The Case for More Faculty of Color: Educational Impacts of Racial/Ethnic Matching of Students and Faculty

2016 4th Biannual APA Division 45 Research Conference

Jasmín D. Llamas, Ph.D.Khoa Nguyen, M.A.

Santa Clara UniversityAlisia T. Tran, Ph.D.

Arizona State University

Palo Alto, CA | July 7–9, 2016Co-hosted by:Stanford University & Palo Alto University

• Background• Brief Literature Review• Present Model• Results• Conclusions and Implications

Presentation Outline

2016 4th Biannual APA Division 45 Research Conference Palo Alto, CA | July 7–9, 2016

Need for more faculty of color has gained national attention

Increases in student diversity over past 20 years

Yet, academic disparities remain Increasing faculty diversity may address

these disparities

Introduction

Few researchers have studied the direct impact of faculty match on student performance.

Current Study: Faculty and Student Diversity Racial/Ethnic Climate Academic Outcomes

Current study

Faculty-student interactions are important for academic outcomes

Some suggest students perform better with instructors of same race/ethnicity Less likely to drop a course More likely to pass

Only 22% of full-time faculty are of color Can be less than 10% in some disciplines

Limited opportunities for students of color to have a faculty of their same race/ethnicity

Faculty Match

Student diversity is the core value for many universities

Diverse campuses has positive outcomes for all students Collaborative learning, enhanced intellectual

development and outcomes, greater college satisfaction

Lack of diversity has negative outcomes for students of color

Campus Diversity

Campus climate impacts student retention, persistence, and academic performance

Students of color can face unique stressors Discrimination, stereotypes, racism,

microaggressions Positive climate can be an important

mediator between college experience and academic outcomes

Campus Racial/Ethnic Climate

Proposed Model

Campus Diversity

GPA Graduation

Faculty MatchRacial/Ethnic

Climate

Professor

CampusStudent

Proposed Model

Campus Diversity

GPA Graduation

Faculty MatchRacial/Ethnic

Climate

Professor

CampusStudent

Methods

Participants and Procedures National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen (5 waves) Asian (N=959), Latina/o (N=916), African American (N=1051) 60% female

Variables Campus Diversity Faculty Match Campus Climate: students, professors, campus GPA Graduation

Results

Campus Diversity

GPA Graduation

.06*

-.09*

-.09**

.06*

.28**.05*

.83**

.15**

Faculty MatchRacial/Ethnic

Climate

Professor

CampusStudent.68**

.76**

χ2(11)=13.65, p>.05; RMSEA=.01, (CI=0-.02); SRMR=.01; CFI=.99; TLI=.99

* p<.05** p<.01

Results

Campus Diversity

GPA Graduation

.06*

-.09*

-.09**

.06*

.28**.05*

.83**

.15**

Faculty MatchRacial/Ethnic

Climate

Professor

CampusStudent.68**

.76**

Highlights importance of faculty and student diversity for student success

Findings support existing theories for the need of faculty diversity to improve student achievement

Diversity alone is not sufficient, climate matters Many institutions have made commitments to

increase faculty diversity Hiring practices Burnout

Conclusions

Contact information:Jasmín Llamas, Ph.D.Assistant Professor

Santa Clara University jllamas@scu.edu

2016 4th Biannual APA Division 45 Research ConferencePalo Alto, CA | July 7–9, 2016

Co-hosted by:Stanford University & Palo Alto University