Effectiveness of Role Playing and Antiracist Teaching in Reducing Student Prejudice

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of role playing and antiracist teaching to reduce the racial prejudice of students. Meta-analysis was used to integrate findings from studies examining those strategies. Studies were located according to predetermined criteria, summarized, and the results converted to a standardized score, or “effect size.” Twenty-six relevant studies were located, yielding 43 effect sizes. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to interpret the effect-size data. Through multiple-regression techniques, 65% of the variance was explained, and several moderating variables were found to influence the strategies' effectiveness. The results indicate that role playing and antiracist teaching significantly reduce racial prejudice, and they do not differ from each other in their effectiveness. The implications of the results for education policy and future research are discussed.