Transcript Creating a Diverse Approach to the Sophomore Year

An Assessment of an
Inclusive Community:
Affirming the Living
Learning Environment
Marguerite McClinton, Ed.D
Washington and Lee University
Presentation Format
A brief description of the institution
 Getting the Grant!
 The purpose for starting a “Content of
Character Workshop” at W&L
 Program structure & results of pre-post
test
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What about at W&L
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In Lexington, Virginia (isolated)
Over 1000 courses all of which is taught by a
professor. Washington and Lee has a
student/faculty ratio of 11:1 (intense academic
experience)
1766 FTE Undergraduate students with 889
men and 877 women (small liberal arts school)
The racial/ethnic makeup of W&L is:
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Non-Resident Aliens
Black, non-Hispanic
American Indian or Alaskan Native
Asian or Pacific Islander
Hispanic
White, non-Hispanic
Multiracial or Unknown
(not very diverse)
3.6%
4.4%
.3%
3.3%
1.2%
86.6%
.6%
So why at W&L
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Each institution has its specific cultural and
social dynamics. One other major issue that
affects the community is that there is over 80%
of our student population is Greek. In order to
be a part of the system and subscribe to the
social dynamics some students find the social
scene a challenge to navigate, especially at times
our students of underrepresented populations.
Key Point
We, as an institution, have been disappointed:
•Student media
•Comments made in the classroom
•Informal discussion among peers and in open
forums
•Parents and alumni who have made racial and
inappropriate comments about admission
standards of the University and the worthiness
of students of color attending the institution.
Getting the Grant from ACS?
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The purpose of the event would be to educate
our Greek student leaders and new members of
the Greek community to basic issues
surrounding diversity. Since the inception of
four new Black Greek organizations, we have
struggled with insensitive comments toward
students of color and students from different
ethnic and racial backgrounds
Developing the Program
Advisory Council
 VCCJ
 Partnering/Coalition
 Sponsors: Leadership Development, Office
of Multicultural Affairs, IFC, Panhellenic,
Office of Greek Life and Student
Activities, ACS, Campus Activities,
Department of Psychology
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Program Goal
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Provide training for students at Washington and
Lee University to create a more inclusive and
affirming living and learning environment
(academic and co-curricular) across lines of
ability status,
class/socio-economic status, ethnicity/race,
gender, and sexual orientation
Objective
1. Express an increased awareness of how attitudes, beliefs,
behavior and language can impact
the relationships with/between students, staff, and faculty of
Washington and Lee University
2. Develop strategies to involve others throughout the school year
to increase cohesiveness and
increase inclusion of different groups within Washington and Lee
University
3. Increase understanding of the communication skills needed
when working within a diverse
community
4. Be empowered to be leaders in educating and motivating
members of the broader Washington
and Lee population
5. Be prepared to develop personal Action Plans that will
promote a diverse and inclusive
environment
PROGRAM SERVICES
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Pre program
• Planning and communication with key stakeholders
• Customized program design
Optional Pre-Training for Student Facilitators $1,750.00
• 3 hour training
• 2 VCCJ trainers
• Program materials & supplies for up to 20 participants
Program $4,000.00
• 3 hour training
• 5 VCCJ trainers
• Program materials & supplies for up to 125 participants
Post Program
• Follow-up communication with key stakeholders
TRAINING DESIGN
Saturday, February 3 1-4
 1:00pm Welcome, Introductions, Norms
 1:10pm Split into 5 groups (determined by W&L) and move to
breakout areas
 1:20pm Small Group: “Exploring Personal Identity” pair
conversations
 1:50pm Large Group: “Break the Cycle: Be the Change”
presentation
 2:50pm Break/return to breakout rooms-Pizza
 3:00pm Small Group: “Anticipating Challenges & Identifying
Resources” role playing
 3:50pm Distribute and complete evaluations
 4:00pm Large Group: Closure
Results of Pre-Post Test
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One hundred and nineteen (119) of the students
who participated completed a pre- and post-test
to evaluate the effectiveness of the program.
The pre- and post-tests consisted of 12 items
designed to measure the program goal stated
above (Please see Appendix A for a copy of the
evaluation). Participants indicated their
agreement with each of the items using a 5point Likert scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5
(strongly agree).
Demographics of Sample
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Of the 119 students who completed both parts of the
evaluation, 70 (59%) were male and 49 (41%) were female. Most
of the participants self-identified as White (80%), followed by
Black (10%), Asian (4%), and Latino (1%). Five percent of the
sample described their ethnicity as “Other.” Participants in the
workshop described themselves as mainly Christian (77%),
followed by Atheist (7%), Jewish (4%), Agnostic (3.5%), and
Buddhist (2.5%). Of the students who self-identified as
Christian, most stated that they belonged to the Assembly
Church of God or were simply “Christian” (29%) or that they
were Catholic (23%). Anglican/Episcopal (8%) and Presbyterian
(8%) were also common affiliations.
Overall Effectiveness of Program
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A total pre- and post-test score was calculated by
averaging across all of the items on each scale. Thus,
average scores on both the pre- and post-tests could
range from 1 (indicating a very low interest in diversity)
to 7 (indicating a very high interest in diversity).
The mean pre-test score across all participants was 3.69
(SD = .57) and the mean post-test score was 3.91 (SD
= .61). A dependent t-test reveals that this pre-post test
difference is statistically significant, t (117) = 7.92, p <
.001. This significant difference means that after the
workshop participants indicated more support of
diversity related ideals than before the workshop.
Effectiveness of Program as
Measured by Individual Items
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Dependent t-tests were also computed for each of the
12 individual items. A statistically significant pre-post
difference (p < .05) was present for all the items except
items 4 (likelihood to discuss religion) and 11
(confidence interacting with different people). For all
of the items except #4 and #11, post-test scores
revealed more acceptance of diversity related concepts
than did pretest scores. The means and standard
deviations for each of the item pairs (pre and post) are
listed below. Again, scores for each item can range
from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree).
Group Differences in Pre-Post Test
Effectiveness Scores
To examine group differences in total effectiveness scores, along with any
possible interactions of group differences with pre-post scores, three Mixed
Group ANOVAs were computed with pre-post scores as the within group
variable and either sex, race, or religion as the between group variable.
Gender
 Across the pre- and post-tests, females (M = 3.96) scored higher than did
males (M = 3.69), F (1, 116) = 6.77, p = .01. A significant interaction of sex
and pre-post scores was not found meaning that the difference in pre-post
scores were not dependent upon participant sex.
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Race
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Because only a small number of participants self-identified as Black, Asian,
Latino, and Other, these ethnicities were combined to create one “Students
of Color” category (N = 24). This was done because the original categories
were too small to produce valid results. Analyses revealed that across the preand post-tests, Students of Color (M = 4.26) scored significantly higher than
did White (M = 3.69) students, F (1, 116) = 22.04, p < .001. Again, the
interaction between race and pre-post test scores was not significant
Conclusion
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Overall, even with some small logistical challenges, VCCJ
believes that the program for Washington and Lee University
provided participants with an experience in which they
developed strong connections with their peers, raised personal
awareness, and learned about new topics. As Washington and
Lee continues to work towards building a more inclusive campus
community, VCCJ encourages the university to provide more
extensive experiences for other student populations and to
engage a broad cross-section of administrators, faculty, and staff.
Creating an environment in which honest conversations and true
dialogue can take place is an ongoing effort
Smaller groups
Too short of a time
Logistics/Room Setup
Popcorn Programming
Panhellenic Action Results