Education Commons^™

Development Of An Instrument To Measure University Students' Social Ties And Social Distance With A Particular Focus On Racial And Ethnic Diversity, Vanessa E. Kass

NERA Conference Proceedings 2008

The opportunities for students to create and maintain friendships with individuals whose experiences and cultures differ from their own is steadily increasing. A survey designed to measure students' social ties and social distance was administered to one hundred eighty-two university students. Statistical analysis reveals that students who are more comfortable with people from a different race or ethnicity are more likely to interact with diverse groups. Additionally students are more likely to interact with diverse groups in the classroom than in purely social situations. These findings influence the types of interactions that create meaningful and long-lasting relationships among diverse groups.