tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/hispanic-students-24368/articlesHispanic students – The Conversation2023-06-30T12:41:25Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2051122023-06-30T12:41:25Z2023-06-30T12:41:25ZMilitary academies can still consider race in admissions, but the rest of the nation’s colleges and universities cannot, court rules<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/534925/original/file-20230629-25-jj8v31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=116%2C35%2C5820%2C3889&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A person protests outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2023.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/APTOPIXSupremeCourtAffirmativeAction/3df7c369e0494252b2d9e333d079c0bf/photo?Query=affirmative%20action&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=642&currentItemNo=1">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>In a 6-3 <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf">ruling</a> on Thursday, June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/06/29/us/affirmative-action-supreme-court">struck down the use of race in college admissions</a> at Harvard and the University of North Carolina, outlawing the use of race in college admissions in general. The Conversation reached out to three legal scholars to explain what the decision means for students, colleges and universities, and ultimately the nation’s future.</em></p>
<h2>Kimberly Robinson, Professor of Law at the University of Virginia</h2>
<p>Writing for the majority in a <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/22pdf/20-1199_hgdj.pdf">case that bans affirmative action in college admissions</a>, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that such programs “unavoidably employ race in a negative manner” that goes against the Constitution.</p>
<p>The research, however, shows that the ban could potentially harm many college students and ultimately the United States. The reason this can be said with certainty is because in states where affirmative action has been banned, such as California and Michigan, <a href="https://www.chronicle.com/article/race-conscious-admission-bans">many selective state colleges and universities have struggled</a> to maintain the student body diversity that existed before affirmative action was banned.</p>
<p>Robust research shows how students who engage with students from different racial backgrounds <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654309352495">experience</a> <a href="https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/article/258117/pdf?casa_token=q8qNOOU6_RsAAAAA:ypmjnl3Bwxzo1r-NxasqzKkCcgfN-x_ijZFd-SL3awMASAjcR0wn9EkMPIOAzjUp01XBx5XWSA">educational benefits</a>, such as cognitive growth and development and creating new ideas. For those reasons, a substantial decline in enrollment for underrepresented minority students carries many repercussions. </p>
<p>It means, for instance, that many students at selective colleges will have far fewer opportunities to learn from and interact with students from different racial backgrounds.</p>
<p>The nation’s elite colleges, such as Harvard and the University of North Carolina, educate a <a href="https://www.tulanelawreview.org/pub/volume96/issue1/affirmative-action-and-the-leadership-pipeline">disproportionately high share</a> of America’s leaders. Those who don’t attend these selective schools are dramatically <a href="https://www.tulanelawreview.org/pub/volume96/issue1/affirmative-action-and-the-leadership-pipeline">less likely</a> to complete a graduate or professional program. This is because these selective schools carry certain advantages. For instance, students who attend them are statistically more likely to graduate and be admitted to professional and graduate programs.</p>
<p>That means for students from underrepresented groups who don’t get into selective colleges, the chances of getting an advanced degree – which often paves the way to leadership positions – will be even lower.</p>
<p>The decision may also affect the workplace. Research shows that in states that eliminated affirmative action, <a href="https://gap.hks.harvard.edu/impact-eliminating-affirmative-action-minority-and-female-employment-natural-experiment-approach">meaningful drops in workplace diversity</a> took place. Asian and African American women and Hispanic men experienced the most significant declines.</p>
<p>These shifts in elite college enrollment, leadership and workplaces will weaken long-standing efforts to dismantle the nation’s <a href="https://scholarship.law.unc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=4420&context=nclr">segregationist past</a> and the privilege that this segregationist past affords to <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Black-Wealth--White-Wealth-A-New-Perspective-on-Racial-Inequality/Oliver-Shapiro/p/book/9780415951678">wealth</a> and <a href="https://policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/white-privilege">whiteness</a>.</p>
<p>To help mitigate these potential harms, selective colleges will have to devote their attention to limiting what I believe are the decision’s harmful impacts and reaffirming their commitment to diverse student bodies through all <a href="https://harvardlawreview.org/print/vol-130/fishers-cautionary-tale-and-the-urgent-need-for-equal-access-to-an-excellent-education/">lawful means</a>.</p>
<h2>Kristine Bowman, Professor of Law and Education Policy, Michigan State University</h2>
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<span class="caption">People protest outside of the Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on June 29, 2023.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/SupremeCourtAffirmativeAction/de1a9f99d5854446b9283100babf7778/photo?Query=court%20affirmative%20action&mediaType=photo&sortBy=&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=328&currentItemNo=16">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</a></span>
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<p>In striking down race-conscious admissions practices, the Supreme Court overturns the court’s <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1979/76-811">1978 decision</a> that held that race-conscious admissions were constitutional.</p>
<p>This reversal was not unexpected, but it will have profound implications for building and maintaining diverse and inclusive colleges and universities, particularly among selective institutions. The <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373720904433">most effective way to enroll a diverse student body</a> – and achieve the educational and social benefits that come with it – is to consider race as a factor in admissions. In the 10 states that have had affirmative action bans in admissions, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373720904433">diversity in selective institutions has declined</a>.
