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Cultural, racial/ethnic, and linguistic diversity and identity

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14 Cultural, Racial/Ethnic, and Linguistic

Diversity and Identity Na’ilah Suad NaSir

University of California, Berkeley

StephaNie J. rowley University of Michigan

william perez Claremont Graduate University

Introduction

How do identity processes relate to schooling? This is an age- old question in the education literature. Accordingly, it has been the subject of numerous studies over several decades. A foremost concern in this body of research has been the ways that cultural, racial, and linguistic identities shape students’ engagement and achievement. This research has been linked to efforts to understand, document, and ameliorate what has been viewed as educational underperformance of minority stu- dents in U.S. schools. Whereas much of the early research in this area focused on the psychological processes and academic achievements of individual or groups of students, more recent research attends to the nature of the sociopolitical school and community contexts that youths navigate.

Establishing robust racial/ethnic and linguistic identi- ties is a key aspect of development that relates significantly to schooling experiences and outcomes (Davidson, 1996; Fuligni, Witkow, & Garcia, 2005; Roeser et al., 2008; Yip, Seaton, & Sellers, 2006). Positive identities are associated with better health and education outcomes and can buffer the negative effects of racial/ethnic discrimination (Rivas-Drake et al., 2014). In a highly racially and linguistically segregated society like the United States, constructing a healthy identity can be challenging for those individuals who often endure a host of negative perceptions about their group and expe- rience limited access to high-quality social and educational services (Darling-Hammond, 2010; Spencer, 2006). Thus, understanding the connections between racial, cultural, and linguistic identities is critical to understand how to best sup- port such students.

Rather than attempting a comprehensive review of this large literature, for this chapter, our discussion takes up three key tasks. First, we describe five foundational research issues on identity and schooling pertaining to non-dominant minor- ity youth. We examine the topics of: (a) oppositional iden- tities and ‘acting white’; (b) stereotype threat; (c) exclusion and the effects of discrimination; (d) the role of classroom structures on identities; and (e) the relations among ethnic identity, language proficiency, and academic achievement.

Second, we turn to three compelling trends in recent research on identity and schooling for minority youth: (a) scholarship on schools as sites of racial socialization; (b) research on language brokering and language practice in relation to identity; and (c) a growing body of research that identifies school success as a form of resistance among minority youth.

Finally, we conclude the chapter by suggesting potential gaps in the literature and delineating promising directions for future research. We opine that research must increas- ingly speak to the complex ways that multiple identities are experienced; these considerations of intersectionality are crucial for developing a next generation of identity studies. Therefore, we call for multilevel analyses, interdisciplinary research, and identity research based on increasingly preva- lent demographic groups.

We primarily focus on research pertaining to African American and Latino youth,1 yet where appropriate, we discuss research on Asian American and Pacific Islander students. This, in part, reflects the existing large body of research on identity and schooling (Umaña-Taylor et al., 2014). Although we consider the experiences of K-12

Diversity and Identity 187

students, our review reflects the state of the research, which has been primarily concerned with adolescents because ado- lescence is when identity processes are most salient (Erikson, 1968).

Key Term Definitions

Our definition of culture incorporates anthropological notions including traditions, customs, ways of knowing, and ways of being that provide the structure for daily life (Kroeber & Kluckholm, 1952; Weisner, 2002). In addition, we utilize concepts of culture that build on the tradition of Vygotsky (1978), which call attention to the ways that cul- ture is created, maintained, and changed locally, as people, in concert with social others, enact daily routines within the context of their personal and cultural goals and available resources (Rogoff, 2003).

Race is also a complex and debated topic. Social scientists suggest that race is a socially constructed concept and that there is no scientific evidence to support biologically defined racial categories (Omi & Winant, 1994; Smedley & Smedley, 2005). Race serves the purpose of marginalizing some while maintaining social privilege for others (Fredrickson, 2002; Hany-Lopez, 1996) and racial categories often facilitate and justify the unequal distribution of social goods (Omi & Winant, 1994). Rivas-Drake and colleagues (2014) argue that it is vital to understand that “race indicates power and connotes the ongoing hierarchy in which one group consid- ers other groups as different and inferior” (p. 41).

Numerous scholars advocate for the understanding and naming of the processes of racialization (e.g., Barot & Bird, 2001; Nasir, 2012), including social, interactional, and positional processes that make race salient in daily experi- ences. At the psychological level, studies have shown that disadvantaged group members can internalize a perception of their own inferiority in order to justify the social order (Jost, Banaji, & Nosek, 2004). Racialization processes occur through interpersonal interactions of daily life and through the ways in which access to resources is structured (Murji & Solomos, 2005).

Ethnicity, although a commonly used term, is sometimes utilized as a euphemism for race or culture (Gutiérrez & Rogoff, 2003). We understand ethnicity as referring to the social group with a national or cultural affiliation to which one belongs. Frequently conflated with culture, ethnic groups are seen as sharing a distinct identity that characterizes mem- bers of the group, though they may also be defined in terms of geographic area or shared history (Nagel, 1994).

Finally, it is important to be clear about what we mean by the term identity. Fundamental to our perspective is a cultural-developmental theoretical frame. The development of identity and its continual reconstruction is a normative developmental task (Erikson, 1968; Roeser, Peck, & Nasir, 2006; Spencer & Markstrom-Adams, 1990), particularly salient in pre-adolescence, adolescence, and early adulthood. Identities are fundamentally tied to the local social and cul- tural contexts within which they develop (Way, Hernández,

Rogers, & Hughes, 2013; Wortham, 2006). This perspective is consistent with sociocultural (Rogoff, 2003) and ecologi- cal theories of development (Bronfenbrenner, 1993; Spencer, 2006) that highlight the centrality of cultural activities and practices to individual development. Identities often develop as young people engage in school and everyday activities and practices.

