Title
Ethnic Identity, Gender, and Adolescent Attitude Toward School: Adaptive Perspectives in Diverse Settings
Department/School
College of Health
Date of this version
2014
Document Type
Article
Abstract
The relationships between adolescent ethnic identity and attitudes toward school and school climate are investigated in a small, multiracial/multiethnic city in the Great Lakes region with ethnically diverse adolescents taught by primarily White teachers. The mixed methods investigation of 986 eighth through eleventh grade students during the 2010-2011 academic year suggests that the relationship between ethnic identity and attitude toward school is a complex interaction among individual characteristics of ethnicity/race, ethnic identity, gender, and ecological context. Quantitative results reveal that White female and Hispanic and African American male students exhibit strong ethnic identity that correlates positively with school attitude; however, qualitative results indicate very different paths in getting to those outcomes. Hispanic students appear to benefit from a strong ethnic identity that assists with positive relationships at school, while African American male students utilize parental cultural socialization as a protective function in school. The results emphasize the implications of positive school climates for all students.
Published in
Midwestern Educational Researcher
Citation/Other Information
Booth, M.Z., Curran, E.M., Frey, C.J., Gerard, J., Collet, B.A., & Bartimole, J. (2014). Ethnic identity, gender, and adolescent attitude toward school: Adaptive perspectives in diverse settings. Midwestern Educational Researcher, Vol. 26(2), 3-27. https://www.mwera.org/MWER/volumes/v26/issue2/v26n2-Zoller-Booth-et-al-FEATURE-ARTICLES.pdf