Assessing attitudes of undergraduate students toward those of differing race or ethnicity

130 Pages·1997·4.3 MB·English

by  Gratto, Katherine Kaufman

ASSESSING ATTITUDES OF UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS TOWARD THOSE OF
DIFFERING RACE OR ETHNICITY
by
KATHERINE KAUFMAN GRATTO
A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA
1997
This is dedicated to Fred, Anthony, Melissa, Audrey,
and Dominic who furnish meaning to my life. Thanks for all
the sacrifices you were willing to extend to me. I love you
all.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are many who have helped me accomplish this
dream. I first want to thank my committee members. Each
had their special wisdom and insights which they freely and
generously shared.
Dr. David Honeyman was the chair of my committee and
the beacon of light when I needed clear perspective, I thank
him for taking me on as one of his doctoral students. I
know I am a misfit to his world of finance and law, yet his
bluntness, confidence in me, and touch with reality always
gave me the incentive to keep going.
Dr. James Doud is thanked for introducing me to the
world of leadership, not only with his teaching but more
importantly with his example. I thank him for showing me
what a servant leader truly is, and for reminding me about
the starfish.
Dr. David Miller will never know how much his kind,
steady guidance has meant to me. He made statistics come
alive for even my brain. His sacrifice of time and patience
will always be remembered.
iii
Dr. Art Sandeen is proof that the field of student
affairs can be truly dedicated to students. I thank him for
friendliness and encouragement when I needed it, and for
epitomizing goodness.
I could never have accomplished this without the
support of my family. I thank Fred for continually
reminding me that this wouldn't be a forever thing, for
praying for me when I was discouraged, and for loving me
even when I was distracted. I appreciate my four children,
Anthony, Melissa, Audrey, and Dominic, for enduring through
the many nights of a mother behind a book or in front of the
computer, and for being the shining lights of my life.
Finally, I thank God for giving me the incentive and
the endurance to reach my goal, for opening my eyes to the
reality of the world, and giving me the willingness to try
to make my corner a little bit better.
IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii
LIST OF TABLES vii
ABSTRACT ix
CHAPTERS
1 THE PROBLEM AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE 1
Introduction I
Statement of the Purpose 4
Limitations of the Study 6
Definition of Terms 7
Justification of the Study 8
Summary 10
2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE 12
Introduction 12
History 13
Response to Diverse Student Populations 16
Campus Policies Dealing with Diversity Issues 20
Campus Climate 28
Summary 39
3 METHOD OF RESEARCH 41
Introduction 41
Statement of Purpose 42
Selection of Sample 43
Collection of Data 45
Research Design 46
Statistical Analysis and Variables 50
Summary 51
V
4 ANALYSIS OF DATA 53
Purpose 53
Research Method 54
Survey Responses 56
Comparison of SAS Forms Between Subjects 59
Comparison of SAS Forms Within Racial Categories 61
Comparison of SAS Five Situations 63
Research Question 1 66
Research Question 2 71
Research Question 3 73
Research Question 4 75
5 CONCLUSIONS, IMPLICATIONS, AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER
RESEARCH 76
Introduction 76
Purpose of Study 76
Survey Instrument 78
Conclusions 80
Implications 87
Suggestions for Further Research 92
Concluding Remarks 94
APPENDICES
A INFORMED CONSENT FORM 99
B LETTER OF REQUEST FOR DR. EDMUND KELLERMAN 100
C LETTER OF REQUEST FOR DR. WILLIAM SEDLACEK 101
D PERMISSION TO USE SAS 102
E PERMISSION TO ACQUIRE SAS 103
F SITUATIONAL ATTITUDE SCALE 104
REFERENCES 114
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 119
VI
LIST OF TABLES
Table page
1. Student Demographic Information: Distribution
by Gender 57
2. Student Demographic Information: Race or
Ethnicity 57
3. Student Demographic Information: Distribution
by Age 58
4. Student Demographic Information: Distribution
by School Year 59
5. Means of Social Situations by Race
Between Subjects 61
6. Comparison of SAS Forms by Race Within Subjects 62
7. Hispanic, Black, White Forms by Race Within Subjects:
HSD 62
8. Within Subject Effects by Race and Gender 63
9. Within Subject Effects of SAS Situation 1:
Race by Gender 64
10. Within Subject Effects of SAS Situation 2:
Race by Gender 64
11. Within Subject Effects of SAS Situation 3:
Race by Gender 65
12. Within Subject Effects of SAS Situation 5:
Race by Gender 66
13. Means of White Student Attitude Survey
by Gender 66
14. Between Subject Effects by Race 67
vii
15. Hispanic, Black, White Forms by Race Between
Subjects 68
16. Means Within Subject by Race for
SAS Situation 1 69
17. Means Within Subject by Gender and Race
For SAS Situation 2 70
18. Means Within Subject by Gender and Race
For SAS Situation 3 70
19. Means Within Subject by Race for
SAS Situation 5 71
20. Means of African American Student Attitude Survey
By Gender 72
21. Means of Hispanic/Latino Student Attitude Survey
By Gender 74
22. Means of Asian American Student Attitude Survey
By Gender 75
viii
Abstract of Dissertation Presented
to the Graduate School of the
University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education
ASSESSING ATTITUDES OF UNDERGRADUATE
STUDENTS TOWARD THOSE OF
DIFFERING RACE OR ETHNICITY
by
Katherine Kaufman Gratto
December 1997
Chairperson: David S. Honeyman
Major Department: Educational Leadership
A great diversity of students are enrolling in
institutions of higher education. With this change of
population, decisions must be made to deal with
intercultural interactions and varying needs of students of
diverse backgrounds.
The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes
of undergraduate students toward those of differing race or
ethnicity on a large research-based campus in the southeast.
There were 265 white, African American, Asian American, and
Hispanic/Latino students who participated in the study.
Each student completed the Situational Attitude Survey
(SAS), as well as personal demographic information. The
Situational Attitude Scale included descriptions of social
situations using black, white, and Hispanic racial or ethnic
categories in the situations. There were five social
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situations for each racial/ethnic category with ten bipolar
semantic differential scales. The students chose the terms
which described how they felt about the social situations
with the three racial/ethnic words interjected in each.
A split plot ANOVA was used to measure the attitude of
these students toward others designated in the survey as
white, black, or Hispanic. The mean scores of the students
indicated that there were significant differences in the
attitude scores of the undergraduates toward those of
differing race or ethnicity. There were also significant
differences in attitude scores between male and female
students. The five social situations included a new
roommate, a date with the man making all of the decisions, a
woman of "loose" reputation, young men loitering on the
street, and a friend's engagement.
The results of the study provided information to help
officials at institutions of higher education become aware
of prejudicial attitudes that may exist on their campuses.
This study, along with reported incidents of racial conflict
on campuses, should serve as an impetus for college
officials to work with students to strive to create a
cooperative community on campus which will ultimately take
this mindset to the greater community.
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