1-020 - Intersectionality & Child Achievement: Exploring How Social Identity, Social Class, and Social Context Influence Academic Outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Racial and economic achievement disparities emerge in early childhood and persist through late adolescence. Academic underperformance limits the life chances of Black and disadvantaged children and, in turn, promotes the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic inequality. Traditionally, research aims to isolate the influence of racial/ethnic identity, socioeconomic status (SES), and contextual factors on skills gaps. But, social identities, social positions, and social contexts are inextricably interrelated. For this reason, a pressing need exists for research that brings an intersectionality perspective to the study of achievement gaps. To adopt an intersectional approach means to consider how the convergence of multiple social identities shapes individual perceptions, beliefs, and norms and structures family, school, and community experiences related to educational performance. To advance the theoretical and empirical literature, the four papers in this symposium interrogate how personal identity, race, gender, and social context intersect to influence academic outcomes.

Paper 1 uses data from a nationally-representative birth cohort to examine how and why income’s associations with early achievement differ for Black and White families. Paper 2 investigates whether patterns of gender-differentiated parenting vary in Black and White families and whether parenting practices explain gender disparities in achievement among Black and White middle school students. The penultimate paper reports findings from a pilot project assessing the efficacy of interventions designed to enhance Black girls’ intrapersonal strengths and math achievement-related attitudes, perceptions, and beliefs in 7th grade. The final study employs an experimental manipulation to investigate how differences in identity-based goal orientation impact achievement in early adolescence.

Sub Unit

• Race, Ethnicity, Culture, Context

Chair

• Daphne Henry, University of Pittsburgh

Individual Presentations

• Unequal Returns: Racial Differences in the Associations Between Income and Achievement - Presenting Author: Daphne Henry, University of Pittsburgh; Elizabeth Votruba-Drzal, University of Pittsburgh

• Gender-differentiated Parenting and Academic Success Among African American and European American Adolescents - Presenting Author: Fatima A Varner, Fordham University

• Personal and Cultural Assets of African American Girls and Mathematics Success: Positive Effects of an Intervention - Presenting Author: Sheretta Tekise Butler-Barnes, Washington University in St. Louis

• A Classroom-Based Field Experiment to Motivate Adolescents Using Social-oriented Life Goals - Presenting Author: Mesmin Destin, Northwestern University