Racial/Cultural Awareness Workshops and Postcollege Civic Engagement: A Propensity Score Matching Approach

• In Event: Multicultural/Multiethnic Education: Experiences of Students in Underrepresented Contexts

Abstract

To what extent do the effects of college diversity experiences persist after graduation? This question has rarely been addressed adequately, because (a) few studies have collected longitudinal data both during and after college, and (b) students self-select into many college experiences, which makes it difficult to discern whether outcomes should be attributed to the experience itself or to pre-existing student characteristics. Therefore, this study used multilevel propensity score analyses to examine the relationships between attending a racial/cultural awareness workshop during college and various civic behaviors and attitudes six years after graduation. Within a longitudinal dataset of 8,634 college alumni from 229 institutions, attending a racial/cultural workshop has significant, positive effects on several postcollege civic outcomes.

Authors

• Nicholas A. Bowman, Bowling Green State University

• Nida Denson, University of Western Sydney

• Julie J. Park, University of Maryland - College Park