Relationship between diverse student interactions and leadership development

Recently, legislators have called into question diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts among higher education institutions (HEIs) in the United States, resulting in decreased support or the elimination of DEI efforts. Previous research on the benefits of diversity interactions on college student outcomes has often privileged White students and found a positive relationship. The present quantitative study expands on previous research by utilizing correlation, independent samples t-Tests, analysis of variance, and multiple regression statistics to analyze the relationship between interracial diversity interactions and student leadership development among 168 undergraduate students who self-identified with a minoritized race at HEIs in the United States. Positive diversity interactions were found to be positively associated with leadership development. Although not a significant relationship, negative diversity interactions were inversely associated with leadership development. Additionally, diverse participation across the collegiate experiences examined in this study was found to be a significant predictor of leadership development. The results indicate that creating a positive environment for students to interact across racial groups, including diversifying involvement across collegiate experiences, and mitigating negative interactions is important to the development of minoritized students’ leadership development. As the landscape of higher education continues to shift, the role DEI efforts play in HEIs becomes increasingly important to higher education leaders as they produce new leaders that graduate and contribute to the global world.