69.053 - Racial and Ethnic Variation in School Climate Perceptions and Strategies for a Positive Racial/Ethnic Climate

Session Type: Paper Session

Abstract

This session investigates differences in school climate experiences based on students' race and ethnicity and provides evidence for how the racial/ethnic climate of schools and universities can be improved and navigated. The session includes an examination of within-school racial and ethnic disparities in student school climate perceptions in a large statewide sample of survey data as well as rich, qualitative descriptions of perceived connectedness and well-being among students of color in predominantly White advanced high school courses and in a new private school in an affluent neighborhood. The session also explores how inquiry-based learning in an urban primary school improves teachers’ cultural competence and how an ethnic-based student organization helps students of color navigate a negative college campus climate.

Sub Unit

• SIG-School Community, Climate, and Culture

Chair

• Adam Voight, Cleveland State University

Papers

• Racial Differences in Perceptions of School Climate and Their Associations With Student Outcomes - Timothy R. Konold, University of Virginia; Kathan Dushyant Shukla, University of Virginia; Dewey G. Cornell, University of Virginia; Francis Huang

• Uncovering the Climate of Isolation for Students of Color in Advanced-Level High School Classes - Shameem Rakha, Washington State University - Vancouver

• The Role of the Geography of Educational Opportunity in the Well-Being of African American Children - K. Milam Brooks, University of Illinois at Chicago; Pamela Anne Quiroz, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Cultivating Culturally Responsive Teachers: Changing Teachers' Perceptions of Diverse Primary Students Through Project-Based Learning - Corine Meredith Brown, Rowan University; Zeynep Isik-Ercan, Rowan University; Nicole Kammer, Rowan University

Discussant

• Dana C. Griffin, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill