Abstract
Many factors facilitate greater learning and understanding in a diverse setting. These factors include various cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. Cultural differences include different sets of values, point of views, and sets of rules. A classroom can be a successful medium in bringing all these factors together. When there are different cultural and ethnic backgrounds, bringing these differences together can pose a challenge. This study explored how students of color (SOC, n = 72) and non-students of color (NSOC, n = 56) perceive classroom diversity by examining trustworthiness, equity, sense of belonging, and facilitating relationships through sharing values and morals. Contrary to predictions, no differences were found in rates of these variables. However, when an analysis of variance was performed to examine differences between all of the racial groups presented, it was found that Asian American students (n = 32) reported a significantly greater sense of belonging than did Black students (n = 20). Correlational analyses showed all variables: trust, sense of belonging, shared values and morals, equity, and facilitating relationships were positively significantly related to each other for the NSOC; however equity and sense of belonging were not significantly correlated for SOC. Overall SOC and NSOC seem to have a similar experience in the classroom; however, differences between Asian American and Black students may be explained by model minority myth.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Education and Learning Worlds of Differences
KEYWORDS
EQUITY, SHARED VALUES/MORALS, TRUST, FACILITATE RELATIONSHIPS, SENSE OF BELONGING
