ERIC Number: ED268422
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1984
Pages: 15
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Interracial Contact, Background and Attitudes: Implications for Campus Programs. Research Report #13-84.
Carter, Robert T.; Sedlacek, William E.
If educators, counselors, and student personnel workers are to provide services to students which would be perceived positively by various racial groups, an understanding of interracial perceptions and attitudes is extremely important. A study was conducted to examine the current state of interracial attitudes among students at the University of Maryland in College Park, and to determine whether or not th ere have been any changes in interracial attitudes and perceptions among black and white students since the 1970's. An anonymous questionnaire on interracial attitudes was completed by 437 college freshmen. Twelve percent of the sample were black; 88 percent were white. In general, it was found that whites and blacks who had racially isolated backgrounds seemed to have similar interracial attitudes, while blacks who had racially mixed experiences held different attitudes regarding interracial contact. Subjects who had little interracial contact in their pasts tended to report that minorities were treated no differently by the university than were white students. Blacks who had more interracial contact believed that minorities were treated differently by the university than were whites, and these subjects were more likely than racially homogeneous blacks to feel that the university did not foster respect for cultural differences. These findings suggest that intraracial differences may be more variable than interracial differences. (NB)
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Maryland Univ., College Park. Counseling Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
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