Assessment of Changes in Multicultural Awareness and Behavior in Three Undergraduate Majors

• In Event: Multicultural/Multiethnic Education SIG: Contemporary Topics in Postsecondary Education

Abstract

Bowman (2010) argues that “college diversity experiences may exert a significant, lasting impact on students’ sense of self” with significant cognitive changes increasing receptiveness to diversity issues. With this theoretical framework in mind, we investigated psychology students exposed to sociocultural coursework compared to engineering and computer science majors to examine the extent to which their curriculum may have been associated with increased understanding and awareness of multicultural issues and privilege. In the present sample (N = 431), psychology students enrolled in classes meeting a curricular sociocultural requirement scored significantly higher than both engineering and computer science students on strongly suggest that curricular experiences may be a necessary springboard to influence students’ attention and care toward multicultural issues.

Authors

• Matthew R. Lee, James Madison University

• Alex M. Borgella, James Madison University