ERIC Number: EJ1392552
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 24
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-1546
EISSN: EISSN-1538-4640
The Enrollment of Racially Minoritized Students in Law School: Factors Predicting Within-School Changes over Time
Journal of Higher Education, v94 n5 p557-580 2023
Given the substantial lack of racial diversity within the U.S. legal profession, it is important to understand how to improve the representation of racially minoritized students at law schools. This study uses panel data from the 2010s to consider several types of factors that may shape the number and percentage of incoming law school students from several racially minoritized groups: finances (regarding financial aid and cost of attendance), demographic representation (of current students, faculty, and community members), and rankings (from "U.S. News"). The results of fixed effects analyses revealed that increases in the representation of Latinx and Asian students as well as Faculty of Color predict subsequent decreases in the percentage of incoming racially minoritized students, which suggests that law schools' efforts to recruit racially minoritized students may depend on recent changes in student and faculty representation. Moreover, increases in the ingroup racial representation within the state (in which the law school is primarily housed) and U.S. News rankings are both associated with greater subsequent numbers of incoming Black and Latinx law students; the provision of conditional scholarships and the combined total of tuition and fees are also significant predictors. These findings have salient implications for policy and practice.
Descriptors: Minority Group Students, Student Diversity, Law Schools, Disproportionate Representation, Student Financial Aid, Costs, Student Characteristics, Minority Group Teachers, College Faculty, Predictor Variables, Hispanic American Students, Asian American Students, Student Recruitment, Racial Composition, African American Students, Enrollment, College Choice, Reputation, Diversity, College Admission, Institutional Characteristics, Class Size
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A