Conditional Effects of Interracial Interactions on College Student Outcomes

Given the increasing racial diversity among American college students and society, it is critical to promote meaningful interracial interactions during college. Although a burgeoning literature demonstrates the link between interracial interactions and an array of student outcomes, some important issues have been largely overlooked. Most research on interracial interactions does not examine how these effects might vary depending on the groups involved in the interaction. The outcomes for interracial interactions may differ not only between minority and majority students, but also for racial minorities interacting with Whites versus with other people of color. This study explores whether the link between interracial interactions and college outcomes depends upon students\u27 race and the race of students with whom they interact

Missing Piece of the Departure Puzzle: Student-Institution Fit and Intent to Persist

According to prevailing theory and anecdotal evidence, the congruence between institutional attributes and students’ needs, interests, and preferences plays a key role in promoting college satisfaction and retention. However, this assertion has received little direct empirical attention, and the few available studies appear to have some key limitations. This study examined the factor structure and predictive validity of a newly developed student-institution fit instrument, which was designed to avoid the problems in previous research. Confirmatory factor analyses identified several interrelated dimensions of fit, and these dimensions can be combined into a single overall fit index. Moreover, a six-factor structure of student-institution fit is similar at two institutions that differ in terms of size, control, type, region, and religious affiliation. Structural equation modeling analyses show that student-institution fit is associated with greater college satisfaction and lower social isolation; fit also has a positive, indirect effect on intent to persist. Implications for practice and future research are discussed

Diversity Experiences and Perceptions of Climate Among Australian University Students

In the past two decades, the proportion of students of color at American colleges and universities has increased substantially, and similar trends toward diversification are also occurring in other nations (McInnis, 2003). In the context of this burgeoning campus heterogeneity, promoting a positive climate for diversity has become increasingly important. Institutions that have sought to promote racial/ethnic diversity have generally started by increasing the representation of students of color, but many have not been sufficiently prepared to support a more diverse student population (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, & Allen, 1999). Such a lack of support can be quite problematic because perceptions of a hostile campus racial climate are associated with lower college adjustment, sense of belonging, institutional commitment, satisfaction, grades, and persistence for both minority and majority students (e.g., Fischer, 2007; Locks, Hurtado, Bowman, & Oseguera, 2008; Nora & Cabrera, 1996). This evidence suggests that improving campus climate is important for any institution that seeks to improve student success and flourishing. The current study explores the relationship between Australian students’ college diversity experiences and perceived climate

Religious/Worldview Identification and College Student Success

Higher education researchers and practitioners have become increasingly interested in the experiences and outcomes of religious minority students. Most research to date has focused on these students’ religiosity and spirituality, and it has often lumped students from several diverse religions into a single minority group. This study explores the relationship between religious/worldview identification and student success (i.e., college satisfaction, perceived growth, academic achievement, and graduation). Differences between Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Protestants, and students who do not identify with any organized religion are examined using a large, multi-institutional dataset. Religious/worldview identification upon entering college is significantly related to various indicators of student success, and many of these differences persist even when accounting for students’ demographics and precollege achievement

Toward a Cultural Psychological Perspective on Social Class in the United States.

Recent research has illustrated how culture can profoundly shape psychological processes and social interactions. However, relatively little is known about how these processes vary across social class groups in the United States. These dynamics are particularly important for colleges and universities, which both serve as the gateway to middle-class life and foster certain norms and values among their students. In Chapter 2, I propose that middle-class American (MC) contexts emphasize personal control and choice, whereas working-class American (WC) contexts emphasize self-reliance and hard work. Moreover, MC social networks, which are large and mostly voluntary, require a relatively greater attention to social others than do small, mostly involuntary WC networks. In two samples, MC were more likely than WC to attend to situational factors in drawing causal attributions, even when controlling for cognitive ability. Moreover, MC performed better than WC on a task requiring broad visual attention, whereas no social class difference occurred on a focused attention task. In Chapter 3, I argue that WC display well-being primarily through physical health, whereas MC display well-being primarily psychologically. First, these forms of well-being are most coherent in their respective socio-cultural contexts: Correlations among various physical health measures were higher for WC than MC, whereas the reverse was true for psychological well-being measures. Second, correlations between health measures and psychological measures were higher for WC than MC, suggesting that WC are more likely to use their physical health to inform their perceptions of psychological well-being. Third, psychosocial factors were better predictors of physical health for WC than MC, whereas the reverse was true for predicting psychological well-being. Chapter 4 explores the development of psychological well-being (PWB; Ryff, 1989) among first-generation and non-first-generation college freshmen. At the beginning of college, social class differences occurred for only two of the six PWB dimensions, whereas first-generation students scored lower on all dimensions at the end of the first year. The most consistent predictors of change in PWB were forming quality relationships with other students, being challenged in classroom settings, and having hostile interactions with diverse peers. The effects of some college experiences varied across social class.Ph.D.Psychology and EducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/60790/1/nabowman_1.pd

Critical Issues in Higher Education for the Public Good: Qualitative, Quantitative & Historical Research Perspectives

Critical Issues in Higher Education for the Public Good offers new evidence and insights into the complexities of higher education and the public good. This unique collection of award winning authors discusses what is needed in order to actualize higher education for the public good, where higher education and the public are inclusive of multiple constituencies. Issues of race, class, gender, ethnicity, urban environments, and systemic oppression are addressed, along with teaching and learning, study abroad, affirmative action and community-university engagement. This book represents an ongoing commitment to bring new scholarly voices into a public discussion about the relationship that exists between higher education and American society. In organizing the writing project that is reflected in these chapters, we sought to provide original empirical evidence regarding the myriad benefits between higher education and society situated within a contemporary context. The degree to which this goal has been met is a reflection of the insight, scholarship and creativity of the authors represented in these chapters. We all owe them a debt of thanks for what they have brought to their work and for their career-long commitment to higher education for the public good. It has resulted in a book that has local, state and national implications for educational practice, policy and the public; furthermore, this is a book that breaks down old frameworks that needed to be challenged, replacing them with new ideas to be explored and debated.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/ksupresslegacy/1001/thumbnail.jp

