Date of Award
Spring 5-31-2012
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Dr. Kelly M. Lewis
Second Advisor
Dr. Gabriel Kuperminc
Third Advisor
Dr. Julia Perilla
Abstract
School connectedness, encompassing positive feelings toward teachers and peers and a sense of belonging at school, has been touted as a critical factor in promoting student achievement and reducing youth risk behaviors. The literature has been mixed in terms of understanding the relationship between race, racial congruence and school diversity’s influence on school connectedness, particularly for youth of color. The current study examines the effect of these variables on self reported feelings of school connectedness in a sample of 8,787 seventh grade students from 56 middle schools in one racially diverse school system. Multi-level modeling revealed that socioeconomic status and school racial diversity accounted for a significant portion of the variance in school connectedness. Controlling for these school level effects, race had a moderating effect on the relationship between racial congruence and school connectedness. Implications of these preliminary results on promoting school connectedness for youth of color are discussed.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/4254433
Recommended Citation
Gaska, Karie A., "The Impact of Race, School Diversity and Racial Congruence on School Connectedness." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2012.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/4254433