STUDY: Black Students Taught Racial Pride Do Better in School
According to a recent study, black students whose families instill in them a sense of racial pride do better in school.
Published in the journal of Child Development, the study investigated the impact of parental racial socialization practices on the relationship between racial discrimination in school and educational outcomes.
It’s findings challenge the notion that race blindness in a ideal parenting approach for black youth.
Using a combination of questionnaires and face-to-face interviews of both students and parents, the study examines the home and school racial experiences of 630 African American high school students in a diverse but mostly Black urban area on the East Coast of the United States.
Unlike other studies that focus on low-income families, this project involved participants who came from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds. The median household income range was $46,000-$50,000, and 40 percent of the parents or guardians had a college degree.
Overall, the study found racial pride to be the most powerful factor in protecting children from the sting of discriminatory behavior. It directly and positively related to three out of four academic outcomes—grade-point averages, educational aspirations, and cognitive engagement—and was directly related to resilience in the face of discrimination. Preparation for bias was directly related to only one outcome—the sense of belonging to a school.
Click here to access the study
The instilling of racial pride is an integral part of the learning process for our youth!
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