What are the effects of multiculturalism in the PK–12 classroom?
Evidence Database | Advanced Evidence Search | Evidence Summaries
Evidence Summary
February 2023
Evidence suggests that multicultural student teams and friend groups are better problem-solvers and produce better academic outcomes inside the classroom.
- Multicultural student teams may yield more creative solutions to problems they face in the classroom.
- Students who engage with people who are different from them may be more likely to have higher grades and better in-school social outcomes.
Multicultural friendships may increase perceived safety and decrease perceived victimization in schools.
- Students who attend multicultural schools are more likely to state they feel safe at school and are more likely to perceive fewer threats than students who attend racially homogenous schools.
Multicultural classrooms may produce better teacher-student relationships.
- Students who attend multicultural schools may have more supportive relationships and fewer strained relationships with their teachers. Students who perceive their schools to have higher equality may also comply more with school rules.
Studies included in the database focused on high-income or upper middle-income countries, including but not limited to the United States. Studies included must have been published since 2012. To identify evidence, we searched the following websites and databases using the following population, methodology, and target outcome terms:
Websites and Databases |
Population Terms |
Methodology Terms |
Target Outcome Terms |
ProQuest
EBSCO
APA PsycNet
Social Service Abstracts
SocIndex
ERIC
|
refugee OR immigrant OR “unaccompanied minor” OR asylee OR “temporary protected status” OR “victims of traffick*” OR “traffick* victims” OR T-Visa OR U-Visa OR Cuban OR Haitian OR Amerasian
|
evaluation OR impact OR program OR intervention OR policy OR project OR train* OR therapy OR treatment OR counseling OR workshop OR review OR meta-analysis OR synthesis |
“diversity in school” OR “diversity in classroom” OR “multiculturalism in school” OR “multiculturalism in classroom” OR “elementary school” OR “high school” OR belonging OR safety “student-teacher relationships”
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For databases or websites that permitted only basic searches, free-text terms and limited-term combinations were selected out of the lists above, and all resultant studies were reviewed for relevance. Conversely, for databases or websites with advanced search capability, we made use of relevant available filters. All search terms were searched in the title and abstract fields only in order to exclude studies that made only passing mention of the topic under consideration.
After initial screening, Switchboard evidence mapping is prioritized as follows: First priority is given to meta-analyses and systematic reviews, followed by individual impact evaluations when no meta-analyses or systematic reviews are available. Evaluations that are rated as impact evidence are considered before those rated as suggestive, with the latter only being included for outcomes where no evidence is available from the former.
Relevant Study | Type of Study | Strength of Evidence | Direction of Evidence |
How diversity approaches affect ethnic minority and majority adolescents: Teacher-student relationship trajectories and school outcomes. | Suggestive evidence | Suggestive | Positive impact |
Psychosocial benefits of cross-ethnic friendships in urban middle schools | Suggestive evidence | Suggestive | Positive impact |
Early adolescents’ peer experiences with ethnic diversity in middle school: Implications for academic outcomes | Suggestive evidence | Suggestive | Positive impact |
Beyond individual creativity: The superadditive benefits of multicultural experience for collective creativity in culturally diverse teams | Suggestive evidence | Suggestive | Positive impact |