“Diversity and Its Discontents”: A Report on Graduate Student Experiences in PhD-Granting Institutions

ASA Annual Meeting 2012Denise A. Segura

Key Questions

• Are African American, Latina/o, and White students equally satisfied with their graduate programs?

• Do graduate students value racial-ethnic diversity

differently and if so, how is this related to program satisfaction?

• Do racial-ethnic minority students report more discrimination than White students?

• Are there perceived differences in the ways that Minority and White students are mentored & professionalized?

Procedures

• Online Survey • Administered Summer 2009 by UCSB

Social Science Survey Research Center• 22 doctoral programs in sociology• 1473 students surveyed• 685 respondents, response rate=44%• MFP students = 33/73

Socio-Demographic Characteristics of the RespondentsWhite

(n = 338)Latina/o(n = 82)

African American(n = 86)

Asian(n = 78)

% Female 64 60 66 67

% Male 36 40 31 32

Mean age 30 31.5 31 31

Average years in program 4.1 5.2 4.7 4.8

% U.S. citizen 93.5 93 95 54

% ≥ College grad – Mom 62 41.5 43 44

% ≥ College grad – Dad 66 35 35 52.5

% < High School – Mom 3 27 8 19

% < High School – Dad 4 38 15 6

“Top 3 reasons students go to Grad School”

African American Latino White

Contribute to the advancement of

minorities in the US

Grow intellectually Grow intellectually

Grow Intellectually Contribute to my community

Improve occupational

mobility

Improve occupational

mobility

Contribute to the advancement of

minorities in the US

Make a contribution to the field

Program Satisfaction(1= very dissatisfied to 4 = very satisfied)

0

1

2

3

4

White

African Am

Latina/o

*

*p < .05

Importance of racial-ethnic diversity in enrollment decision (1=not at all important to 4=very important)

0

1

2

3

DepartmentDiversity

Faculty of Color

White

African Am

Latina/o*

*

*p < .001 *p < .01

Means (SD) associated with the Values of Diversity Variables (1=Not at all represented to 4 = very well represented)

White (W)(n = 335)

African American

(AA)(n = 86)

Latina/o (L)

(n=81)

P<.05

“Too few faculty of color” (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree)

3.0 (.9) 3.5 (.9) 3.5 (.8) W<AA, L

Race representation in courses (range 2 to 8)↑

6.0 (1.4) 5.2 (1.4) 5.6 (1.5) W<AA

Race representation in faculty research

3.4 (.7) 3.1 (.8) 3.1 (.7) W<AA, L

Race representation in student research

3.5 (.7) 3.3 (.8) 3.2 (.7) W<AA, L

How often have you experienced discrimination because of your race/ethnicity?

0

1

2

Ethnicity

Fre

qu

ency White

African Am

Latino

*

Finding: White students reported experiencing racial discrimination significantly less frequently than Latino & African Americans

*p < .001

How often have you experienced discrimination because of your research interest?

0

1

2

Ethnicity

Fre

qu

ency White

African Am

Latino*

Finding: Latino students reported experiencing discrimination more oftencompared to White students.

*p < .01

“I feel that (1) White or (2) Racial-Ethnic-minority students are given advantages in this department that discriminate

against other students.” (1=strongly disagree to 4=strongly agree)

0

1

2

3

Agree Whiteadvantage

Agree minorityadvantage

White

African Am

Latina/o

**

*p < .001

*

Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Program Satisfaction from Peer Social Climate Variables

White Students (n=311)

Students of Color

(n = 235)

β Sig β Sig

Respect among students .19 .01 .16 .05

Acceptance by peers .21 .001 .33 .001

Discrimination from peers

0 ns .03 ns

Perceived White student advantage

.01 ns -.19 .01

Perceived Racial-Ethnic Minority advantage

-.25 .001 -.02 ns

How often do you receive guidance and mentoring from faculty regarding: opportunities to collaborate on research; (2) co-author; (3) obtain grants (4) apply for fellowships; (5) publish?

0123456789

White

African Am

Latina/o

*

*p < .05

Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Program Satisfaction from Faculty Mentoring Variables

White Students(n = 282)

African American (n = 66)

Latina/o(n = 74)

β Sig β Sig β Sig

I. Frequency of Mentoring

.47 .001 .40 .01 .40 .001

II. Advice regarding academic survival

.17 .001 .20 ns .20 ns

III. Respect from Faculty

.21 .001 .09 ns .09 ns

Career Preparation and Expectations (% students)

White Latina/o African American

MFP¹

Have published article(s) 44 37 40 55

Presented at a professional meeting

81 82 85 100

Completely certain of finishing their PhD¹

79 67* 85 90

Expect to be employed at Research I university

47 44 41 39

Perceive it will be “easy” to get the job they want

26 35 16* ----

¹Due to small size of MFP respondents, statistical tests for significance were not undertaken involving this group.

Key Findings• Faculty & departmental diversity more important

in the enrollment decisions of African Americans & Latinas/os compared to White students.

• African Americans feel it will be “less easy to get the job they want

• Graduate student satisfaction is significantly predicted by increased mentoring.

• Latinas/os tend to report lower levels of faculty mentorship and professional guidance than other groups.

• Perceived “other” race-ethnic group advantage is negatively associated with program satisfaction.

A Safe Space to Dialogue Needed

“Graduate students are in a very precarious situation as they are not really able to express their concerns regarding the department. If changes need to be made whether structural, cultural or social - how do the students vocalize their concerns when power differentials are definitely at play. It appears that females and students of color are constantly walking on eggshells with regard to their present and future careers.” (#565)

Acknowledgements• Funding provided by the American Sociological

Association and UC Santa Barbara’s Institute for Social, Behavioral and Economic Research.

• Survey administered by UC Santa Barbara’s Social Science Survey Research Center (SSRC)

• Special thanks to Dr. Laura Romo, UCSB Gevirtz Graduate School of Education for her leadership in data analysis and Dr. Roberta Spalter-Roth for her advice on survey construction and analysis.

• Co-PIs are Denise Segura, Scott Brooks, and Jean Shin. • Full SREM Report at:

http://www.asanet.org/Final_ASA_SREM_Committee_Report_2011.pdf