Procedural and Distributive Justice Antecedents of Race, Socioeconomic, and Gender Disparities in First-Year College Grades

• In Event: 65.072 - Higher Education: Who Gets In, and What Do They Get Out?

Abstract

Public education is a sphere of society in which procedural and distributive can have profound and lasting effects on students’ educational outcomes. We examine the role of distributive and procedural justice in high school in relation to college freshmen’s GPA by analyzing longitudinal data from 15,000 students in North Carolina. Our results suggest that procedures educational-decision-makers employ to assign students to attend specific schools and to learn in particular academic tracks result in racial and social class segregation, both forms of which have negative and long-lasting consequences. Findings also show that distributive injustice, particularly, inequitable access to highly qualified teachers and schools’ academic climate, affects college performance. Results show stronger associations for the college achievement of Blacks and males.

Authors

• Martha Cecilia Bottia, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Jason Giersch, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Elizabeth Stearns, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Stephanie Moller, University of North Carolina - Charlotte