Teachers’ racial, ethnic, and gender biases have been shown to impact their classroom practices and expectations of students, but little research has examined how teachers’ poverty-related biases affect their students’ educational experiences. This study focused on elementary school teachers’ social class bias as it intersected with race, ethnicity, and gender by examining teachers’ reasoning about poverty and its relation to their assessment of student work. Data were collected from fifth grade teachers (N = 302) throughout California. Participants were asked to use a provided rubric to assess a single personal narrative and were told that it was written by a fifth grade student, although it was actually written by researchers for the purpose of this study. Before assessing this piece of writing, participants viewed (but did not assess) what they were told was another piece of the same student’s writing. The student demographics included in this first piece of writing (i.e., student’s social class background, race/ethnicity, gender) varied and represented one of twelve possible student profiles. This piece of writing was meant to prime the participants as to the demographics of the student whose work they were going to assess. To assess explicit beliefs about poverty, teachers completed a survey a week after assessing the student writing that asked about their own demographics, values, ideologies, and about their beliefs about the traits of poor and middle class people and causal attributions for poverty. Overall, participants endorsed more positive and fewer negative traits for both the poor and middle class and believed that poverty is more likely to be caused by reasons outside of an individual’s direct control than by causes within one’s control. Political ideology and the endorsement of System Justification and the Protestant Work Ethic were related to beliefs about poverty. Results from the assessment of students’ writing should be interpreted with caution, but suggest a significant interaction between the effects of students’ race/ethnicity and social class on the grades teachers’ assigned the writing. Implications and next steps are discussed.

While residential mobility is common in the United States, residential mobility’s influence in children’s development is unclear. Coley and Kull’s (2016) work in the residential mobility empirical literature, which uses the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99, suggests that residential mobility is negatively associated with children’s cognitive skills and socioemotional outcomes. Yet, they note small associations, which leaves the role residential mobility has on child’s development unresolved. To investigate residential mobility’s role in children development, this study replicates and extends Coley & Kull’s study using the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11, a more contemporary cohort, to assess the frequency and timing of residential moves on child functioning. Counter to expectations, findings show no association between the frequency and timing of residential mobility and students’ fifth grade child functioning. Implications for research design and policy involving residential mobility as a trigger for student services are discussed.

In a time when millions of children and families are living in poverty, it is vital to understand individuals’ causal attributions for poverty and desires to offer assistance to those in need. Research has focused on adults’ reasoning about poverty, but less is known about when attitudes originate and how they evolve over time. This study looks at young children’s reasoning about children and families living in poverty through a causal attribution lens during a developmental timespan when major socio-cognitive shifts occur. Participants were 86 kindergarten, first, and second grade students. Two socio-cognitive tasks and an interview about beliefs and attitudes about poverty were administered. Findings indicate some significant differences in attributions based on grade level, but not socio-cognitive abilities, as well as an overall desire to help those in need. These results suggest that children’s beliefs about poverty shift during the early elementary school years and underscore the need to engage children in developmentally appropriate conversations to ensure they receive accurate information about people living in poverty. Implications and future research are presented.

