Estimating the effects of an anti-racist intervention on campus administrators’ beliefs about racial equity and justice: a quasi-experimental study
Journal for Multicultural Education
ISSN: 2053-535X
Article publication date: 8 June 2023
Issue publication date: 4 July 2023
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to measure the impact of a novel anti-racist educational video-based intervention designed by the author, with advice from leading experts, on campus administrators’ prevailing beliefs, philosophies and practices about racial equity and justice. A single research question guided the project: what effect, if any, does an anti-racist educational intervention have on college administrators’ awareness, beliefs and knowledge about race (i.e. racial ideologies), equity-mindedness and justice, compared to peers in two control groups?
Design/methodology/approach
This paper is based on a study that employs a quasi-experimental approach, using a pre- and post-test design, to assess the impact of a brief video intervention on college administrators’ awareness, beliefs, and knowledge about anti-racism generally and racial ideologies, equity-mindedness and justice orientations specifically.
Findings
Multivariate analyses suggest the efficacy and effectiveness of the novel anti-racist educational video-based intervention in increasing campus administrators’ racial consciousness, empathy, understanding and equity-mindedness, although no effect was found for justice orientations.
Practical implications
As colleges and universities continue to work toward creating inclusive and equitable workspaces and learning environments, this study suggests that targeted interventions can be used to promote important values and beliefs among campus administrators. Specifically, video-based interventions may be useful tools for staff development programs, implicit bias trainings, diversity and inclusion initiatives, graduate education courses, leadership fellowships, upskilling and micro-credentials, to name a few.
Originality/value
This paper fills an identified need to study anti-racism among campus administrators, the efficacy of scalable interventions that can be easily adapted or integrated into existing campus/staff programming and ways to foster anti-racist awareness, knowledge and actions.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The author acknowledges and thanks the brilliant team of experts in graphics, videography, and human-centered design who helped create, curate, digitize, edit, and produce the videos and vignettes that comprise the intervention under study.
Citation
Strayhorn, T.L. (2023), "Estimating the effects of an anti-racist intervention on campus administrators’ beliefs about racial equity and justice: a quasi-experimental study", Journal for Multicultural Education, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 379-390. https://doi.org/10.1108/JME-09-2022-0118
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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