American University, School of Education, online programs https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/benefits-of-inclusion-and-diversity-in-the-classroom

It’s been a little more than 60 years since Brown vs. Board of Education, one of the most important Supreme Court cases in the history of the United States. The decision made it illegal to segregate public schools on the basis of race. That cornerstone decision of the civil rights movement has played a major role in breaking down racial barriers in the decades since. It has also enabled social scientists to study how diversity in the classroom leads to students’ increased cultural understanding, stronger critical thinking skills and enhanced creativity, which all better prepare them for adulthood.

An in-depth research review of dozens of other studies on diversity—conducted by The Century Foundation, a New York-based think tank—found that having different and divergent perspectives can create positive learning outcomes. Those outcomes, explored below, can have benefits that reflect well beyond students’ graduation and can impact their lives going forward.

Diversity Improves Cognitive Skills and Critical Thinking

The presence of diversity in the classroom allows students to consider perspectives and opinions beyond those they’ve already formed or were shaped in early life by family and friends. By presenting students with viewpoints far different from their own, it gives them the opportunity to think critically about their own beliefs and examine the world in fresh ways. As noted by an article in Scientific American, exposure to diversity alters the way individuals think by promoting creativity and innovation, as well as decision-making and problem-solving skills. As the article summarizes, “Diversity jolts us into cognitive action in ways that homogeneity simply does not.”

Exposure to Diversity Helps Students Enter Adulthood

When students enter the professional world, they join a vast and diverse workforce. Interacting with people of all different backgrounds and mindsets can present a challenge without prior exposure to diversity, especially at a younger age. Companies are taking note of their employees’ ability to handle diversity with grace and maturity; 96 percent of major employers, according to the Century Foundation, say it is vital that employees are able to work with people from diverse backgrounds.

Diversity Prepares Students for Citizenship

As part of the Century Foundation’s research study on diversity, the authors reviewed 27 different studies about the effects of diversity on people’s willingness to interact with and improve their local community—a concept known as civic engagement. 

Diversity Promotes Creativity

At its core, creativity is all about bringing together different ideas and transforming them to make something new, unique, and personal. The more ideas and experiences people are exposed to, the more creative they can be. Indeed, Scientific American cites a study conducted by several research professors who found that groups with racial diversity significantly outperformed groups without diversity in a problem-solving scenario.