It is through interactions, roles, and the positioning of self and others that identity develops. It is not a global construct; it is instead an accumulation of moments in cultural spaces that can be viewed both in terms of the individual and of positioning by the social world. This view is consistent with Erikson’s (1968) theory that includes personal and social identity, and the classic symbolic interactionist school, which focuses on identity negotiated in local social interactions and informed by cultural expectations and norms (Mead, 1934). For our purposes then, identity is not achieved at one point in time but is continually negotiated and renegotiated in the social and cultural settings of which one is a part. Racial/ ethnic identity is thus defined as “how one views oneself rel- ative to his or her own ethnic group, namely his or her sense of ethnic or racial group belonging or attachment” (Way et al., 2013, p. 408).

One of the ways racial/ethnic identities are conceptual- ized is as scripts (Oyserman & Destin, 2010), or narratives that attach a particular meaning to racial group membership (Nasir & Shah, 2011). Other research has highlighted the multidimensional nature of racial identities, and the ways in which they can vary by gender and neighborhood context (Fhagen-Smith, Vandiver, Worrell, & Cross, 2010).

Foundational Issues and Theories

We begin by describing several foundational issues and the- ories in the research on the relation between cultural, racial/ ethnic, linguistic identities, and educational and psycho- logical well-being. Specifically, we consider the bodies of research on oppositional identities, stereotype threat, exclu- sion, and the effects of discrimination, the relation between classroom structures and identities, and the relations between ethnic identity, language proficiency, and academic achieve- ment. We are particularly concerned with research that has implications for thinking about the processes and outcomes of educational and psychological well-being.

Oppositional Identities and “Acting White”

Many early studies of ethnic-minority student motivation and performance employed a cultural deficit approach, suggest- ing that students of color perform poorly in school because they fail to value achievement, associate academic excellence with whites, or have developed maladaptive attitudes toward achievement. Fordham and Ogbu (1986; Ogbu, 2008) sug- gested that youth of color adopt oppositional cultural frame- works in response to oppression and limited opportunities for upward social mobility. This may include the adoption of linguistic, behavioral, or religious styles that differ from

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mainstream cultural frames. Ogbu (2008) found that African American youth tend to sanction high-achieving peers by say- ing that they are “acting white.” Moreover, high-achieving African American students may distance themselves from other African Americans as a way of reducing the “burden of acting white.” Alternatively, these students may underper- form to maintain ties to the black community.

Recent psychological research on “acting white” has moved beyond an examination of whether or not students view high achievement as “acting white” and has begun to account for a range of beliefs around the connection between white cultural norms and high achievement. One line of research has examined how students understand and respond to being labeled as “acting white,” illustrating that the accusation of “acting white” by peers is a source of anx- iety for adolescents and can trigger an examination of one’s black identity, even calling one’s authenticity into question (Murray, Neal-Barnett, Demmings, & Stadulis, 2012).

A number of empirical studies suggest that Ogbu’s theory is limited and in some cases incorrect by demonstrating that African American youth adhere to mainstream achievement ideologies (e.g., Ainsworth-Darnell & Downey, 1998). In a large study of African American students in 11 high schools, Tyson, Darity, and Castellino (2005) found that, although some high-achieving African Americans were accused of “acting white,” it was most prevalent in schools with the greatest racial stratification across academic tracks (see also Fryer & Levitt, 2006). Similarly, Fryer and Torelli (2010) note that “acting white” is more common in schools that are less than 20% black than it is in schools that were more than 80% black. This suggests that schools where African American students are in the minority are settings where there is a narrow stereotypical definition of what it means to be black. These findings are consonant with Carter’s (2012) comparative study that found that in both the United States and in South Africa, in majority-minority schools, black chil- dren found access to a broader range of identity options (and were less held to stereotypical black identities).

Other researchers have noted that, although many students of color suffer the social costs of being in advanced courses, many find adaptive ways of coping with the associated ten- sions (e.g., Horvat & Lewis, 2003; Mickelson & Velasco, 2006). Carter’s (2005) work demonstrates that youth of color use dominant and non-dominant cultural styles across settings to negotiate the social demands of multiple contexts. Thus, research shows that, although oppositional racial identities do exist, their presence is context-dependent (Carter, 2005; Mickelson & Velasco, 2006). Ford and Harris (2008) find that perceptions of race and schooling, and the connections between them, vary significantly with the achievement level of the students, with gifted students being more academically oriented and less affected by negative peer relationships.

Although Fordham and Ogbu (1986) suggest that “race- lessness” is an adaptive response to the “burden of acting white,” numerous studies have shown that a positive sense of connection to a racial or ethnic group is associated with healthy academic outcomes. Feelings of racial/ethnic belonging are positively associated with several motivational

factors, including classroom engagement, academic self- efficacy, aspirations, and educational attainment (Chavous et al., 2003; Oyserman, Harrison, & Bybee, 2001; Thomas, Townsend, & Belgrave, 2003).

Stereotype Threat

Stereotype threat describes the psychological risk that comes with the possibility of confirming a negative stereotype asso- ciated with a self-relevant social identity (Steele & Aronson, 1995). Steele and Aronson’s original study demonstrated that subtle experimental manipulations designed to prime negative racial intellectual stereotypes led to underper- formance in African American students. African American, but not European American, college students who reported their race before taking a test underperformed relative to their peers who did not. Similarly, African American stu- dents who were told that a test that they were to take was diagnostic of intelligence underperformed relative to those who were told that the test was just a set of word problems. Steele and Aronson suggested that these manipulations reminded African American students of negative race-re- lated stereotypes, taxing their cognitive abilities and leading to depressed performance. What is compelling about this research is that the stereotype need not be invoked specifi- cally; rather, simply triggering membership in the group and giving a task in a stereotyped domain is enough to lower per- formance. This research points to the ways race, gender, and academic performance can operate at an implicit level.

