New research led by Shaun Harper, a professor at the University of Southern California School of Education, has examined how studies on college campus racial climates have changed since the 1990s.
For their research, Dr. Harper and his co-author Oscar E. Patrón of Indiana University analyzed trends from 140 qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies regarding campus racial climates published over the past three decades. Cumulatively, 383,650 students participated in these research projects.
Among their findings, the authors uncovered a severe lack of research regarding community college campus climates, with the majority of research focusing on four-year colleges and universities. Furthermore, the majority of studies included in the analysis focused on the environments at a single institution.
Consistent throughout the past three decades, students of color reported less favorable campus racial climates than their White peers, particularly at predominantly White institutions. Nonwhite students also consistently reported a lower sense of belonging on campus, as well as negative appraisals of institutional leaders’ responses to hate crimes and other racist incidents. Notably, in recent years, there has been an uptick in studies focused explicitly on racial microaggressions.
Of the studies that focused on cross-racial engagement in campus environments, many verified that students – both students of color and White students – who attend racially diverse institutions have better cognitive, psychosocial, and interpersonal outcomes during and after college.
Based on their analysis, Dr. Harper and Dr. Patrón offer 25 thorough suggestions on new directions for future research on this topic. Most notably, they call for more representation of community colleges in published campus climate studies.
“Across all institution types, trustees and governing board members, presidents, other administrators and staff, and faculty members need high-quality data about how students across all racial groups are appraising and experiencing classrooms and out-of-class environments,” the authors write. “Simply conducting climate assessments and having the data are not enough – practitioners must use what they learn to strategically inform policymaking, practice, and curriculum.”
