The Effect of School Culture on Students' Experiences: The Value of Diversity and Inclusion in Schools and What Can Be Done to Increase It

Abstract

My research highlights the crucial role of an inclusive school culture on students’ attitudes, behaviors and wellbeing. The first paper demonstrates the importance of school culture by showing its impact on students' attitudes and their perceptions of others' attitudes towards marginalized groups. We found that while there are no significant differences in personal attitudes towards LGB+ athletes between students at a sports university and those at a general education university, students at the sports university perceive others' attitudes towards LGB+ athletes more negatively. This indicates a need for schools to critically examine how their values and norms may disproportionately affect certain groups. The second paper illustrates that fostering a diverse and inclusive school culture is beneficial for all students. It reveals that when students, regardless of whether they have privileged or marginalized identities, feel that people in their school respect differences, they experience better academic and well-being outcomes. Despite strong evidence supporting the benefits of an inclusive school culture, its positive impact on all students is often overlooked. The third paper explores discussions about teaching race and finds that these discussions tend to focus primarily on students of color. Study 1 shows that school districts with higher proportions of students of color are more likely to include race in their mission statements. Study 2 finds that people generally think of students of color when considering the adoption of a diverse curriculum. In Study 3, informing people that a curriculum increased awareness of racism led them to recognize that White students would also benefit from its adoption. Overall, our work underscores the value of an inclusive school culture and provides insights into how such practices can be more widely adopted.