An interesting premise of the stereotype threat theory is that the effect can occur even in individuals from relatively high-status groups. For example, although white men typ- ically are not susceptible to race-related stereotype threat, one study found that white men’s performance on a math test was reduced when they were primed to think about the supe- rior math performance of Asian Americans before taking a math test (Aronson et al., 1999). Still, African American and Latino students are more likely than white and Asian American students to be exposed to subtle contextual cues that may have the effect of priming negative stereotypes in their daily classroom activities. Past research on disidenti- fication (see next paragraph), for example, suggests that students of color who regularly experience stereotype threat may disengage from the negatively stereotyped domain (e.g., education) (Steele, 1992).

Disidentification is the process by which individuals rea- lign their self-concept so that their performance in a domain no longer bears on their self-regard in that domain (Steele, 1992). Accordingly, Osborne (1995) found that, as African American students move from middle school through high school, the correlation between their academic achieve- ment and their self-esteem declines. Schmader, Major, and Gramzow (2001) posit that, after repeated exposure to neg- ative discrimination and stereotypes, students of color may discount feedback from teachers, devalue performance in the domain, and/or disengage. In addition to stereotype threat, where one is threatened by an outside group, Cohen and Garcia (2005) identified the phenomenon, collective threat,

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which describes the threat that a member of a shared social group might confirm a negative stereotype about the group. It tends to be strongest among select demographic groups, such as African Americans and Latinos. Similar to stereotype threat, collective threat undermines performance.

Although the implicit nature of stereotype threat and the ubiquitous nature of stereotype cues in American educational institutions make stereotype threat a particularly pernicious issue, a number of studies demonstrate that stereotype threat effects can be reduced. Good, Aronson, and Inzlicht (2003) found that teaching students to believe that intelligence is malleable lessened the effect of stereotype threat. Martens, Johns, Greenberg, and Schimel (2006) found that having participants write self-affirmations before taking a test elimi- nated the effect of the stereotype threat manipulation. Cohen, Steele, and Ross (1999) also noted that giving students of color critical and reassuring feedback improved their sense of trust and reduced stereotype threat.

Exclusion and the Psychological Effects of Discrimination

The research literature on racial inclusion and exclusion, racial bias, and discrimination also informs our understanding of how racial/ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identities relate to schooling outcomes and experiences. More specifically, since self-appraisal processes are deeply connected to how one is perceived by others (Spencer, 1999), experiences of exclusion, discrimination, and racial bias have the potential to shape students’ identities in multiple ways. In this section, we highlight some important scholarship in this area, paying particular attention to studies that focus on school-age pop- ulations and have implications for thinking about schooling outcomes and processes.

One of the ways in which discrimination manifests in schools is in peer relationships, where racial bias can be expressed as social exclusion. Scholars have argued that peer social exclusion is very powerful, and reflects both cognitive and moral developmental processes. Studies on race-based social exclusion have revealed several important findings. By and large, youth tend to view race-based peer exclusion as unfair and morally wrong (Killen & Stangor, 2001). Nevertheless, older children are more likely to find race-based exclusion acceptable, especially if they judge that inclusion would threaten group functioning. Children who are members of minority groups deemed instances of peer exclusion as based on race and believed that race-based exclusion occurred more often than did their non-minority peers (Killen, Henning, Kelly, Crystal, & Ruck, 2007).

Whereas much of this research has examined explicit social exclusion processes and reasoning, some have argued that racial biases are rooted in implicit cognitive processes. Implicit biases are unconscious beliefs about social groups that may be positive or negative and that are activated invol- untarily (Greenwald & Krieger, 2006). Explicit biases can be consciously reported. Studies utilizing implicit meas- ures illustrate that about twice as many people show bias on implicit measures as on explicit measures. Studies have

shown that as children get older they are more motivated to suppress explicit racial biases, but are still affected by explicit bias (Rutland, Cameron, Milne, & McGeorge, 2005). These findings highlight that the pervasiveness of racial stereotypes is not just related to the beliefs individuals are aware of but rather may be held at a subconscious level that may be even more challenging to change.

Other related research examines the ways that racial dis- crimination affects young people psychologically and aca- demically. Scholars have argued that dealing with racial discrimination is simply a fact of life for minorities in con- temporary American society (Feagin & Vera, 1995; Kluegel & Bobo, 1993). Although racial discrimination is common in the daily experiences of marginalized groups, it still deeply affects them in multiple ways, including decreased life sat- isfaction, increased stress (Utsey, Ponterotto, Reynolds, & Cancelli, 2000), and negative mental health outcomes (McCoy & Major, 2003). Studies that have examined youths’ experiences find that discrimination regularly occurs within educational contexts (Fisher, Wallace, & Fenton, 2000). Ethnic-minority students perceive that they are routinely discouraged from taking advanced-level courses, have been given lower grades because of racial prejudice, and are dis- ciplined more harshly than their white counterparts (Fisher et al., 2000). These experiences of discrimination in school were related to lowered self-esteem. The number of per- ceived incidents of discrimination also varies by racial iden- tification, whereby more highly identified minority students recount more instances of discrimination (Sellers, Caldwell, Schmeelk-Cone, & Zimmerman, 2003). Moreover, students for whom racial identity was central report lower levels of psychological distress in relation to discrimination experi- ences (Romero, Edwards, Fryberg, & Orduña, 2014), indi- cating that strong racial identities can have a protective effect in the face of discrimination.

