Does Racial Isolation in School Lead to Long-Term Disadvantages? Labor Market Consequences of High School Racial Composition

Gamoran, Adam; Barfels, Sarah E.; Collares, Ana Cristina Murta

doi:10.1086/683605

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 72 publications

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“…The benefits to students of the school ethnic enclave at Mar Azul are consistent with research on the racial and ethnic composition of primary and secondary schools. This growing body of evidence finds significant advantages for ethnic minority students when they attend schools with a greater percentage of co-ethnic students and teachers, specifically more positive attitudes about school (Frost 2007; Goldsmith 2004), better test performance in some topics like math (Lee and Klugman 2013), narrower achievement gaps (Goldsmith 2004; Portes and Hao 2004), and heightened occupational status (Gamoran, Collares, and Barfels 2016). These educational benefits are obtained through associated gains in self-esteem, cultural flexibility, and social capital (Carter 2010; Frost 2007), and they are especially important for first- and second-generation Latina/o immigrants (Lee and Klugman 2013; Peguero and Bondy 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latina/o Students in Majority White Schools

Salerno

Reynolds

2016

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

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Latina/o high school students face many challenges in school, and much current research on ethnicity and education likewise focuses on the downsides of being an ethnic minority in the U.S. educational system. Social scientists attribute the educational gaps associated with ethnic minority status to factors such as fewer family resources, discrimination, teacher-student mismatch, English learner status, and social isolation at school. This article shifts attention to the ways in which ethnic minority status can bolster educational attainment and highlights the significance of co-ethnic physical spaces or “enclaves” in majority white high schools. Data include 11 interviews with teachers and administrators at a public high school in the Southeast, supplemented with 100 hours of classroom participant observation and over 100 narratives written by students. Student perceptions are tapped through analysis of an open-ended essay writing exercise on what it means to be a Latina/o in the United States, completed by the Latina/o students enrolled in four Spanish language–only courses during three terms in 2013–2014. The observation, interview, and essay-based data indicate that Latino/a high school students benefit from school ethnic enclaves where they are free to draw on the support of co-ethnic peers and culturally flexible teachers. These themes emerge in the interviews with teachers and are supported by student comments in a writing exercise. School ethnic enclaves provide both academic and social support, help foster a positive ethnic self-image, and ultimately link ethnic minority status and heritage to success despite the significant—and more often studied—educational challenges faced by Latina/o high school students.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Latina/o Students in Majority White Schools

Salerno

Reynolds

2016

Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

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“…Compositional diversity refers to the demographic makeup of the student body. School racial and ethnic composition has been a major focus of K12 research on diversity (Gamoran et al., 2016; Mickelson, 2016; Reardon & Owens, 2014). This research has found modest positive relationships between diverse school composition and academic outcomes (Lucas & Berends, 2007; Mickelson et al., 2020; Southworth & Mickelson, 2007), school dropout (Guryan, 2004; Saatcioglu, 2010; Schofield, 2001), and college attendance (Giersch et al., 2016; Teranishi & Parker, 2010).…”

Section: The Study Of Diversity In Higher Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These goals are, of course, not unique to higher education. However, K12 literature has tended to focus primarily on academic achievement, and to a lesser extent on skills needed for a multiracial democracy, specifically intergroup contact (e.g., Gamoran et al., 2016; Jencks & Mayer, 1990; Mickelson et al., 2020; Schofield, 2001; Teranishi & Parker, 2010). We suggest, then, that the adaptation of this framework would help re‐center and refocus research on the full range of K12 institutions' educational goals.…”

Section: Beyond Academic Achievementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond composition: What the study of diversity in K12 schools can learn from research in higher education

Diehl

Tunzi

2021

Sociology Compass

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Several decades of interdisciplinary research have demonstrated the benefits of racially and ethnically integrated K12 schools. However, there is still much we do not know about what happens inside diverse schools that lead to these outcomes. In this article, we argue that the study of diversity in higher education, with its greater focus on internal institutional dynamics and a broader range of outcomes, can help K12 researchers fill in these gaps. However, the framework for studying diversity in higher education cannot be applied to K12 schools without first accounting for developmental and structural differences across students and sectors. To that end, this article summarizes the main components of the framework for studying diversity in the higher education literature—compositional, interactional, and organizational diversity—as well as the broad range of outcomes including not only academic achievement but also skills for lifelong learning and dispositions for citizenship in a multiracial democracy, and suggests how they can be adapted for K12 research. We argue that with this comprehensive but adapted framework, research on K12 education can inform practice and policy by providing more insight into the underlying mechanisms of school diversity and its consequences.

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“…Neighborhood racial composition in childhood is associated with the racial composition of the neighborhood that people move into as adults (Goldsmith 2010, 2016; Goldsmith, Pylman, and Vélez 2017). The racial composition of young adults’ workplaces is associated with the racial composition of their high schools (Braddock and McPartland 1989; Gamoran, Barfels, and Collares 2016; Stearns 2010). Research on the relationship between high school racial composition and college attended has found some support for the perpetuation hypothesis (Braddock 1980; Braddock and Eitle 2004; Braddock and McPartland 1989; Butler 2010).…”

Section: The Perpetuation Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Black Students’ College Preferences: The Role of the White Racial Frame in Perpetuating Integration

Holland

2020

Sociological Perspectives

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Much research has found support for the perpetuation hypothesis, which predicts that the racial contexts that youth grow up in direct them into analogous situations and institutions in their futures. However, there is a lack of qualitative research that examines how Black students make meaning of their high school racial context when making their college application decisions. Drawing upon interviews and observational data with 48 Black students at two racially diverse high schools, I examine Black students’ college preferences to understand the mechanisms behind integration perpetuation. My data show that Black students vary in how they make meaning of their high school contexts. In contrast to the predictions of the perpetuation hypothesis, some embrace the idea of attending historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs); however, others want to attend diverse colleges like their high schools. I highlight how the white racial frame, embedded within the context of racially diverse high schools, may influence college racial composition preference.

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Does Racial Isolation in School Lead to Long-Term Disadvantages? Labor Market Consequences of High School Racial Composition

Cited by 18 publications

References 72 publications

Latina/o Students in Majority White Schools

Latina/o Students in Majority White Schools

Beyond composition: What the study of diversity in K12 schools can learn from research in higher education

Black Students’ College Preferences: The Role of the White Racial Frame in Perpetuating Integration

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