UCLA

The present cross-sectional study used structural equation modeling (SEM) to examine the links between early adolescents' perceptions of the school racial climate, sense of belonging, academic identity, and academic performance in the spring of 6th grade. It further explored whether the strength of model relationships differed based on adolescents' ethnicity. The sample included 3,969 (52% female) students from 19 ethnically diverse urban middle schools. Based on self-reported ethnicity, 12.9% were African-American/Black, 14.7% East/Southeast Asian, 17.9% White, and 37.8% Latino. Findings revealed that within multiethnic schools, experiencing supportive racial norms has important consequences for ethnic minority adolescents' academic outcomes. This was partially mediated by youths' sense of belonging to school and academic identity. A stronger relationship between racial climate and school belonging was found for Asian, Latino, and White youth compared to African-American peers. The relationship between racial climate and academic identity was strongest for Latino and African-American youth. Finally, the relationship between racial climate and academic outcomes was nonsignificant for White adolescents but significant for all ethnic minority youth. Implications for future research are discussed.