In addition to discrimination based on race, students, espe- cially Hispanic and Southeast Asian students, have reported discrimination based on English-language proficiency (Fisher et al., 2000; Rumbaut & Ima, 1988). Studies have shown that having an accent can also be a source of negative stereotyp- ing and discrimination (Dovidio, Gluszek, John, Ditlmann, & Lagunes, 2010). This is consistent with the sociolinguistic notion of “linguistic profiling” in which individuals are ste- reotyped and discriminated against on the basis of sounding Hispanic or African American (Baugh, 2007). Language asso- ciated with black and Hispanic communities (e.g., Ebonics and Spanish) tends to be undervalued and stigmatized, such that speakers of these dialects and languages are more likely to be denied an opportunity to view an apartment (Baugh, 2007), and are stigmatized and excluded in schools (Olsen, 1997).

The Relation of Classroom Structures and Pedagogy to Identities

Schools and classrooms are key sites for the formation of racial, cultural, and linguistic identities. Social cues in schools can teach students about the school’s valuing of diverse perspectives, positioning of various social groups,

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and racial-ethnic epistemologies. In addition, the structure of schools and the nature of the pedagogy can send clear mes- sages to students that have implications for their developing racial/ethnic, linguistic, and academic identities.

Ability grouping is one aspect of school structure that may impact identities. Ability tracking leads African American and Latino students to experience a very different context than whites and Asian Americans, even within integrated schools. For this reason, Oakes (2005) calls tracking “second- generation segregation.” African American and Latino stu- dents are vastly overrepresented in special education classes and underrepresented among those identified as gifted (National Education Association, 2011). Even in cases where students have some choice in class selection, African American and Latino students in integrated schools are over- represented in lower tracks, and segregated schools tend to have disproportionate numbers of low-level courses.

Not only are there well-documented academic conse- quences of ability tracking on African American and Latino students, there is evidence of negative effects on racial/ethnic identity development. As noted, black and Latino students are more likely to be accused of “acting white” in schools where they are severely underrepresented in advanced courses (Mickelson & Velasco, 2006; Tyson, 2006). Mickelson and Velasco (2006) suggest that oppositional racial identities (e.g., those identities linking African Americans with aca- demic failures) may develop in highly stratified contexts where it is easier to make the visual connection between race and ability grouping.

In addition, social processes within classrooms matter for students’ identities. Research shows that classroom dis- course and curricular content can impact social and racial/ ethnic identities. Wortham (2006) found that elementary stu- dents took up ideas from the social studies lesson to position one another socially in the classroom. Langer-Osuna (2011) and Herrenkohl and Mertyl (2010) have similarly shown that students adopt and ascribe racial and social identities to themselves and one another as they engage the mathematics and science curriculum. Research on culturally relevant ped- agogy has illustrated the power of curriculum that centers the cultural experience of the students to support access to posi- tive racial identities and increased engagement and learning (Howard, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1993). This point is further illustrated by C. Lee (2007), who studied what she called cul- tural modeling where teachers draw on cultural datasets or topics and material that are culturally relevant for students in order to teach core concepts in academic disciplines. C. Lee finds that students in classrooms where cultural modeling was used learned more and felt more connected to their learn- ing than did students in comparison classrooms. Gutiérrez and Rogoff (2003) describe the importance of building on “cultural repertoires of practice” which encourage cycles of expansive learning.

Research has noted that cultural differences in ways of doing and knowing (e.g., different cultural repertoires of practice) may also play a role in how classroom processes relate to the learning and identities of students. Studies have

demonstrated that African American students learn best in school contexts that align with cultural expressions in their homes, including movement (Boykin & Cunningham, 2001) and collaborative learning (Ellison, Boykin, Tyler, & Dillihunt, 2005). Highlighting the cultural underpinnings of these results are other studies showing that, although com- munalistic and cooperative learning contexts (see Serpell, Boykin, Madhere, & Nasim, 2006 for a description of the difference) benefit both African American and European American students, African American students benefit to a greater degree than whites (Boykin & Bailey, 2000; Serpell et al., 2006).

The differing cultural repertoires of practice of African American students have several implications for their devel- oping racial identities. First, behavioral styles that may not initially be associated with racial or ethnic background become racialized as youth move into formal schooling (Boykin & Cunningham, 2001). African American students begin to learn that “black” cultural styles are viewed as oppo- sitional in the classroom and may feel compelled to choose between their preferred behavioral repertoires and those of the mainstream, disrupting early feelings of group affinity. Second, this discontinuity may be especially problematic in integrated schools where cultural styles, academic per- formance, and racial identity may be more tightly coupled and may lay the foundation for later oppositional identities (Tyson, 2006). This research highlights the importance of the pedagogical setting to provide resources for positive racial/ ethnic and academic identities in school.

Ethnic Identity, Language Proficiency, and Academic Achievement

The research literature on youth from immigrant and lin- guistically diverse backgrounds highlights the variability in the relation between academic, racial/ethnic and linguistic identities. Bilingualism and ethnic identity have consist- ently been positively associated with academic self-concept and achievement among children of immigrants (Portes & Rumbaut, 2001). In addition, proficiency in the home lan- guage is an important component of ethnic identity for both recent immigrant adolescents and those living in immigrant households. For example, Kim and Chao (2009) find that heritage language proficiency and ethnic identity make inde- pendent and significant contributions to the school effort of second-generation Mexican adolescents. For first-, second-, and third-generation Mexican youth, being proficient in Spanish reading and writing is associated with higher effort in school. For these youth, the extra effort it takes to acquire heritage-language fluency and explore identity may help to clarify their sense of self, which in turn may enhance or increase their motivation in school (Fuligni et al., 2005).

