Examining the Impact of Teacher Discrimination and Racial Identity on Black American and Nigerian Adolescents' Grades

• In Event: 21.036 - Embracing the Tension: Identity and Positionality in Diverse Educational Spaces in Africa and the Caribbean

Abstract

Many researchers have assumed that Black-American and African immigrant youth have a monolithic racial identity and similar educational experiences. Much of the scholarship has ignored ethnic diversity among Blacks in the U.S. In response, this study investigated the role of ethnic group membership, racial identity, and teacher discrimination on the academic performance of Black-American and Nigerian adolescents. Through ANOVA and Regression analyses, this study assessed (1) whether an “immigrant advantage” in grades existed for Nigerian relative to Black-American youth, and (2) examined the relationship of racial identity to perceived teacher discrimination and grades. Findings revealed there was no indication of an “immigrant advantage” in grades for Nigerian youth, and neither racial identity nor perceived discrimination were significant predictors of grades.

Author

• Adaurennaya Chidinma Onyewuenyi, The College of New Jersey