The Role of Student- and Classroom-Based Factors Associated With Classroom Racial Climate Gaps

• In Event: 64.079 - Racial, Ethnic, and Class Dimensions of School Climate

Abstract

Prior work has documented sizable within-school race-based differences in student experiences and how students perceive aspects of the learning environment. However, most of the existing literature on these race-based differences is based on school climate surveys, which typically ask students to judge the overall quality and culture of the school they attend. This is despite the fact that most students’ school experiences are shaped through classroom-based interactions with peers and teachers. The objective of this study is to address this gap in our understanding of race-based differences in student perceptions of the learning environment. Using data on mathematics classrooms from a large, national dataset, we document between- and within-classroom climate gaps and explore factors associated with those gaps.

Authors

• Jonathan Schweig, The RAND Corporation

• Rachel Marisa Perera, Pardee RAND Graduate School