Student Perceptions of Racial Climate in Secondary Education: Effects of Climate's Multiple Dimensions on Academic Achievement and Motivation.

Abstract

School racial climate refers to norms, curricula, and interactions around race and diversity within the school context and can be examined from a variety of perspectives. In the current study, school racial climate is defined as students’ subjective experience of the school setting. Existing research shows benefits to student outcomes when they perceive positive interracial interaction and celebration of diversity (e.g., Brand et al., 2003). However, the existing literature has many conceptual and methodological concerns, including being narrowly focused and excluding certain populations. The dissertation had three goals: 1) to introduce a conceptual framework for examining students’ perceptions of school racial climate as a multidimensional construct, 2) to establish the factor structure of a measure based on the theorized dimensions, and 3) to explore how perceptions of school racial climate are associated with academic outcomes. First, the conceptual framework was based on literature in multicultural education and psychology and included nine dimensions: frequency of interaction, quality of interaction, equal status, support for diversity, cultural socialization, preparation for a racist society, individualism, colorblindness, and stereotypical perceptions. A survey was created to measure each dimension and was administered to a sample of 99 middle and high school students at a predominantly African American public charter school. The participants also completed measures of their demographic characteristics, academic motivation, and racial attitudes. Grade point averages were obtained from school records. Second, the factor structure of the measure was explored and found to be consistent with the theoretical framework. Third, a path analysis was used to examine the relationships between school racial climate and academic outcomes. Findings revealed that students who perceived positive interracial interactions reported greater feelings of belonging. Additionally, students who reported hearing more messages about ignoring race (colorblindness) reported lower academic self-concepts, while those who reported hearing more messages about overcoming racial barriers reported higher academic self-concepts. Feelings of belonging were associated with greater interest in school and a higher academic self-concept was associated with a better GPA. Overall, the dissertation demonstrated the utility of a multidimensional approach to school racial climate and the importance of climate for adolescents’ motivation and achievement.PHDEducation and PsychologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/94048/1/cmbyrd_1.pd