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Latinos’ Changing Ethnic Group Representation From Elementary to Middle School: Perceived Belonging and Academic Achievement
Author(s) -
MoralesChicas Jessica,
Graham Sandra
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12292
Subject(s) - ethnic group , moderation , ethnically diverse , context (archaeology) , psychology , diversity (politics) , representation (politics) , academic achievement , cultural diversity , social psychology , developmental psychology , sociology , geography , political science , archaeology , politics , anthropology , law
This study examined the association between change in ethnic group representation from elementary to middle school and Latino students’ school belonging and achievement. The ethnic diversity of students’ middle school was examined as a moderator. Participants were 1,825 Latino sixth graders from 26 ethnically diverse urban middle schools. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that a change in ethnic representation toward fewer Latinos in middle school than elementary school was related to less perceived belonging and lower achievement in schools with low ethnic diversity. There were no mean differences as a function of declining representation in more diverse middle schools, suggesting that greater school diversity was protective. Findings highlight the importance of examining school ethnic context, especially across the middle school transition.