Volume 5, Issue 2 August 2022, pp. 39–58
Regular Articles
Exploring effects of institutional, interpersonal, & individual communication on university students’ attitudes about diversity and institutional belongingness
1 Shippensburg University, USA
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v5n2.627
Abstract
University campuses are critical spaces where the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in society are discussed, debated, and understood. However, even as campus communities in the US and elsewhere grow more diverse, higher education institutions are facing an existential crisis—high dropout rates, low enrollments, growing disenchantment with education, and issues of otherization and racism on campus. It has never been more necessary for administrators, faculty, staff and all stakeholders to understand the role of effective institutional, intergroup, and individual communication in increasing students’ sense of university belongingness, and positively affecting their attitudes towards ‘others’. Using the lens of systems theory and intergroup contact theory, this study analyzes how institutional, interpersonal, and individual level factors affect college students’ attitudes about diversity, and their university belongingness. An online survey of 434 students from a midsized public university in the U.S., indicated that specific institutional communication strategies, intergroup interactions between faculty and students, as well as individual experiences such as microaggressions, significantly affected student attitudes about diversity, and their sense of campus belongingness. Results highlighted both areas of hope, as well as key challenges for higher education administrators. Implications, including recommendations for student success, greater intercultural collaboration, and creating a more inclusive campus community, are discussed.
Copyright
© Dhiman Chattopadhyay
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Chattopadhyay, D. (2022). Exploring effects of institutional, interpersonal, & individual communication on university students’ attitudes about diversity and institutional belongingness. Intercultural Communication Education, 5(2), 39–58. https://doi.org/10.29140/ice.v5n2.627
Related Articles:
Incorporating hypnotic suggestion into teacher education programs: Emotional and cognitive implications for teachers
Farshad Ghasemi
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 83–103.
What makes students speak Japanese in immersion programs?
Kumiko Katayama, Kayoko Hashimoto
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 104–120.
Voicing the academy
Davina Allison
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 102–117.
Theory of Mind development and narrative writing: A longitudinal study
Birgitta E. Svensson
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 118–134.
Incidental vocabulary learning through watching movies
Robert J. Ashcroft, Joseph Garner, Oliver Hadingham
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 31 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 135–147.
The Council of Europe Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture:
Ideological refractions, othering and obedient politics
Ashley Simpson, Fred Dervin
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 102–119.
"I don't want to be stereotypical, but..."
Norwegian EFL learners' awareness of and willingness to challenge visual stereotypes
Cecilie Waallann Brown
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 20 December, 2019, Volume 2(3), 120–141.
(Re)imagining a course in language and intercultural communication for the 21st century
Adriana Raquel Díaz, Paul J. Moore
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 83–99.
Critical intercultural communication education: cultural analysis and pedagogical applications
Sofia A. Koutlaki, Zohreh R. Eslami
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 100–109.
Advancing intercultural learning in world language education: Recent developments in pre-service teacher education in the U.S.
Paula Garrett-Rucks
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 110–122.