“One of These Things Is Not Like the Other”: Racial Identity Perception Among Elementary Students of Color

Abstract

This qualitative, grounded theory research study explored the impact of school environment on racial identity among 36 elementary school students of color. The use of an expressive-arts-based questionnaire allowed for rich description of participants’ racial identity perception. Findings yielded three themes: racial identity awareness, racial identity incongruence, and school environment, and three interconnecting subthemes: consequences of underrepresentation, experiences of racism, and premature resilience development. This article discusses the emergent theory and model that resulted from the analysis of the data and provides implications for school counselors’ advocacy against race-neutral classrooms.