1998 - Racial Identity of Children in Integrated, Predominantly White, and Black Schools

Attribution: Dutton, Susanne E., Singer, Jefferson A., & Devlin, Ann Sloan
Researchers: Ann Sloan DevlinJefferson A. SingerSusanne E. Dutton
University Affiliation: Connecticut College
Email: sedut@concoll.edu
Research Question:
Examine the impact of a school's racial make-up on its students.
Published: 1
Journal Name or Institutional Affiliation: The Journal of Social Psychology
Journal Entry: Vol. 138, No. 1, pp. 41-53
Year: 1998
Findings:
  • Black children were significantly more likely to mention race/ethnicity than were the White children.
  • Findings supports the hypothesis that the children in integrated schools are more accepting of ones own race.
  • Maybe suggestions of greater salience of race for Blacks in integrated settings.
  • If racial contact through schools can change racial attitudes and decrease racism, then it is important to explore further these environments as venues for change.
  • Children in segregated schools do not lack pride or identity; rather, they lack the level of acceptance enjoyed by children in integrated schools.
Keywords: Contact TheoryElementary SchoolIntegrationRegions: SouthMethodologies: QuantitativeResearch Designs: Quasi-ExperimentAnalysis Methods: MANOVA Sampling Frame:School District
Sampling Types: NonrandomAnalysis Units: StudentData Types: Quantitative-Cross Sectional
Data Description:
  • 159 fourth grade children aged 8-11 years (96 White and 63 Black; 87 girls and 71 boys)
  • Drawn from 4 southeastern Connecticut grade schools
  • One predominantly White, Black and two integrated.
  • Measures
  • Draw-a-Person: Draw a picture of themselves using crayons..
  • Picture Test: Answer a list of questions with pictures of children of three different races.
  • Wanted to find out child’s ability to distinguish between and label the races, the child’s racial identification, and the child’s group preferences.
  • Spontaneous self-concept: questions about who they are and who they are not.
  • DV: Child’s racial self-concept (measured using tests described above)
  • IV: School’s racial composition (integrated, predominantly White, predominantly Black)
Theoretical Framework:
Relevance:
Archives: K-12 Integration, Desegregation, and Segregation Abstracts