Talking to Fathers Might Help When African American Adolescents Experience Low Support From Their Teachers

• In Event: The Roles of Identity, Belonging, and Relationships in Fostering Equitable Experiences in Diverse Learning Contexts

Abstract

African American students may display low performance due to experiencing low teacher support, but students who talk to their parents about their education may be able to display resilience. Using the data from the High School Longitudinal Study (N = 2,450), we tested the association between African American students’ perceptions of math teacher support and their math achievement and the number of math credits they earned in high school as well as the moderating role of mother and father’s academic socialization. The results suggest that perceived low teacher support is negatively associated with students’ math achievement and that father’s academic socialization moderates the associations. This study highlights the protective role of fathers in demonstrating resilience in African American adolescents.

Authors

• Glona Lee, University of California - Irvine

• Sandra D. Simpkins, University of California - Irvine