Most of us can agree that the middle school years—6th grade through 8th grade—are usually the most difficult years to think back on. Yes, that’s a sweeping generalization, but everyone understands that while we may all have harder times before and after, there is a general hormonal and emotional and physical intensity to that time of our young lives. We are stepping into teenagehood while retaining most of our very childlike emotions. Some of us are hitting puberty and all of the intensity that comes with that, while others have yet to reach puberty but are acutely aware that their peers are changing around them. Middle school is a step into a new school usually and also means the chances of feeling isolated rise. Researchers from UCLA have published a report that says one way to lessen some of the unneeded anxiety surrounding those years is diversity.
Jaana Juvonen, a UCLA professor of psychology and the research's lead author, said the study is the first to show such a wide range of personal and social benefits for students of all races and ethnicities from attending ethnically diverse schools.
"When ethnic groups are of relatively equal size, there may be more of a balance of power," said Juvonen, who has conducted research on school bullying and bullies for more than 20 years. "One or more large ethnic groups will be less likely to exert their influence over one or more small ethnic groups."
The researchers studied more than 4,300 sixth-grade students in 26 urban middle schools in Southern and Northern California with varying degrees of ethnic diversity. Nearly all of the students in the study were from middle-income and working-class families, and they primarily came from four ethnic groups: African American, Latino, Asian-American and white.
Researchers found that the more balanced diversity found in a school, the safer and less lonely students felt. But researchers also warned that having a diverse school makeup was one thing, but being in a diverse class was where the real magic happened.
The study also found that when students attended classes that were significantly less diverse than their school overall, the benefits of diversity disappeared.
"School diversity by itself is only half of the story," Graham said. "To reap the social benefits of ethnic diversity, instruction needs to be organized so that students' classes reflect the overall diversity of their school."
Yes.