Examining Black Adolescents' Perceptions of in-School Racial Discrimination: The Role of Teacher Support on Academic Outcomes

Background and Purpose:  By some estimates, as much as 90 % of Black youth report that they have encountered racial discrimination in their schools. For Black adolescents, in-school racial discrimination includes being in classes with teachers who grade their work and punish them unfairly, and interacting with peers who socially exclude or even harass them. A number of studies have found that in-school racial discrimination is a risk factor for Black adolescents, because it negatively impacts their academic outcomes (e.g., grades and persistence). Given concerns about the negative influence of racial discrimination, scholars have sought to identify protective factors that lessen these harmful effects. Scholars have identified protective factors at the personal, family and environmental level. However, there has been little to no focus on the role of environmental protective factors for Black youth. Research has shown that teacher support is related to positive academic outcomes for youth and may serve as an environmental protective factor. Therefore, the current study examines whether teacher support buffers against the harmful effects of in-school racial discrimination from teachers and peers on adolescents’ grades and academic persistence.

Methods: This study used cross-sectional methodology within a sample of 364 Black seventh grade students from three high schools located in the suburbs of a Midwestern state (51% female; Mean age= 12.5 years old, SD = 0.6).

In-school racial discrimination from teachers and from peers were measured using a five and a four item scale respectively. Teacher support was measured using a 5 item scale. Controlled variables included, participants’ gender, socioeconomic status and the school they attended. Several hierarchical linear regressions were used to examine whether teacher support moderated the association between each of the in-school racial discrimination measures (i.e., from in-school racial discrimination peers and in-school racial discrimination from teachers) and the two academic outcomes (i.e., academic persistence and grades).

Results: Findings indicated that there was a positive and direct association between teacher support and grades and teacher support and academic persistence. In-school racial discrimination from teachers was not associated with grades or academic persistence. In-school racial discrimination from peers was negatively associated with academic persistence, but was unrelated to grades. Contrary to study hypotheses, teacher support did not moderate the association between in-school racial discrimination from teachers or from peers and grades or academic persistence. Finally, findings revealed both gender and SES differences in teacher support’s association with Black adolescents’ grades and academic persistence.

Conclusion and Implications: The current findings support previous research suggesting the importance of teacher support for academic success. Findings from the present study also have implications for social work practice, social policy and school interventions. In particular, these findings provide important insights regarding school-related risk, protective factors and school policy. While there was no evidence to support the main hypothesis that school climate provided a buffer against discrimination, it is important for researchers to continue to examine ways to maximize teacher support’s positive effects for Black adolescents.