Racial climate and institutional support factors affecting success in predominantly White institutions: An examination of African-American and White student experiences.

Abstract

This study examined the effect of the campus racial climate on African American and white student success in predominantly white institutions (PWIs). The study assesses the effects of structural characteristics, general experiences common to most students, race-related experiences characteristic of African American students' experiences in PWIs, and general and racially-focused support services on academic achievement, educational aspirations, and sense of belonging in college. A conceptual framework focusing on minority students' racial experiences in PWIs was developed, which integrated the stress-coping model of minority student adjustment and achievement with the traditional college impact model. This study uses data from the Midwest Colleges Study, a mailed questionnaire administered from 1990 to 1991 at six Midwestern PWIs that had successfully maintained African American enrollments. The sample consisted of 896 African American and 1211 white undergraduate students. Blocked hierarchical regressions for each racial group, and partial correlation analyses were used to examine relationships between the outcomes, the students' experiences, and their use of institutional support services. Key findings not previously reported in the college impact literature suggest that African American students' participation in minority-focused support services (e.g., Black Student Union) contributes to their overall involvement within the college community. Results also indicate that institutions have distinct racial climates that differentially affect African American and white students' educational outcomes. Specifically, white students' psychosocial well-being was revealed to be negatively affected by their perceptions of a poor campus racial climate. Additionally, African American students' perceptions of racial discrimination from administrators, one of nine aspects of the campus racial climate assessed, is negatively related to sense of belonging. These findings suggest that African American students look to college administrators to define the institution's racial climate, and that student perceptions of a racially inhospitable environment may negatively impact the success of all students. The study concludes that for all students to be successful in PWIs, the institutional racial climate must continue to support and affirm people from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds; and that campus administrators need to take the lead in promoting and valuing the institution's racial and ethnic diversity.