Status Differentiation through Student Track Placement: STEM Identity Formation in Schools with Different Socioeconomic Compositions

• In Event: 435 - Section on Sociology of Education Roundtables (one-hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 21. Gender and Course Taking

Abstract

In the last decade, the socioeconomic integration of schools has gained attention as a policy alternative to racial integration. Socioeconomic integration is expected to improve academic and non-cognitive outcomes for low-income students and minorities; however, research has suggested it may also create disadvantages. In this paper, I integrate social psychology, sociology of education, and social stratification to investigate how students’ socioeconomic status and track location intersect in schools of different socioeconomic compositions. I examine whether they exacerbate or reduce group-based inequalities in students’ formation of math and science identities—a key process for students’ opportunities to pursue STEM majors and careers. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 and regression techniques, I find that although race does not influence math identity in general, minority students are less likely to develop positive math identities when race becomes a salient status characteristic in integrated schools. In addition, black students experience a double disadvantage in accessing higher-level courses in integrated schools.

Author

• Megan J. Austin, University of Notre Dame