This brief was developed using Microsoft Copilot and edited by Charlotte Sutcliffe, Duke undergraduate research assistant; for full text and references see
Leer, J., Gaither, S. E., & Gassman-Pines, A. (2023). It’s not what you say it’s what you do: School diversity ideologies and adolescent mental health and academic engagement. Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12998
Background:
This study explores how schools’ stated diversity ideologies - specifically, whether they promote multiculturalism or adopt a color-evasive approach - affect adolescent mental health, school belonging, and academic achievement. Multiculturism focuses on supporting several cultural/ethnic groups in one setting while color evasiveness focuses on emphasizing individual differences, rather than looking at social group differences related to racial/ethnic identities. Drawing on two large datasets from North Carolina, including survey data from 1,692 adolescents and administrative records from over 300,000 students, the researchers examined whether schools’ mission statements that explicitly value diversity are associated with better outcomes for students, and how these effects vary depending on school demographics and practices.
Findings:
The findings revealed that only stating support for diversity in mission statements does not uniformly benefit students. For students of color, attending schools with pro-diversity mission statements was associated with increased psychological distress, particularly in majority-White schools with limited teacher diversity and persistent racial disparities in discipline and gifted education. This suggests that when schools’ rhetoric about diversity is not matched by equitable practices, it may heighten feelings of exclusion and stress among minoritized students.
For White students, pro-diversity statements were also linked to increased psychological distress, but only in schools with more diverse teaching staffs and less racialized academic tracking. This may reflect perceived threats to majority-group status or a lack of perceived relevance of diversity initiatives. Notably, the study found no consistent positive effects of pro-diversity statements on school belonging or achievement for Black, Latinx, or American Indian students, despite these groups being the presumed beneficiaries of such messaging.
However, Asian students showed improved academic performance in schools with pro-diversity mission statements, but only when teacher diversity was high and disciplinary practices were equitable. This highlights the importance of representation and fair treatment in realizing the benefits of diversity rhetoric.
Takeaways:
The study concludes that diversity statements alone are insufficient and may even be counterproductive if not accompanied by meaningful actions to address systemic inequities. For school leaders and policymakers, the key takeaway is that aligning diversity messaging with inclusive practices - such as hiring diverse staff and ensuring equitable discipline and academic tracking - is essential to fostering positive developmental outcomes for all students.