The Privilege to Succeed: Vulnerability in Perceived Career Opportunity of Brazilian and Colombian Adolescents

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: Peers and Family as Context of Development

Abstract

One aspect of the human experience is the ability to develop self-perceptions based on social context. Latin American studies scholars have investigated educational attainment to document how ethnic groups of varying physical appearances experience economic opportunity. Studies indicate that upward social mobility is often limited to European descent populations (Telles, 2014). This paper used an identity focused ecological approach to explore how social processes influence adolescent self-identities and postsecondary goals. Quantitative analyses conducted among 737 high school seniors in Salvador, Brazil and Cartagena, Colombia revealed that socioeconomic status significantly related to race and skin tone, those of African and Indigenous ancestry were more likely to experience discrimination, and those experiencing discrimination were less likely to apply for college.

Author

• Keshia L. Harris, University of Colorado - Boulder