This remained true even as alternative strategies were employed to achieve racial diversity, such as targeting recruitment efforts and focusing more on socioeconomic status diversity.</p>
<p>Although the court does not say outright that institutions cannot pursue diversity, it is not clear what diversity-related goals, if any, could constitutionally support race-conscious admissions. The court states that the benefits of diversity that Harvard and UNC articulate are not sufficiently “measurable,” “focused,” “concrete” or “coherent.” “How many fewer leaders Harvard would create without racial preferences, or how much poorer the education at Harvard would be, are inquiries no court could resolve,” the court wrote.</p>
<p>And yet, as Justice Sotomayor’s dissent highlights, the majority also says that race-conscious admissions with a “focus on numbers” or particular “numerical commitments” are also unconstitutional.</p>
<p>The opinion did not go as far as it could have in restricting the consideration of race. Institutions can still consider what a student’s comments about their racialized experiences reveal about their characteristics, such as “courage,” “determination” or “leadership.”</p>
<p>This provides a way for institutions to consider how race has impacted a student’s life. Although this unfairly places the burden on students of color to write about their racialized experience, it is arguably lighter than the burden that would have been borne if the court had attempted to prohibit consideration of such experiences. </p>
<p>Furthermore, efforts to pursue diversity through other means remain lawful. These alternative means include <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/stoken/default+domain/UH4YSS3QHRCBY2VJEKPT/full">increasing attention to socioeconomic status</a>, making campus communities more inclusive. It also involves checking whether students are passing classes and graduating at the same rate regardless of race. </p>
<p>Research <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0162373720904433">hasn’t shown</a> that these efforts will result in as much diversity at selective colleges as race-conscious college admissions. These efforts, however, now stand as a critical way forward to keep America’s elite colleges and universities diverse.</p>
<h2>Vinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law, University of New Mexico</h2>
<p>Although the court struck down the use of race in college admissions – as predicted by many experts and observers – the court left room for one narrow exception.</p>
<p>The majority opinion stated in a brief footnote that its ruling does not apply to race-conscious admissions at the nation’s military academies, such as West Point or the Naval Academy. </p>
<p>This issue had come up at oral arguments. When articulating the U.S. government’s position, Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar raised the point that the military may have compelling interests beyond those that universities have. Specifically, the U.S. government argued that a racially diverse military officer corps was necessary for national security. In response, Chief Justice Roberts briefly noted the possibility of a military academy exception. This was not lost in his ruling.</p>
<p>The majority opinion stated that there could be “potentially distinct interests that the military academies may present.” Because the academies were not parties to these cases, the court did not directly address this issue and left it unsettled. </p>
<p>This was not the first time that the military influenced the court’s view of race-conscious admissions. Twenty years ago, national security interests played a significant role in the majority opinion in <a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/2002/02-241">Grutter v. Bollinger</a>.</p>
<p>Citing the amicus brief of former military leaders, Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s majority opinion in the Grutter case noted that diverse military leadership was “essential to the military’s ability to fulfill its principle mission to provide national security.” She found that “[i]t requires only a small step from this analysis to conclude that our country’s other most selective institutions must remain both diverse and selective.”</p>
<p>In its latest rulings, the court left alone O'Connor’s claim that diverse military leadership is essential to national security, but it soundly rejected her view that diversity can justify race-conscious admissions at the nation’s colleges and universities.</p>
<p>The military is not the only place where the court has noted that security interests can justify use of race. The court also cited a 2005 ruling, Johnson v. California, where the justices held that prison officials could temporarily segregate prisoners by race to prevent violence. </p>
<p>It seems that the court is willing to uphold use of race when government power is at stake – as with the military and law enforcement. But it will not do so for the education of America’s citizenry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/205112/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Three legal experts weigh in on what the Supreme Court’s ban on race in college admissions means for students, colleges and universities, and the nation’s future.Kristine Bowman, Professor of Law and Education Policy, Michigan State UniversityKimberly Robinson, Professor of Law, Professor of Law, Education and Public Policy, University of VirginiaVinay Harpalani, Associate Professor of Law and Henry Weihofen Professor, University of New MexicoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2033852023-04-27T12:31:14Z2023-04-27T12:31:14ZLatino youth struggle with sense of belonging in school<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522700/original/file-20230424-24-wqebnb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C50%2C6709%2C4376&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Feelings of isolation can affect academic outcomes.