Impact of Same Racial/Ethnic Representation on Social Media and in School on School Experiences

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 1:30 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 4
  In Roundtable Session: Undoing the Harm: Race, Representation, and Repair Across Schooling Contexts (Table 3)

Abstract

The study investigated how the congruence and incongruence in the racial and ethnic makeup of schools and social media platforms affect students' school experiences using structural equation modeling with a diverse sample of 16,482 U.S. students from Latino/a/x, Black, Asian, and Multiethnic backgrounds. Students who encountered consistent racial and ethnic representation across different contexts felt a stronger belonging to their school. Conversely, when there was inconsistency in representations, particularly for Asian and Latino/a/x students, they reported a stronger perceived social misfit to their school contexts. These findings highlight the influence of both school and social media environments on students' experiences in their educational settings. This study provides insights to foster school belonging among racially/ethnically minoritized students using social media platforms.

Authors

• Maggie Chan, University of California - Berkeley

• Emily Srisarajivakul, University of Memphis

• Tyler Renshaw, Utah State University

• Yufu Wang, Utah State University