Effects of Ethnic Diversity on College Students’ Academic Performance: A Natural Experiment (Poster 1)

• In Event: Sunday Poster Session 11:25 am
  In Poster Session: Promoting Equity and Exploring Inequity in Education

Abstract

This study examined the effects of ethnic diversity in dormitories on the academic performance of college students. Through a natural experiment, we collected and performed regression analyses on the data on the grades of students (N = 20,417) from a university in East China. The Han students with minority roommates scored 0.397 points higher (P < 0.01) than did those without minority roommates. Our heterogeneity analysis revealed that the effects of ethnic diversity vary over time and by course type and student subgroup. These empirical results support the positive effects of ethnic integration on academic performance.

Authors

• Yun Zhou, Shanghai Jiao Tong University

• Zi ming Liu

• Feng-Kuang Chiang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University