As immigrant youth acculturate over time, they become more aware of racial and ethnic stereotypes, and ethnic iden- tity begins to take on an important role as a protective fac- tor for academic success (Suarez-Orozco & Suarez-Orozco, 2001). While perceived discrimination is a risk factor for

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educational success, a positive ethnic identity promotes suc- cess among immigrant youth (Garcia Coll & Marks, 2009). Specifically, Fuligni et al. (2005) found that adolescents who believed that their ethnicity was a central aspect of their self-concepts and held positive regard for their ethnic groups believed in a greater utility of education and school success, had more intrinsic interest in school, identified more with school, and believed they were respected by their school. In another recent study, Dominican immigrant children with a more central ethnic identity rated school as more important, and those who held positive regard for their ethnic group had more intrinsic motivation toward academics (Lawrence, Bachman, & Ruble, 2007). Latino immigrant youth may face ethnic discrimination that puts them at risk for academic dis- engagement but some may also hold strong ethnic identities that help them maintain positive attitudes about school. In addition to ethnic identity directly predicting academic out- comes, it is likely to play a second role as well as a moderator (Greene, Way, & Pahl, 2006; Umaña-Taylor & Updegraff, 2007; Wong, Eccles, & Sameroff, 2003). Having a strong, positive ethnic identity seems to buffer or mitigate negative effects associated with perceiving discrimination.

Although school contextual variables predict children’s perceptions of discrimination and ethnic identity, such con- texts also influence whether those perceptions of discrim- ination and ethnic identity are in turn related to academic outcomes. For example, Brown and Chu (2012) found that, for immigrant children who were in the minority in their school community, a positive and important ethnic identity was critical, both as a direct predictor of positive academic outcomes and as a buffer against teacher discrimination. Children in these school contexts are arguably the most vul- nerable, belonging to a minority ethnic group at a school that does not highly value multiculturalism. At these schools, it seems that feeling positively about their ethnic group is particularly important for holding positive attitudes about school, performing well, and maintaining those positive attitudes in the face of teacher discrimination. In contrast, at predominantly Latino schools that valued diversity, ethnic identity and perceptions of discrimination were unrelated to academic attitudes (Brown & Chu, 2012). Although children at these schools perceived more discrimination overall, it was not linked to academic attitudes.

Ogbu (1991) argued that the social identifications of immigrant adolescents, whom he referred to as voluntary minorities, have important implications for academic moti- vation and achievement. Previous ethnographic research suggested that West Indian and Mexican youth from immigrant families who identify with their parents’ cul- tural origins tend to be more attached to school and attain greater academic success than their peers who assume the more Americanized ethnic identity labels, such as black or Chicano (Rumbaut, 1994; Waters, 1999). However, cur- rent trends in social identity theory suggest that members of low-status groups attempt to improve their standing by challenging prevailing characteristics of their group, rede- fining the essential features of their group, and engaging in

social comparisons on other dimensions that are advanta- geous to them (Hogg, 2003). Thus, in terms of ethnic labels and educational orientation, adolescents who identify with Americanized ethnic labels such as Latino or Chicano may still show high levels of academic motivation and achieve- ment because they define their ethnic labels differently than the larger society, where such labels are associated with negative stereotypes of academic failure. Identifying with such ethnic labels as a source of pride, these adolescents redefine the meaning of being Latino or Chicano as includ- ing a strong desire to achieve in school despite the many challenges they face (Zarate, Bhimji, & Reese, 2005).

What seems to be most important for academic success is that immigrant adolescents strongly identify with their ethnic background and specific ethnic labels, whatever they may be. For example, Fuligni and colleagues (2005) found that Mexican and Chinese adolescents who believed that their eth- nicity was a central aspect of their selves and who held pos- itive regard for their ethnic groups were more positive about education in general and their school specifically. Regardless of their chosen ethnic labels, these adolescents liked school, found it more interesting, and believed it was important and useful. Adolescents with stronger ethnic identity also believed that their schools valued and respected them.

The research on the ethnic identities of immigrant youth mirrors findings on students of color more generally, which indicate that a sense of pride in one’s racial or ethnic group is also correlated with positive achievement outcomes for both children and adults (e.g., Bowman & Howard, 1985; Chavous et al., 2003; Wong et al., 2003). In addition, some studies have shown that more assimilationist beliefs (e.g., endorse- ment of mainstream views) are associated with less positive school outcomes for youth of color (Sellers, Chavous, & Cooke, 1998; Spencer, Noll, Stolzfus, & Harpalani, 2001).

Taken together, the scholarship on cultural, racial/ethnic, and linguistic identities, and the ways they are associated with schooling and academic outcomes, has enriched our understandings of the nature of racial/ethnic and linguistic identities, the cultural nature of these identities, and the range of ways they are brought to bear on schooling processes or on processes of well-being more generally. Next, we turn to a discussion of current trends in the research on these identities as they intersect with processes of schooling.

Current Trends in Research on Cultural, Racial/ Ethnic, and Linguistic Identities

In this section, we highlight several compelling trends in the current scholarship on identity and educational and psy- chological well-being, and describe the research in relation to these trends. This section is not an exhaustive review; rather we focus on a small number of trends that move in new directions and add to a nuanced understanding of impor- tant processes and interactions. Often, these approaches are cross-cultural, multimethod, theoretically important, and interdisciplinary. Specifically, we discuss three key trends: (a) understanding schools as important sites of racialization

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processes; (b) the connection between identity and lan- guage-brokering processes; and (c) a focus on school success as a form of resistance.

