Projects
Our track record of success in cultivating intergroup dialogue work over the years.
Publications
Kaplowitz, M. D., Kaplowitz, D. R., & Liu, Y. (2023). Intergroup dialogue success in racially diverse high school classrooms. Multicultural Education Review, 15(1), 1-27.
Kaplowitz, M., Liu, Y., Raven, M., & Eustice, C. (2024). Improved social equity learning in an introduction to sustainability course. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education.
Work in Progress
Liu, Yuqing and Kaplowitz, Michael D. and Liu, Charles and Kaplowitz, Donna R. and Raven, Matt R., Measuring Growth towards Social Justice: Comparing an Intergroup Dialogue-Augmented Course to a Semester-Long Dialogue (August 01, 2024). Available at SSRN: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4941138
Kaplowitz, M. D., Liu, Y., Kaplowitz, D. R., & Liu, C. (2024). Comparing College Student Growth to Staff and Faculty: Program Evaluation of Campus-Wide Dialogue on Race [Manuscript in preparation].
Intergroup Dialogues Success in Racially Diverse High School Classrooms
ABSTRACT
Today’s hyper-partisan world makes civil discourse across differences seem almost impossible for many adults, let alone young people. U.S. public schools are tasked with educating our young people with the goal that they each can be productive members of society. High-school students participating in an intergroup dialogue on race as part of their English classes report significant growth in their intergroup understanding, intergroup relationships, and intergroup action. Further, no evidence was found that high-school participants of one racial group benefit significantly more than participants of different racial groups. The IGD programme appears effective at advancing the multicultural education of young people so that they may be better equipped to have difficult dialogues across difference.
Link to the journal article: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2005615X.2023.2193923
Improved Social Equity Learning in an Introduction to Sustainability Course
ABSTRACT
Purpose – This paper aims to examine the impact on diverse students’ social equity outcome measures that result from incorporating social justice education and inclusive practices into an introductory course on sustainability offered online asynchronously, online synchronously and in-person.
Design/methodology/approach – From fall 2020 to fall 2021, 706 students took “Introduction to Sustainability” at Michigan State University. A revised curriculum increased inclusive practices and social justice content centered on race and other social identities; institutional, individual and implicit bias; interrupting bias; socialization; and spheres of influence. Students’ self-reported change was examined using a retrospective pre/post survey.
Findings - Students reported significant growth in social equity understanding and practice across teaching modes with in-person instruction associated with the largest reported growth. Students reported growth regardless of their racial/ethnic identity or gender, with instructor effects varying in expected ways. The gap in social equity understanding between students with low precourse ratings (on outcome measures) and those with high precourse ratings was significantly smaller after the course.
Research limitations/implications - This study is not without limitations. First, the authors were limited in the student-specific information that they could collect. Second, the authors did not have access to an alternative course that could serve as a control. Third, the authors did not have the resources to also conduct an in-depth, thorough qualitative study. Furthermore, the authors did not conduct their investigation during “normal” campus life because it took place during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic was a factor that could not be accounted for and might have impacted the outcomes.
Originality/value – This study is novel in identifying and incorporating specific social justice education material, tools and practices for improved teaching of social equity components of sustainability.
Link to the journal article: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJSHE-07-2023-0324/full/html
Measuring Growth towards Social Justice: Comparing an Intergroup Dialogue-Augmented Course to a Semester-Long Dialogue
ABSTRACT
Increasing diversity, polarization, and calls for change support the importance of integrating equity-based approaches into existing curricula. We examine the impact of social justice education (SJE) on a sustainability course with intergroup dialogue (IGD) content and a campus-wide IGD program. A sample of 303 undergraduate students at a large, Midwest university (145 IGD participants and 158 course participants) enabled estimating relative SJE impacts. Responses grouped into four factors, aligned with IGD teaching goals-awareness of social identities, intergroup relationships, tools to engage and intervene, and advancing greater equity. Positive SJE growth of course participants was statistically significant, with larger growth reported for dialogue participants. Interaction effects showed female dialogue participants growing more in awareness of social identities than male dialogue participants.
Link to the journal article: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4941138
Comparing College Student Growth to Staff and Faculty: Program Evaluation of Campus-Wide Dialogue on Race
ABSTRACT
Doing social justice work in higher education is challenging during the best of times, and these times, unfortunately, do not seem to be the best of times. Previous research suggested that programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion were enhanced by other diversity initiatives that focused on developing skills, raising awareness and implementation over an extended period. An eight-session intergroup dialogue (IGD) on race was offered as an extracurricular opportunity aimed at improving participants’ intergroup relationship and capacity for advancing greater equity. This paper adds a set of reliable measures as well as a survey tool for evaluating intergroup dialogues. Statistical analysis of survey data from 145 students and 27 staff/faculty participating in intergroup dialogues on race at a large, research-intensive state university in midwestern-United States shows that staff/faculty and students reported significant growth with students reporting significantly more growth than staff/faculty. The biggest growth was found in participants’ action to engage and intervene concerning biased comments. Further analysis did not reveal evidence that participants of one social identity group (e.g., white) benefited from IGD at the expense of the reported growth of participants of a less-privileged social identity group (e.g., Black/African American).
Urban-Rural Intergroup Dialogues
An ongoing pilot study of intergroup dialogue (IGD) to improve participants’ (a) awareness of social identities, privilege, and oppression; (b) intergroup understanding and relationships; (c) strategies to engage and intervene; and (d) capacity to advance equity and justice for bridging the urban–rural divide.