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/teenage-girl-talks-during-support-group-meeting-royalty-free-image/1098429460?phrase=latino%20high%20school%20students&adppopup=true">SDI Productions via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>Latino youth in middle and high school have a <a href="https://www.immigrantednextsophiarodriguezphd.com/our-projects/Immigrant-youth-belonging-in-community-school-and-district-partnerships-to-reduce-inequality">lower sense of belonging at school and in the community overall</a> when compared with white peers. That is a key finding from my analysis, which is currently under review and based on surveys with students in midsize districts – one urban and one suburban – on the East Coast. I also found that being a language learner is associated with lower school belonging.</p>
<p>To measure belonging, I analyzed a 40-question survey that included questions about belonging at school, in after-school programs and in the community. Students reported that the reasons for feeling a lack of belonging stem from negative experiences at school, few trusting adult-student relationships and little affirmation from school of students’ Latino identity. Latino youths, especially those from immigrant households and nonnative English speakers, report lower sense of belonging.</p>
<p>One Latina middle schooler explained: “I am from two places, El Salvador and Honduras, but I mostly use Hispanic, or I say I am from Honduras.” This teen is proud of her identity but feels it is rare to see someone like her and worries about being accepted in school because of her multicultural identity.</p>
<p>Some young people worry about racial discrimination and <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/news/how-fear-immigration-enforcement-affects-mental-health-latino-youth">immigration policies</a> that affect their families. One Latina youth stated: “I get worried sometimes we might get deported,” demonstrating her isolation.</p>
<p>Belonging <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1993.9943831">generally relates to feeling accepted</a>, included, respected and supported. My research found that Latino youths with lower sense of belonging report feeling unimportant in school, have negative or unsupportive interactions with adults, and have just one or no adults to ask for help. In my research, “I don’t feel like I belong” was a common phrase from youths. Even before the pandemic, adolescents broadly were reporting feelings of isolation and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/12/health/covid-teenagers-mental-health.html">negative mental health effects</a>.</p>
<p>Latino youths in this project also reported higher belonging if they are connected to peers with similar ethnic or immigrant family identities. Additionally, Latino youths tend to have stronger relationships with adults outside of school – such as in their community or at after-school programs – than in school. This is often because of the <a href="https://youthrex.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Designing-Culturally-Responsive-Organized-After-School-Activities-2017.pdf">diversity in those out-of-school settings</a>.</p>
<p>In fact, community spaces, such as <a href="http://www.youthcirculations.com/blog/2019/1/9/a-space-to-belong-newcomer-migrant-youth-in-hartford">public libraries</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00131946.2017.1322970">after-school programs</a>, foster belonging and affirm identities and cultures. Frequently, these community spaces also connect Latino immigrant youths and their families to important resources, such as access to immigration attorneys, social workers and counselors, or scholarship information.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>Latino students <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/2022/10/11/latino-student-population-us-schools/10426950002/">make up nearly 30%</a> of U.S. public schools students. If school leaders are to improve academic outcomes and lessen negative <a href="https://www.migrationpolicy.org/sites/default/files/publications/immigration-enforcement-mental-health-latino-students_final.pdf">mental health effects</a> for Latino youths, belonging has to be part of the process.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">“The Faces of Deportation | How an ICE Raid in Mississippi Upended a Family’s Future” by Rolling Stone.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Prior research has already demonstrated how <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.1993.9943831">academic outcomes</a> are connected to belonging. Young people need to feel safe, respected and supported in order to succeed in school. </p>
<p>Relationships are critical for belonging. They must be <a href="https://meridian.allenpress.com/her/article-abstract/67/1/1/31679/A-Social-Capital-Framework-for-Understanding-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext">focused on helping students succeed</a> and include mutual respect with adults to affirm who they are. Otherwise, the resulting lower belonging can lead to <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/coj/status-dropout-rates">less engagement with academics</a> and lower <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-005-8950-4">graduation rates</a>. These <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02662-2">effects of low belonging</a> limit youths’ future opportunities, such as by lowering their chances of going to college.</p>
<p>With a <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/02/03/u-s-hispanic-population-continued-its-geographic-spread-in-the-2010s/">steadily rising</a> Latino population across the U.S., many Latino students are from immigrant backgrounds and face language and economic barriers. It’s critical for educators to <a href="https://www.gse.harvard.edu/news/23/02/harvard-edcast-what-do-immigrant-students-need-it-isnt-just-ell">cultivate supportive relationships</a> and affirm these students’ ethnic and immigrant identities. </p>