Schools as Sites of Racialization

One important trend in current research on racial, ethnic, and linguistic identities is the scholarly work that highlights racial socialization processes as key aspects of life in schools. In other words, schools are not simply places to which peo- ple bring racial identities or cultural identities, but rather, schools are sites of construction of those identities. This includes research that examines racialization processes and racial socialization at the whole-school level (Lewis, 2003; Pollock, 2004), but also processes of racialization and racial socialization inside classrooms, including mathematics and science classrooms (Nasir & Shah, 2011; Varelas, Martin, & Kane, 2012). At the whole-school level, scholars have pointed to the ways that schools convey strong and persis- tent messages about race. These messages position white and Asian students as high-achieving and “smart” and portray black and Latino students as not intellectually inclined and as students with behavior problems, or less parental support for achievement (Lewis, 2003; Nasir, Snyder, Shah, & Ross, 2012; Pollock, 2004). At times, these messages are overt, and are sometimes articulated by teachers or peers, and at other times by structures that privilege some students while marginalizing others (Conchas & Vigil, 2010; Noguera & Wing, 2006). Lewis’s (2003) ethnographic study of three elementary schools with very different racial demographics illustrated that in majority-minority schools, as well as in predominantly white schools, African American and Latino students were stigmatized and that this process of position- ing students and families of color as less capable was perpe- trated by school personnel and by school-involved parents. Thus, the racial socialization that occurs in schools is jointly accomplished by multiple stakeholders acting in concert (Davidson, 1996).

Nasir (2012) conducted a qualitative study of racial iden- tity processes and access in a poorly resourced urban high school, and showed that students made use of available social categories at their school site (which varied by aca- demic track) to develop their own racial and academic identi- ties. More specifically, students in the higher academic track had well-developed positive racial identities, associated with African American history and educational excellence, while students that were non-college-bound saw their racial identi- ties as being connected to their street identities. These identi- ties were supported by the ways students were positioned by teachers and peers in school, and by the social resources to which they had access.

Carter (2012) similarly showed that the identity processes of individual students are tied not only to the racial consti- tution of the student body, but also to the range of identity options made available for students in local school sites. She reported findings from a cross-national study of sev- eral hundred students in eight schools in South Africa and the United States. She found that racial group membership,

and its relation to academic engagement, was more prob- lematic for students from marginalized groups when there were fewer minority students at their schools. In majority- minority schools, students from marginalized groups were afforded greater opportunities to attain academic freedom, in part because they were not so beholden to negative racial stereotypes.

Davidson (1996) examined racialization processes in a California multiethnic high school. She conducted indepth case studies of 54 students and showed that not only were students racialized by virtue of race, but they were also racialized (and racialized themselves) by virtue of language. Davidson tells the story of a Latina student who spoke Spanish 2 days a week for the entire day (including in her predominantly white honors classes) as a means of resisting the oppressive ways she felt that she was seen and positioned by school personnel.

Other scholars have studied identity development and race in academic disciplines and K-12 classrooms (Ladson- Billings, 1993; C. Lee, 2007; Martin, 2006). For instance, Varelas et al. (2012) theorize the connections between racial, academic, and disciplinary (e.g., science and math) identi- ties. They draw on multiple studies of math and science classrooms in elementary and middle school to argue that classrooms vary how they support marginalized students in successfully attaining both disciplinary and positive racial/ ethnic identities. Further, important messages about these identities were conveyed in day-to-day interactions. C. Lee (2007) writes about the process of “cultural modeling,” whereby teachers utilize students’ cultural datasets to teach important literary analysis tools to urban African American students in urban schools. In both of these examples, schol- ars highlight how schooling environments racialize students through complex and subtle social positioning processes.

Research on racialization in schools is supported by recent race theory scholarship that outlines the ways that race and racism continue to operate even in spaces where people see themselves as color-blind. For instance, Bonilla-Silva (2006) has argued that schools often operate on principles of “color- blind racism,” which include a nuanced set of beliefs and ideologies that allow one to deny the existence or power of race, while at the same time benefiting from racial privilege. Recent scholarship on whiteness theory (Leonardo, 2009) also calls out the subtle and pervasive ways that racialization persists in schools, and describes the very nuanced ways that white privilege operates in schools to perpetuate inequality (Leonardo, 2009).

Language Brokering and Language Practice in Relation to Identity

Researchers have recently begun to expand our understand- ing of how linguistic practices and proficiency in multiple languages shape the racial/ethnic identities of children and young adults. The ability to speak two languages fosters close ties to the native and host culture (Phinney, Romero, Nava, & Huang, 2001). Scholars have identified “language bro- kering” as a practice of children of immigrants that involves

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translating and interpreting for parents and others. Research with adolescent language brokers has shown that the expe- rience of language brokering positively contributes to feel- ings of social self-efficacy, biculturalism, acculturation, and academic performance (Acoach & Webb, 2004; Buriel, Perez, DeMent, Chavez, & Moran, 1998). Furthermore, her- itage language proficiency is a strong contributor to ethnic identity (Phinney et al., 2001). For example, proficiency in Spanish is a strong indicator of both cultural affiliation and level of acculturation for many Latinos (Cuéllar & González, 2000). Children and adolescents who language broker have the opportunity to build stronger ties with the home culture and become bicultural. Consequently, language brokering may contribute to the formation of a strong ethnic identity. A strong ethnic identity has been associated with scholastic self-competence (Davey, Fish, Eaker, & Klock, 2003) and psychological well-being (R. M. Lee, 2003). At the same time, individuals who view language brokering as a posi- tive experience develop a stronger sense of ethnic identity (LeFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993).

Language brokering places individuals into situations where they must navigate more than one culture, which may foster the sense of belonging, feelings, and attitudes toward the family’s ethnic group, and create opportunities for under- standing the family’s ethnic-minority status. Language bro- kering tends to involve understanding the nuances of culture and the heritage language; therefore, language brokers may develop closer adherence to cultural values, which may be reflected in stronger ethnic identity development. During language-brokering activities, parents often discuss their heritage culture, practice traditions, and teach children about their ethnic culture—a process known as familial ethnic socialization (Umaña-Taylor, Alfaro, Bamaca, & Guimond, 2009; Umaña-Taylor & Fine, 2004). Familial ethnic social- ization has been positively associated with ethnic identity and academic motivation (Huynh & Fuligni, 2008; Umaña- Taylor & Fine, 2004).

