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Parental Racial Socialization and the Academic Achievement of African American Children: A Cultural-Ecological Approach

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Abstract

Using a cultural-ecological approach, this study examined: (a) associations between parental racial socialization and child academic achievement and (b) variations in these associations across child gender and family socio-economic status. Participants were 134 fifth grade African American children and their mothers. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between two components of parental racial socialization (preparation for bias, pride development) and academic achievement (GPA) and the moderating effects of gender and SES on these associations. Preparation for bias and pride development did not significantly predict academic achievement. However, gender moderated the association between preparation for bias and academic achievement. Greater frequency of preparation for bias messages delivered to boys increased GPAs. However, as the frequency of preparation for bias messages delivered to girls increased, GPA decreased. SES did not significantly moderate the associations between either dimension of racial socialization and academic achievement.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the children and their families for their generous participation in the project in this multi-year project. The study on which this paper is based was supported by a grant to the second and third authors from the William. T. Grant Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Christian A. Friend

  2. The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Andrea G. Hunter & Anne C. Fletcher

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  1. Christian A. Friend
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Correspondence to Christian A. Friend.

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Friend, C.A., Hunter, A.G. & Fletcher, A.C. Parental Racial Socialization and the Academic Achievement of African American Children: A Cultural-Ecological Approach. J Afr Am St 15, 40–57 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-010-9124-3

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