The Contribution of Perceptions of Equity for Students’ Well-Being and the Moderating Roles of Race and Gender

• In Event: Poster Session 13
  In Poster Session: PS 13 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Equity is an important construct in promoting student well-being, particularly in the school context (Huseman et al., 1987). Recent research has demonstrated that students’ experiences of equity are positively related to their motivation, effort, achievement, and connection with their teacher (e.g., Debnam et al., 2014). The present study extends our understanding of the importance of equity in the school context by testing the association between students’ perceptions of equity and their perceptions of safety, feelings of stress, endorsement of retaliatory aggression, and future aspirations, which are indicators of students’ social and emotional well-being and are associated with later academic and behavioral functioning (e.g., Lindstrom Johnson, Pas, & Bradshaw, 2016; Milam, Furr-Holden, Leaf, 2010; Perry & Morris, 2014). Further, as inequitable treatment in the school context disproportionately impacts students of color and boys (Feagin & Barnett, 2004; Voyer & Voyer, 2014), we also explored whether these associations were moderated by students’ race and gender.

The present study includes data from 57,027 6th-12th grade students who participated in a statewide study of school climate. A series of three-level models with student- and school-level covariates were run to test the main effect of students’ perceptions of equity, the interaction of equity*race (White, Black, Hispanic, Asian), equity*gender, and equity*race*gender on each of the four outcomes. Students’ perceptions of equity were related to greater student well-being across outcomes: greater perceptions of safety (b = 0.37, SE = 0.01, p < .001), less stress (b = -0.28, SE = 0.01, p < .001), lower endorsement of retaliatory aggression (b = -0.25, SE = 0.01, p < .001), and greater future aspirations (b = 0.22, SE = 0.01, p < .001). The interaction of equity*race produced similar effects across outcomes, with the effect of equity being stronger for White students than Black students: safety (b = -0.05, SE = 0.01, p < .001), stress (b = 0.12, SE = 0.02, p < .001), retaliatory aggression (b = 0.12, SE = 0.01, p < .001), and future aspirations (b = -0.04, SE = 0.01, p < .001). The interaction of equity*gender was significant for three outcomes, but with outcome-specific results: the effect of equity on safety (b = -0.06, SE = 0.01, p < .001) and future aspirations (b = -0.07, SE = 0.01, p < .001) was stronger for boys than girls, but the effect of equity on stress (b = -0.08, SE = 0.01, p < .001) was stronger for girls than boys. The three-way interaction was significant in one case, with the effect of equity on safety stronger for White boys than White girls, Black boys, and Black girls (b = 0.06, SE = 0.02, p < .001). Results supported the hypothesis that perceptions of equity are related to indicators of student well-being. Interestingly, these effects were stronger for White students than Black students. Results are discussed in the context of the measurement of equity vs. equality and considering the role of White privilege.

Group Authors

N/A

Authors

• Summer S Braun, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa
  Presenting Author

• Caryn R. R. Rodgers, Albert Einstein College of Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Arielle Linsky, Rutgers University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Catherine P Bradshaw, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Non-Presenting Author