<h2>What other research is being done and what’s next?</h2>
<p>New research explores how to <a href="https://theimagineproject.org/trauma-informed-schools/">improve school environments</a> and make them <a href="https://ginwright.medium.com/the-future-of-healing-shifting-from-trauma-informed-care-to-healing-centered-engagement-634f557ce69c">more responsive</a> to Latino youths’ needs. As such, schools should honor identities and cultures. </p>
<p>This can happen through improving <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/016146812012201203">educator awareness</a> and training about <a href="https://immigrationinitiative.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/EdBrief-Climate-1.2-copy.pdf">how immigration affects students’ lives and families</a>, reducing <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/12/15/u-s-public-school-students-often-go-to-schools-where-at-least-half-of-their-peers-are-the-same-race-or-ethnicity/">segregation</a> in schools and <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429331435-21/critical-literacy-race-yolanda-sealey-ruiz">bias toward nonwhite students</a>, and <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/1221014362">valuing students’ cultures</a>.</p>
<p>Schools can also partner with community-based organizations, since research shows these organizations are where young people <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9558-y">have a higher sense of belonging</a> and more positive adult-student relationships.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203385/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sophia Rodriguez receives funding from William T. Grant Foundation. </span></em></p>Latino youths often feel more at home in after-school programs and in the community than they do in school. A sociologist explores why.Sophia Rodriguez, Assistant Professor of Urban Education and Policy, University of MarylandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1922282022-11-02T12:27:56Z2022-11-02T12:27:56ZWhy schools’ going back to ‘normal’ won’t work for students of color<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/491961/original/file-20221026-1498-z5dr49.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C12%2C8627%2C5497&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Students of color have long needed more from schools than is typically provided.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/young-indigenous-navajo-young-teacher-checking-her-royalty-free-image/1413335596">THEPALMER/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>National test results released in September 2022 show <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/24/us/math-reading-scores-pandemic.html">unprecedented losses</a> in <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/">math and reading scores</a> since the pandemic disrupted schooling for millions of children.</p>
<p>In response, educational leaders and policymakers across the country are <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brown-center-chalkboard/2022/05/13/restoring-pandemic-losses-will-require-major-changes-in-schools-and-classrooms-superintendents-say/">eager to reverse these trends</a> and catch these students back up to where they would have been.</p>
<p>But this renewed concern seems to overlook a crucial fact: Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools were failing to adequately serve children of color. As a <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=aFMqdpIAAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao">scholar of racial equity</a> in K-12 education, I see an opportunity to go beyond getting students caught up. Rather than focus only on trying to close pandemic-related gaps, schools could seek to more substantially improve the quality of education they offer, particularly for students of color, if they want to achieve equitable and sustainable results.</p>
<h2>Studying schools</h2>
<p>For more than a decade, I’ve been conducting research on how schools can successfully serve Black and Latino students. Most of this work has focused on New York City, but what I have learned is critical for any school.</p>
<p>In one long-term <a href="https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/research-alliance/evaluating-expanded-success-initiative">study of a citywide initiative</a> targeted at improving outcomes for Black and Latino boys, my colleagues and I collected data across more than 100 schools and through interviews with over 500 school leaders, teachers and students. </p>
<p>Based on this work, I’d like to highlight four critical conditions to improve the success and well-being of students of color.</p>
<h2>1. Classrooms that reflect the students they serve</h2>
<p>Research shows <a href="https://cepa.stanford.edu/content/causal-effects-cultural-relevance-evidence-ethnic-studies-curriculum">students do better overall</a> when their teachers and <a href="http://hdl.handle.net/10919/84024">the books students read</a> reflect their race, ethnicity and cultures. Yet statistics show that seldom happens.</p>
<p>Children’s books <a href="https://readingspark.wordpress.com/2019/06/19/picture-this-diversity-in-childrens-books-2018-infographic/">depict nonhuman characters</a>, like dogs and bears, almost three times as often as they <a href="https://ccbc.education.wisc.edu/literature-resources/ccbc-diversity-statistics/">depict characters who are Black</a>, four times as often than Asian characters, five times as often than Hispanic characters, and nearly 30 times as often than Indigenous characters. </p>
