Poster #74 - The Impact of Cultural Programming on BIPOC and White students’ Academic Outcomes, Belonging, and Well-being

• In Event: Poster Session 15

Abstract

Research on cultural alignment (e.g., acculturation or cultural distance) has primarily focused on how factors such as cultural distance negatively impact international students, immigrants, and racial-ethnic minorities (e.g., worse academic and psychosocial outcomes; Schachner & Van de Vijver, 2018; Schiefer, Möllering, & Daniel, 2012; Taušová, Jitka, et al., 2019; Ward & Geeraert, 2016). While previous research has tended to emphasize the need for minority groups to adjust to majority group culture through integration (Kunst, Lefringhausen, Skaar, et al., 2021; Pfafferott & Brown, 2006; Slider et al., 2022), the current study seeks to understand the ways both majority members (i.e., White students) and racial-ethnic minority members adjust to a culturally distinct learning environment (see Kunst, Lefringhausen, Sam, et al., 2021). One important factor that may be impacted by cultural alignment is a student’s sense of school belonging, which has been shown to influence academic and psychological outcomes (e.g., Arslan, 2021; Gray, Hope & Matthews, 2018). Therefore, we are interested in understanding the role of cultural alignment, both in terms of perceived cultural distance and acculturation, in relation to feelings of belonging and its downstream effects on academic achievement, school retention, and psychological well-being. Moreover, we are also interested in how these processes may differ depending on whether a student belongs to a racial-ethnic majority or minority group.
Through a community-based participatory research study, we partnered with a public charter school in the Northeastern United States that is a cultural immersion program. The primary goals of this institution are to develop students’ ability to interact with those whose culture differs from their own and their proficiency in a language other than English. One hundred and twenty eight middle and high school students (median age = 15). Students completed online surveys that included measures of interest, including perceived cultural distance between school and home (Demes & Geeraert, 2014), acculturation to school, acculturative stress (Suarez-Morales, Dillon, & Szapocznik, 2007), school belongingness (Arslan & Duru, 2017), and psychological well-being (Cohen, 1994; Eaton et al., 2004). Participants were 50% female and 43.8% male, and the sample consisted of 72 White, 6 African American/Black, 14 Asian American, 7 Hispanic/Latinx, and 17 multiracial, and 3 Middle Eastern students. Initial results indicate that while both White and BIPOC (N = 47) students who perceived less cultural alignment between home and school felt a lower sense of belonging to school, the relationship was stronger for White students compared to BIPOC students (see Figure 1). Further analyses will examine how this process relates to students’ academic achievement, school retention, and psychological well-being. The preliminary findings suggest that BIPOC students may be more resilient to the cultural misalignment between their school and home environment compared to their White peers, perhaps a result of previous experiences of navigating differences between their home culture and mainstream societal culture (Berry et al., 2006; Sam & Berry, 2010; Parke & Burial, 1998). Findings from this study have important implications for the development and improvement of culturally responsive school curriculum that can promote feelings of belonging among students.

Authors

• Cierra Abellera, University of Massachusetts Amherst

• Se Min Suh, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

• Evelyn Mercado, University of Massachusetts Amherst
  Presenting Author