Improving Race Relations in Higher Education

Abstract

This article suggests that colleges and universities can improve intergroup relations on campus by implementing a cooperative learning technique known as the jigsaw classroom. What is argued is that use of the jigsaw classroom will facilitate a recategorization process by which members of racial-ethnic groups other than one’s own (“them”) will begin to be seen as being members of a more inclusive “we.” Included in this article is an examination of on-campus racial discrimination, a discussion of some social psychological work that is useful in helping us understand why this discrimination exists, and a discussion of the ways in which the jigsaw classroom has the potential to reduce this discrimination.