in feelings of disenfranchisement for white Americans. With implications for the larger society, we argue that centering and deconstructing whiteness and white racial socialization is essential for the next era of equity and diversity aimed at redressing structural inequality.
Descriptors: Student Attitudes, Racial Attitudes, African American Students, White Students, Diversity, Undergraduate Students, Racial Bias, Racial Discrimination, Institutional Characteristics, College Environment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
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Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
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