Weisskirch (2005) reported that language brokering was associated with greater ethnic identity exploration, even after accounting for level of acculturation. Moreover, positive feelings when engaging in language brokering were posi- tively associated with greater ethnic identity, ethnic identity exploration, and ethnic identity affirmation. During the bro- kering process, adolescents may directly encounter institu- tional barriers or observe discriminatory treatment of their parents due to their limited English proficiency, and these experiences may make adolescents more hypervigilant both to their own language minority status and to more covert racial or ethnic microaggressions (e.g., Sue, Lin, Torino, Capodilupo, & Rivera, 2009). As a result, language broker- ing may influence the development of academic competen- cies (Chao, 2006; McQuillan & Tse, 1995).

Some studies have documented positive effects of lan- guage brokering that may result in higher academic success, including the development of strong metalinguistic and interpersonal skills (Valdés, 2003), increased confidence and maturity (McQuillan & Tse, 1995; Walinchowski, 2001), academic self-efficacy (Buriel et al., 1998), and pride at being

able to help their families (DeMent & Buriel, 1999; Valdés, Chavez, & Angelelli, 2003). Furthermore, language broker- ing facilitates bilingualism by enhancing cognitive skills, and increasing comprehension of adult-level texts (Dorner, Orellana, & Li-Grining, 2007; Wu & Kim, 2009). Buriel et al. (1998) argued that the brokering process enhanced the cog- nitive skills of bilingual children who interpret for their par- ents. Language brokering may also increase metalinguistic skills (Duran, 2008; Garcia, 2006; J. S. Lee & Bowen, 2006) and social abilities (Chao, 2006; Han, 2006; Tabor & Collier, 2002). The complex translation strategies that are employed during language brokering by children may result in higher academic outcomes than those of non-brokering peers. For example, the process could result in increased school-related vocabulary and experience in certain language activities that require the same skills students need to achieve academic, cognitive, and linguistic competencies (Garcia, 2006; Han, 2006).

In their study of Mexican immigrants in Chicago, Dorner and colleagues (2007) found that higher levels of language brokering were significantly linked to better scores on fifth- and sixth-grade standardized reading tests. Similarly, Orellana, Renolds, Dorner, and Meza (2003) found a positive relation between language brokering and reading and math achievement test scores. In another study, Orellana (2009) noted that language brokers with transcultural skills and lan- guage-brokering experience had higher scores on standard- ized tests in reading and math. These arguments may explain why many Asian immigrant children who become language brokers have high achievement (J. S. Lee & Bowen, 2006). In sum, these studies suggest positive effects of language brokering on children’s cognitive, academic, and behavioral development.

School Success as a Form of Resistance

A growing number of studies suggest that some minority children respond to racism and discrimination in ways that promote educational attainment and academic excellence (Cammarota, 2004; Carter Andrews, 2008; Harris & Marsh, 2010; O’Connor, 1997; Sanders, 1997; Yosso, 2002a, 2002b). Though not discounting the oppositional identity work of Ogbu (1991), these recent studies suggest minority youth have more than one response to racism that can result in dif- ferent educational outcomes. For example, studies focused on African Americans find that some youth possess a strong achievement orientation that is reflected in their multifaceted and continuous struggle for equal educational opportunity, attainment, and success (Carter Andrews, 2008; O’Connor, 1997; Sanders, 1997). One way in which students of color reconcile “the irreconcilable conflict” (Ogbu, 1991) is by using school success as a form of resistance. Scholars have defined this resistance in various ways in their work—” conformist resistance” (Fordham, 1999; Yosso, 2002a), “positive resistance” (Valenzuela, 1999) “academic resilience” (Gayles, 2005), and “transformational resistance” (Cammarota, 2004).

Some scholars define resistance as succeeding in school to reject racism as a structural barrier to students’ upward

Na’ilah Suad Nasir et al.194

mobility (Carter Andrews, 2008; Gayles, 2005; O’Connor, 1997; Sanders, 1997; Yosso, 2002a). For some students, school success as a resistance strategy represents a commit- ment to maintaining a historically rooted ideology of racial uplift and thriving against all odds. African American stu- dents who embody this characterization have been called race-conscious high achievers (Foster, 2005). These students have an achievement ideology that is collective and resistant in nature rather than collective and oppositional. By concep- tualizing success in the context of being a proud member of the African American community, some participants develop an achievement ethos that reflects an understanding of suc- cess despite systemic forces that oppress them. These youth conceptualize achievement as integral, rather than separate from being African American, in order to sustain high levels of school success (Nasir, 2012; Oyserman, Gant, & Ager, 1995). Similarly, Carter Andrews (2008) describes “criti- cal race achievement” as an ideology expressed by African American students that reflects resistance, resilience, and a redefinition of achievement. In her research, these students possessed a critical consciousness about racism and the chal- lenges it presents to their present and future opportunities as well as those of other members of their racial group. Thus, students develop adaptive strategies for overcoming racism in the school context that allow them to maintain high aca- demic achievement and a strong racial/ethnic self-concept (Carter Andrews, 2008).

