0195182863.pdf

180 Difference

table 8.1

Summaries of Participation Ratios by Race

Class Total Time Total Turns

Elite/Prestige

2 1.15 .89

8 .49 .57

5 2.04 2.00

Regional

4 .73 .87

7 1.34 1.06

Local

1 2.89 4.44

6 .74 .99

3 1.34 1.25

Ratios are calculated by dividing the white students’

participation rate by that of students of color. 1.0 is the

figure that would represent equal participation by

students regardless of race. Figures over 1.0 represent an

imbalance toward white students’ participation; figures

under 1.0 represent an imbalance toward participation by

students of color.

Participation rates are basically the average number

of turns per student. The participation rate for students

of color, for example, is the number of turns taken by

students of color divided by the number of students of

color enrolled in the course. When average participation

rates are equal—that is, when the average participation

rate for one group divided by the other equals 1.0—each

group is participating in proportion to its representation.

had a 220% negative disproportion in terms of time. By contrast, African Ameri-
can students participated proportionately 10% more than did white students in
this class, complicating the picture somewhat. Thus, we can see the complexities
that are introduced when we examine race using somewhat more fine-grained cat-
egories (although even here the categories are crude, obscuring differences within
groups such as Asian Americans or Latino/a). There are considerable variations in
participation that are obscured by a stark comparison of minority to nonminority
students.^37 Interestingly, all the classes with overall ratios favorable to students of
color show a negative ratio for one or more groups; in Classes #8 and #4 it is the
Latino/a students who are more silent, whereas in Class #6 it is the Asian Ameri-
can students who speak less frequently. As we’ve seen, use of an overall ratio for
students of color in Class #2 obscures the fact that if Asian American students were
treated separately, Class #2 would have a relatively egalitarian overall ratio for the
remaining students of color. But as we consider differences among subgroups, we