7. Teachers help students acquire the skills they need to learn with and from students of different racial and ethnic groups.
Racially and ethnically diverse schools and classrooms offer students unique opportunities to develop valuable abilities to work with and learn from people different from themselves. In addition, diverse learning environments offer students opportunities to develop cognitive capabilities, the ability to identify and analyze complex problems that students in racially and ethnically homogeneous schools do not have. However, these benefits from diverse schools are not automatic; they depend on the proactive efforts of teachers and school administrators.
It would be surprising if racial and ethnic differences did not result in intergroup tension and conflict. Students bring with them to school many of the tensions that exist in their communities. Obviously, racial tensions will impede students' opportunities to learn from their peers and may lead to disruptive behavior in schools and classrooms. So, teachers need to be conscious of instructional strategies that foster the development of intercultural competence.
Explore this resource first
Read a review of research (endorsed by more than 500 social scientists) on the effects of racial and ethnic diversity in schools on racial understanding and the reduction of prejudice. This review was included in a legal brief filed on behalf of the defendants in the 2007 Supreme Court case that dealt with desegregation in Seattle and Jefferson County, Kentucky.
Effects of Diverse Learning Opportunities on Academic and Intellectual Outcomes
The same Supreme Court brief includes a review of research on the effects of racial and ethnically diverse schools on critical thinking and academic achievement. Read that segment of the brief.
