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The Impact of School Desegregation on White Individuals' Racial Attitudes and Politics in Adulthood. EdWorkingPaper No. 20-318

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Bibliographic Details
Title: The Impact of School Desegregation on White Individuals' Racial Attitudes and Politics in Adulthood. EdWorkingPaper No. 20-318
Language: English
Authors: Mark J. Chin, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Source: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. 2022.
Availability: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Peer Reviewed: N
Page Count: 65
Publication Date: 2022
Sponsoring Agency: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Contract Number: R305B150010
Document Type: Reports - Research
Descriptors: Desegregation Effects, School Desegregation, Racial Attitudes, Racial Relations, Whites, Adults, Student Diversity, Educational Policy, Politics of Education, Political Attitudes, Causal Models, Area Studies, Regional Characteristics, Intergroup Relations
Abstract: In this paper I study how school desegregation by race following "Brown v. Board of Education" affected White individuals' racial attitudes and politics in adulthood. I use geocoded nationwide data from the General Social Survey and differences-in-differences to identify causal impacts. Integration significantly reduced White individuals' political conservatism as adults in the U.S. South but not elsewhere. I observe similar geographic impact heterogeneity for individuals' attitudes towards Blacks and policies promoting racial equity, but positive effects emerge less consistently across specifications. Results suggest that this heterogeneity may depend on the effectiveness of integration policies. In the south, Black-White exposure was greater following desegregation, and White disenrollment was lower. My study provides the first causal evidence on how different theories concerning intergroup contact and racial attitudes (i.e., the contact and racial threat hypotheses) may have applied to school contexts following historic court mandates to desegregate.
Abstractor: As Provided
IES Funded: Yes
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: ED671475
Database: ERIC
Description
Abstract:In this paper I study how school desegregation by race following "Brown v. Board of Education" affected White individuals' racial attitudes and politics in adulthood. I use geocoded nationwide data from the General Social Survey and differences-in-differences to identify causal impacts. Integration significantly reduced White individuals' political conservatism as adults in the U.S. South but not elsewhere. I observe similar geographic impact heterogeneity for individuals' attitudes towards Blacks and policies promoting racial equity, but positive effects emerge less consistently across specifications. Results suggest that this heterogeneity may depend on the effectiveness of integration policies. In the south, Black-White exposure was greater following desegregation, and White disenrollment was lower. My study provides the first causal evidence on how different theories concerning intergroup contact and racial attitudes (i.e., the contact and racial threat hypotheses) may have applied to school contexts following historic court mandates to desegregate.