Oyserman and colleagues’ (1995) framework of iden- tity development attempts to account for the experiences of youth who must conceptualize plausible paths toward aca- demic success in a context unfavorable to members of their group. By conceptualizing achievement as embedded within one’s sense of self as an African American, youths do not experience contradiction and tension between achievement and their African American identity (Oyserman et al., 1995). Thus, school success is thought to be dependent on three things: (a) seeing oneself as a member of the racial group (i.e., connectedness); (b) being aware of stereotypes and limitations to one’s present and future social and economic outcomes (i.e., awareness of racism); and (c) developing a perspective of self as succeeding as a racial group mem- ber (i.e., achievement as an African American). Oyserman and colleagues (1995) also note that identity negotiation for African American youth should involve the dual task of assembling a positive sense of self, while discrediting nega- tive identities attributed to African Americans. However, in contrast to becoming raceless, they posit that a sense of self as part of kin and community and interacting with the group are important components of African American identity that provide a sense of meaning and purpose. They tie the self to normative strategies for goal attainment, particularly school achievement. Therefore, in addition to discrediting negative stereotypes about the black community, it is important for African Americans who seek academic success, coupled with positive psychological health, to maintain attachment to the fictive kinship system and associate positive mean- ing to this membership. According to O’Connor (1997),

students aware of such injustices identify their ‘‘collective struggle’’ as the factor that leads them to continue to excel. For example, Sanders (1997) found that eighth-grade African American students with a high awareness of racial discrimi- nation respond to discrimination in ways that are conducive, rather than detrimental, to academic success.

Education researchers have also described a type of stu- dent achievement among marginalized students of color that they call “conformist resistance” (Solórzano & Delgado Bernal, 2001; Valenzuela, 1999; Yosso, 2002a). “Conformist resistance” centers on using education, or at least persever- ing to obtain educational credentials, to counter societal ine- qualities without challenging the systemic oppressions of schooling. Valenzuela (1999) uses the term “positive resis- tance” to denote student achievement deployed as a strategy to counter social oppression. Solórzano and Delgado Bernal (2001) expand on this argument, contending that students may adopt a “transformational resistance,” which they define as a deeper level of critical awareness and a social justice orientation to work for social change. Studying the influence of media on Chicana/o community college students, Yosso (2002b) identified a “prove them wrong” approach among students, described as the motivation for Latino youth to challenge negative media representations by succeeding in their own lives and serving as positive examples for oth- ers. Similarly, Arellano and Padilla’s (1996) investigation of Latino college students at a prestigious university found that, for resilient students, perceived disparities in opportunities afforded to others, as well as a sense of affiliation with other Latinos, constituted important motivational resources.

Promising Directions for Future Research

In this final section, we consider potential gaps in research and identify promising directions for future research. We argue that there are several potentially promising directions for future research, building on critical issues in contem- porary society around culture, race, language, identity, and schooling. One critical area for future research is the com- plex interplay of multiple gendered, linguistic, and racial- ized identities. Much of the research has examined race- or language-based identities but less frequently has research examined, from a psychological perspective, how people manage multiple marginalized identities, nor how these identities intersect in complex ways with the environment, or with schooling settings in particular. Whereas scholarship on intersectionality theory (Crenshaw, 1991) has articulated the important implications of being at the intersections of multi- ple identities, rarely have these experiences been examined in relation to schooling outcomes or processes. Perhaps one exception is the recent surge of scholarship on men and boys of color (Edley & Ruiz de Velasco, 2010).

A related area is the study of new and complex identity forms, and new configurations of the settings within which marginalized students construct racial, cultural, and linguis- tic identities. This includes the study of the growing pop- ulation of black middle-class students, who too often face

Diversity and Identity 195

similar academic outcomes as their less well-resourced peers. Multiracial students are another growing demographic group (Lusk, Taylor, Nanney, & Austin, 2010). There is much research needed to understand the experience of multiracial students, including the linguistic identities of those students raised in multilingual households, and the racial identities of biracial students growing up in different kinds of social and school settings. In addition, research might address the experiences of language groups other than Spanish in U.S. schools and society.

In addition to considering new groups of students and stu- dents with complex configurations of identities, another prom- ising area is developing alternate quantitative and qualitative research methods and utilizing multimethod designs to consider the interplay of social structures and sociopolitical trends, local teaching and learning environments, and developing racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identities in relation to student achievement and educational experiences. For example, outmi- gration from inner cities in major metropolitan areas has caused the demographic reconstitution of suburban neighborhoods, whose schools are being asked to serve this new population of students. We know very little about the experience of students or about their identity processes that occur within high-minority, higher-poverty suburban schools (Morris, 2009). Multilevel models would be useful in such studies because they consider nested structure (i.e., multilevel models consider the individual in contexts such as schools or the communities). Another exam- ple would be a study of shifting student identities in relation to district-level reforms, particularly reforms that have to do with equity or the experiences of language-minority students. This line of research would also benefit from building on advances in multilevel and interdisciplinary research, as well as research in the tradition of translational science and human science (Penuel & Fishman, 2012).

Research on racial, ethnic, cultural, and linguistic iden- tities of students should also address the important demo- graphic and ideological shifts that have occurred over time. For instance, today’s youth are coming of age in an era that has been referred to as “post-racial.” Whereas the degree to which race is declining in significance is certainly debata- ble, the national discourse on race, culture, and language has shifted in important ways, which likely impacts the develop- ing identities of young people.

In conclusion, there exists a burgeoning body of research relevant to understanding the relation between racial, cul- tural, and linguistic identities and schooling outcomes. The development of healthy identities is critical to young people’s sense of selves and their academic outcomes. Additionally, healthy identities provide a layer of support in successfully navigating the inequality and racism they face in everyday life. The body of research provides significant information about the importance of healthy identities; yet, we do very little in schools or as a society to support the development of such identities. Moving forward, it is critical that we find ways to better support students as they work to craft con- sequential racial/ethnic, cultural, and linguistic identities in schools.

Note

1. We use multiple terms throughout the chapter to denote racial and ethnic group membership, including African American, black, Latino, Hispanic, white, Caucasian, and Asian American. We use racial/ethnic terms for the same group interchangeably, in order to reflect the terms that the authors use in the original studies, as well as to communicate the range of terms used in the research literature.

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