Researching the educational benefits of diversity

Researching the educational benefits of diversity is necessary in order to offer evidence to judges, attorneys, and policymakers to uphold and support the consideration of race in college admissions. It is also important so that campuses continue to develop and refine diversity initiatives aimed at improving the success of all students. There are many different ways to research the educational benefits of diversity. Studies have examined student and faculty perceptions of the educational benefits of diversity, the links between monetary and nonmonetary returns to students, schools, and society and their diversity experiences in college, as well as the links between diversity experiences in college and various benefits. Experimental research has also been conducted in this area. Most of the findings from the research in this field suggest that experiences with diversity in higher education result in significant benefits on learning and democracy outcomes. This paper offers several examples of previous studies, as well as recommendations and considerations for institutions interested in designing and carrying out their own research studies on the educational benefits of diversity.

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