Diversity and Student Engagement in a Small Multi-ethnic Liberal Arts University in California
Bazan, Yamileth (Creator)
Problem As the general population of minorities continues to increase nationwide, so has the number of underrepresented racial/ethnic groups qualified to enter higher education. While some public universities are responding to various diversity initiatives and changes, a number of institutions, especially small liberal arts colleges, have been less responsive to these changes in demographics. As liberal arts colleges begin to plan more effectively to respond to a more pluralistic student body, more understanding is needed about the student engagement patterns of these underrepresented groups. This study looks at the engagement patterns of a small liberal arts research university in Southern California that has experienced, within the last fifteen years a demographic shift in its community, faith constituency, and inadvertently its campus. Research Design La Sierra University was chosen as the designated campus for research due to its unique contributions to the literature, since it defines diversity to mean a multiethnic/ racial student body comprised of Hispanics, Asians, White, Multiracial, African American, and Foreign students rather than the traditional definition of diversity meaning a White campus with a small percentage of Black student presence. The student population is structurally diverse in a non-Black and White context and with a diversity density index of .91, as calculated using Chang’s formula. This study uses secondary analysis of 2013 NSSE raw data from La Sierra University to examine Student Engagement and its relationship to gender, class standing, ethnicity, and Student Satisfaction. Descriptive statistics, t-test, analysis of variance (ANOVA), and regression analysis were used to analyze the data set. Using previous research, three of the Student Engagement variables (Character Development, Cross- Racial Interaction, and Curricular/Co-curricular Diversity) were designed to be used for this study and were tested for reliability. Findings The fi
Downloadable Archival Material, Undefined, 2015-01-01T08:00:00Z
Digital Commons @ Andrews University, 2015-01-01T08:00:00Z