Cultural Explanations for Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Academic Achievement: A Call for a New and Improved Theory

Abstract

In this article we assess the literature on cultural explanations for ethno-racial differences in K–12 schooling and academic performance. Some cultural arguments problematically define certain ethno-racial identities and cultures as subtractive from the goal of academic mobility while defining the ethnic cultures and identities of others as additive and oriented toward this goal. We review two prevailing schools of thought that compare immigrant and native minority students: cultural–ecological theory and segmented assimilation theory. Second, we examine empirical research that highlights the complexity of culture, focusing on four domains: (a) the school’s cultural environment; (b) variation in identities and cultural practices within ethnic and racial groups; (c) the multidimensional nature of culture and its variable impact on students; and (d) the intersections of race, ethnicity, class, and gender. This literature—when synthesized—suggests that a coherent theory of culture’s impact on ethnic and racial differences in schooling outcomes must unpack the multiple influences of identity and context more deliberately than previous literature has done. Finally, we call for studies that employ comparative research across groups and understand race and ethnicity contextually, not as mere dummy variables, thereby equipping researchers with the tools to better explain how culture influences schooling and achievement.

The Home Environments of Adolescents Whose Parents Legally Immigrated to the United States: Findings from the New Immigrant Survey

“…Cultural proclivities, notwithstanding, dynamic systems theory and cultural ecological theory make clear that complications attached to migration can alter the meaning parents make of their new situation (De Munck 2001;Kunnen and Bosma 2000;Warikoo and Carter 2009). Thus, it is hard to predict precisely how often adolescents with foreign-born parents will have access to particular materials or particular experiences often considered beneficial for development.…”

“…Moreover, the recent wave of immigration to the US has occurred amidst a diverse array of other social, economic and technological changes. As dynamic systems theory and cultural ecological theory make clear, just how family systems or the individuals within those systems may reorganize various functions under such conditions of change is hard to predict (Fogel 2011;Warikoo and Carter 2009). Unfortunately, there isn't much documented about the home life of children with foreign-born parents, particularly the kinds of social encounters they have with family members, their daily activities, the expectations parents have, and their involvement in the broader community (Jasso et al 2000).…”

“…Although some dimensions of the home environment (e.g., parental warmth) appear to take much the same form and have much the same consequence in all families (universal dimensions), other dimensions take varied forms and have more varied consequences depending upon child gender, culture, SES and other contextual factors (Bradley and Corwyn 2005;Nord and Griffin 1999;Stewart et al 2000;Xia et al 2013). It is also important to bear in mind that there are multiple dimensions of culture and variations within societies that influence how particular cultural values are enacted (Estrada-Martinez et al 2011;Warikoo and Carter 2009). Moreover, culture is not a static attribute (Mistry and Wu 2010); and the influence of culture on behavior depends on the broader set of circumstances one faces.…”

African Americans respond to stigmatization: the meanings and salience of confronting, deflecting conflict, educating the ignorant and ‘managing the self’

“…McAdam, 1988); everyday struggles and talk (Frederick, 2003;Harris-Lacewell, 2004); and responses to racism-e.g., how middle class blacks find allies, downplay differences and denounce abuse (most importantly, Feagin (1991), Feagin and Sikes (1994), Anderson (1999), andLacy (2007)). Moreover, research that does not concern everyday anti-racism-for instance, studies of why and how African-Americans invest in education (Warikoo and Carter, 2009), engage in high culture (Banks, 2009), understand mobility (Young, 2004), conceptualize racial differences (Morning, 2009) and demarcate themselves from "ghetto blacks" (Pattillo-McCoy, 1999) informs our understanding of responses to stigmatization. In addition, Lamont and her coauthors have studied how stigmatized groups go about gaining recognition, considering 1) how elite African-Americans use religion and competence (Lamont and Fleming, 2005); 2) how black marketing specialists use consumption (Lamont and Molnár, 2002); 3) how minority workers in France and the United States use a wider range of types of evidence of racial equality than white workers (Lamont, 2000;Lamont and Aksartova, 2002); and 4) how North-African blue collar workers in France multiply strategies to establish their similarity and cultural compatibility with the French (Lamont, Morning and Mooney, 2002).…”

Ethnic disparities in higher education

“…In a study on ethnic minorities' achievement in the UK higher education system, (Leslie 2005) attributes the weaker degree results of ethnic minority students to their lower prior-qualifications and the choice of subjects associated with a low probability of degree achievement. In contrast to Europe, educational disparities for racial and ethnic minorities in the United States have received much more attention Strayhorn, (2010); Warikoo and Carter, (2009) ;Arbona and Nora, (2007); Kao and Thompson, (2003).…”