Results from EDGES High-Band: II. Constraints on Parameters of Early Galaxies

We use the sky-average spectrum measured by EDGES High-Band ($90-190$ MHz) to constrain parameters of early galaxies independent of the absorption feature at $78$~MHz reported by Bowman et al. (2018). These parameters represent traditional models of cosmic dawn and the epoch of reionization produced with the 21cmFAST simulation code (Mesinger & Furlanetto 2007, Mesinger et al. 2011). The parameters considered are: (1) the UV ionizing efficiency ($\zeta$), (2) minimum halo virial temperature hosting efficient star-forming galaxies ($T^{\rm min}_{\rm vir}$), (3) integrated soft-band X-ray luminosity ($L_{\rm X\,<\,2\,keV}/{\rm SFR}$), and (4) minimum X-ray energy escaping the first galaxies ($E_{0}$), corresponding to a typical H${\rm \scriptstyle I}$ column density for attenuation through the interstellar medium. The High-Band spectrum disfavors high values of $T^{\rm min}_{\rm vir}$ and $\zeta$, which correspond to signals with late absorption troughs and sharp reionization transitions. It also disfavors intermediate values of $L_{\rm X\,<\,2\,keV}/{\rm SFR}$, which produce relatively deep and narrow troughs within the band. Specifically, we rule out $39.4<\log_{10}\left(L_{\rm X\,<\,2\,keV}/{\rm SFR}\right)<39.8$ ($95\%$ C.L.). We then combine the EDGES High-Band data with constraints on the electron scattering optical depth from Planck and the hydrogen neutral fraction from high-$z$ quasars. This produces a lower degeneracy between $\zeta$ and $T^{\rm min}_{\rm vir}$ than that reported in Greig & Mesinger (2017a) using the Planck and quasar constraints alone. Our main result in this combined analysis is the estimate $4.5$~$\leq \log_{10}\left(T^{\rm min}_{\rm vir}/\rm K\right)\leq$~$5.7$ ($95\%$ C.L.). We leave for future work the evaluation of $21$~cm models using simultaneously data from EDGES Low- and High-Band.Comment: Accepted in Ap

Video Games as Time Machines: Video Game Nostalgia and the Success of Retro Gaming

This article conceptually integrates research on the experience of nostalgia—defined as a predominantly positive, social, and past-oriented emotion—into the fold of video game research. We emphasize the role of nostalgia as an explanation for contemporary retro gaming trends, and suggest that nostalgia towards gaming events is a necessary area of research. To those ends, we broadly review existing literature on nostalgia before specifically focusing on media-induced nostalgia, and demonstrate how theoretical and empirical observations from this work can be applied to understand video game nostalgia. In particular, we argue that engaging in older gaming experiences indirectly (via memories) and even directly (via replaying or recreating experiences) elicits nostalgia, which in turn contributes to players’ self-optimization and enhanced well-being. Moreover, as gamers and the medium mature together, nostalgic experiences with the medium are likely to become increasingly prevalent. The broad aim of this article is to offer future directions for research on video game nostalgia and provide a research agenda for research in this area

Supplemental Appendix for "The Enrollment of Racially Minoritized Students in Law School: Factors Predicting Within-School Changes Over Time"

Given the substantial lack of racial diversity within the U.S. legal profession, it is important to understand how to improve the representation of racially minoritized students at law schools. This study uses panel data from the 2010s to consider several types of factors that may shape the number and percentage of incoming law school students from several racially minoritized groups: finances (regarding financial aid and cost of attendance), demographic representation (of current students, faculty, and community members), and rankings (from U.S. News). The results of fixed effects analyses revealed that increases in the representation of Latinx and Asian students as well as Faculty of Color predict subsequent decreases in the percentage of incoming racially minoritized students, which suggests that law schools' efforts to recruit racially minoritized students may depend on recent changes in student and faculty representation. Moreover, increases in the ingroup racial representation within the state (in which the law school is primarily housed) and U.S. News rankings are both associated with greater subsequent numbers of incoming Black and Latinx law students; the provision of conditional scholarships and the combined total of tuition and fees are also significant predictors. These findings have salient implications for policy and practice.Table S1. Descriptive Statistics for All Variables Table S2. Unstandardized Coefficients for Random Effects Analyses Predicting Law School Student Enrollment Percentages among All Students Table S3. Unstandardized Coefficients for Random Effects Analyses Predicting Student Enrollment Count

Experiential Research and Practical Application: A Case of Student Affairs Partnering with Academic Affairs

Excerpt: Learning occurs everywhere. Jernstadt (2004) suggests learning occurs on a continuum comprised of knowledge, recognition, application, and extrapolation (as cited in Keeling, 2006). “In our need to put things into categories, we have classified some parts of higher education as curricular, and other parts as co-curricular, but students just call it college” (Keeling & Associates, 2006, p. vii). Learning Reconsidered argued for the integrated use of higher education’s resources in the education and preparation of the whole student. One of the most critical elements required to accomplish this was the creation or enhancement of strong, collaborative working relationships among academic and student affairs educators. (Steffes & Keeling, 2006, p. 69