This 3-study dissertation explored White children’s negotiation of Whiteness, racial identity development, intergroup attitudes, and experiences of socialization. Participants were from an ethnically and racially diverse, rural elementary school in the Midwest United States. In Study 1, I explored the labels that White children (N = 53; Mage = 8.97, SD = 1.72) use to define themselves and their open-ended identity-related beliefs and knowledge. Results revealed that White children most often identified as American or with an ethnic heritage label. White children’s identity-related beliefs were grouped into five narratives indicating that some children were still developing identity-related beliefs whereas others’ beliefs conformed to dominant ideologies that normalized Whiteness. In Study 2, I examined White children’s (N = 53; Mage = 8.97, SD = 1.72) conceptions of and attitudes about ethnic-racial and religious groups and the degree to which they were correlated with child and parent level characteristics. Results indicated that White children reported more social group-related knowledge about ethnic as compared with racial and religious groups and more favorable attitudes about their own as compared with other groups. These dimensions of children’s intergroup attitudes were differentially correlated with parent level characteristics: children’s conceptions of ethnic-racial and religious groups were related to parents’ racial attitudes whereas children’s attitudes about these groups were related to parents’ comfort with intergroup contact and socialization practices. Using a phenomenological approach in Study 3, I explored White elementary school teachers’ (N = 12) attitudes about and strategies for addressing ethnicity, race, and related topics in their classrooms. Results highlighted a paradox in teachers’ attitudes and socialization about ethnicity and race. Teachers reported an appreciation for the school-level ethnic and racial diversity, while simultaneously endorsing a colorblind ideology. Additionally, while teachers reported incorporating race-related lessons and conversations, these topics were more frequently discussed in reaction to holidays and student-initiated questions. Taken together, these three studies illustrate the ubiquitous influence of the ideologies of White supremacy and colorblindness on White children’s developing understanding of themselves and others. Implications for racial identity development, the racial socialization of White children, and the development of anti-racist White children are discussed.

Black, Latine, and Indigenous students continue to face inequities in high school Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) outcomes in the United States (US). Racial disparities between teachers and students contribute to this issue, as teachers of color represent less than thirty percent of public-school educators, while most US youth are of color. Although prior research has emphasized the importance of racial/ethnic matching between teachers and students, limited knowledge exists about how matching can assist high school students of color in STEM high school outcomes (e.g., STEM course enrollment, math/science GPA). Additionally, previous research has traditionally focused on Black and White teachers and students, overlooking diverse teacher-student pairings (e.g., Black teacher with Latine students). Therefore, my two-study dissertation explored the mechanisms by which teacher-student racial/ethnic matching influences STEM outcomes for high school students of color, including diverse groupings of specific teacher-student pairs. Study 1 investigated the mechanisms by which racial/ethnic teacher-student match is associated with high school students of color’s math and science GPA, via a structural equation model using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009. Results revealed a nonsignificant or negative association between teacher-student racial/ethnic matches and student GPA, as well as teacher-led factors and student engagement. However, student engagement and teacher-led factors were significantly associated with student GPA, independent of teacher-student racial/ethnic matches. Study 2 continued this investigation and analyzed interview data of high school math and science teachers of color to explore how they perceive and work with students of color. Participants spoke to employing an intersectional approach when engaging and teaching their students, leveraging not only their racial/ethnic identity but also other identities such as language, gender, immigration status, and socioeconomic class. Overall, results emphasize the importance of nuance, suggesting that improving STEM outcomes for students of color requires consideration of multiple factors beyond race, such as enhancing the school environment, improving teacher practices and dispositions, and connecting with students of color through shared identities in addition to race/ethnicity. By recognizing this complexity, policies and practices can best support students of color and ultimately help reduce the racial underrepresentation in STEM.

Examining racial-ethnic socialization (RES) during middle childhood and early adolescence (ages 6-12) is critical because, during this period, Asian American children are developing a sense of racial-ethnic identity (REI) and awareness of racial bias. This dissertation includes two studies that qualitatively examined children’s REI development and awareness of racial bias, and how Asian American parents’ RES efforts informed these developmental processes. Both studies draw from a diverse sample of 68 Asian American parents (Mage = 43.4 years, SD = 5.0, age range = 28-56) and 68 Asian American children (Mage = 8.9 years, SD = 1.9) who completed parent and child interviews. Data were analyzed using a thematic coding process.Study 1 examined how Asian American parents’ beliefs and motivations informed the way they engaged in conversations about race and racism with their children. Two-thirds of parents shared that they had engaged in conversations about race and racism, using approaches like preparation for bias, proactive racial socialization, and collective racial socialization. A third of parents shared that they were waiting to talk about race and racism with their children because they wanted to shield their children from knowing about racism or wanted to de-emphasize racism to protect their children’s well-being. Qualitative differences in approaches by generational status and family racial-ethnic make-up (i.e., monoracial, multiracial) are discussed. Study 2 focused on Asian American children’s developing REI and awareness of racial bias, and how parental RES supported these developmental processes. Children were making sense of their REI through both tangible and social meanings, and many were aware of racial bias. Parents’ RES approaches were reflective of their children’s proximal contexts and macro-level events. Concordance was common among children’s REI meaning-making and parents’ cultural socialization practices, and examples of concordance and discordance between children’s awareness of racial bias and parents’ racial socialization practices were evident. The two studies highlight the diversity of beliefs and motivations that inform Asian American parental RES approaches, and the importance of parental RES to inform children’s developing REI and understanding of racial bias during middle childhood and early adolescence. Implications for policymakers, schools, and practitioners are discussed.

Research indicates that parents' racial-ethnic identity and racial discrimination experiences influence their engagement in racial-ethnic socialization with their children. However, these associations are less explored in Asian American families with younger children, particularly those of South Asian descent. Internalization of the model minority myth may also affect racial-ethnic socialization in Asian American families, but its role is not well understood. This study examined the relationships between South Asian American parents’ racial-ethnic identity, racial discrimination experiences, endorsement of the model minority myth, and racial-ethnic socialization practices. South Asian American parents (N = 119; Mage = 37.89, SD = 5.58) with children aged 6-12 years completed an online survey. Path analyses revealed that parents’ racial-ethnic identity and endorsement of the model minority myth were positively associated with cultural socialization, while their discrimination experiences and beliefs in Asian Americans' unrestricted mobility were positively associated with racial socialization. These results suggest that internalization of the model minority myth may promote cultural maintenance by reinforcing ‘positive’ Asian stereotypes and that South Asian American parents might be balancing the need to prepare their children for racism with minimizing the role of race in determining future success.

Racial-ethnic socialization (RES) has promotive and protective effects for Asian American children, but parental RES remains understudied among Asian American families with preadolescents. The current study draws from a sample of 404 Asian American parents (Mage = 38.4, SD = 7.0, 66% female) with 6- to 12-year-olds (Mage = 8.9, SD = 2.0, 56% boy; parent-report), and examines the role of child and parent factors on parents’ RES engagement. Results revealed that parent generational status predicted parental RES, whereas child age did not. Parents’ cultural maintenance practices were influenced both by their racial-ethnic and American identities in complex ways. Personal experiences of racial discrimination may differentially influence whether first vs. second+ generation parents discuss anti-Asian discrimination with their children. Parents’ racial socialization confidence may influence whether they minimize racism with their children. Findings highlight the importance of considering how Asian American parents’ background and beliefs shape their RES.

This mixed methods study explores children's emerging sense of American identity during middle childhood. Conducted in a school setting which is committed to celebrating diversity across multiple domains, researchers investigated the extent to which children in middle childhood identify as American, and explored their beliefs and attitudes about Americans. Open-ended responses indicated that children frequently associated Americans with identifiable symbols and emblems, nationality, and particular racial and ethnic groups. In addition, children from diverse socioeconomic and racial and ethnic backgrounds endorsed positive beliefs about Americans. Quantitative analysis revealed that the ways in which children self-identify as American, differs as a function of generational status, indicating that notions of what it means to be American may be different for children from immigrant families, who tend to explicitly separate notions of racial and ethnic identity from their national American identity. Implications and suggestions for future research on American identity are discussed.

The aim of this short-term longitudinal study was to provide empirical support for the role that parental investments in children's education play in mediating the association between parental expectations and child academic outcomes. Participants were a hetergeneous sample of 426 low-income urban youth, ages 6 through 16 at the first time point of the current study. Results from regression analyses indicated that parental expectations at Time 1 predicted children's academic achievement outcomes at Time 2, assessed three years later when youth were between the ages of 10 and 18. However, indicators of parental involvement - cognitive stimulation, extracurricular activities, and parental monitoring assessed at Time 2 - did not help to explain achievement outcomes. Finally, cognitive stimulation scores among the expectation/achievement congruent groups was found to be statistically significant. Results provide support for the finding that parents' involvement in the academic performance of their youth is dynamic and responsive.