<p>Moreover, while the teacher workforce remains nearly <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2020/2020103/index.asp">80% white</a>, research shows that students who had <a href="https://www.nber.org/papers/w25254">teachers of the same race</a> had better chances of graduating from high school and enrolling in college. </p>
<h2>2. Connection, not control</h2>
<p>Students of color are more than twice as likely to be <a href="https://ocrdata.ed.gov/estimations/2017-2018">arrested at school</a> as their white counterparts. And Black children who behave in the same ways as white children are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02796015.2011.12087730">twice as likely</a> to be suspended for the same actions. </p>
<p>Many schools have established <a href="https://www.weareteachers.com/restorative-justice/">restorative justice programs</a>, which emphasize repairing harm versus doling out punishment. These efforts can help <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19010096">shift teachers’ roles</a> from controlling student behavior to forming connections with young people. </p>
<p>These connections can also be built outside formal classroom environments. Activities such as peer mentoring groups and student-led clubs are good opportunities for cultivating student-faculty connections. In those environments, students are more likely to <a href="https://steinhardt.nyu.edu/research-alliance/research/publications/strategies-improving-school-culture">feel comfortable being themselves</a> and expressing their feelings about both learning and other issues relevant to their lives.</p>
<h2>3. Equitable access to academic challenge</h2>
<p>Teachers <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2017.04.001">expect less of their Black and Latino students</a> than they do of white and Asian classmates. Black and Latino students are also underrepresented in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/15210960.2020.1728275">gifted and talented programs</a> and less likely to be placed in such advanced coursework as <a href="https://edtrust.org/resource/inequities-in-advanced-coursework/">eighth-grade algebra</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/bejeap-2018-0189">Advanced Placement courses</a> in high school.</p>
<p>When students have less access to rigorous learning opportunities, it can limit their progress in other areas as well. Students are <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cpb.pdf">more likely to enroll in college</a> when they have taken four years of math and science. Yet Black and Latino students are less likely to be exposed to <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/stem-course-taking.pdf">more advanced math and science courses, such as calculus and physics</a>.</p>
<h2>4. Teacher preparation and support</h2>
<p>Teachers need strong preparation to serve an <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators/index.asp">increasingly racially and ethnically</a> diverse student population. But many teacher education programs <a href="https://doi.org/10.7249/RR2990">are not preparing teachers</a> to meet the needs of the students they teach, particularly in schools that primarily serve students of color. </p>
<p>Teachers are required to have ongoing training to keep their <a href="https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/all-teachers-go-through-recertification-how-can-we-make-the-process-better/2017/12">subject-matter knowledge up to date</a>. Similarly, school districts could provide ongoing support for teachers to present broader depictions of history and society as part of developing <a href="https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654315582066">culturally relevant classrooms</a>, which draw on students’ backgrounds, identities and experiences. </p>
<p>The current political climate has become <a href="https://time.com/6192708/critical-race-theory-teachers-racism/">hostile to educators</a> who broach topics of race and racism. Teachers may call on principals and other education leaders to shield them from <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/06/16/teacher-resignations-firings-culture-wars/">backlash</a> against exposing students to historical or current examples of racial injustice.</p>
<p>As schools seek to address pandemic-related gaps, there is now a unique opportunity to reimagine public education. For many students of color, business as usual wasn’t enough. Let’s learn from where we’ve been and aim for better than a return to normal.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/192228/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adriana Villavicencio receives funding from the Spencer Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation. </span></em></p>A scholar explains why schools can’t focus only on closing pandemic-related learning gaps.Adriana Villavicencio, Assistant Professor of Education, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1507092020-12-08T13:12:50Z2020-12-08T13:12:50ZHow remote learning is making educational inequities worse<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/372863/original/file-20201203-13-yeiz23.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C0%2C6000%2C3988&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many students lack the technology and parental guidance to complete homework remotely during the pandemic. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/online-education-royalty-free-image/1218784955?adppopup=true">Pollyana Ventura/E+ via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/research-brief-83231">Research Brief</a> is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>The widespread reliance on remote learning is harming students of color from low-income households more than kids who are from more affluent families. Our survey of over 1,000 families in South and East Los Angeles (95% of whom identify as Hispanic and 96% who are on free or reduced-price meals) shows that these students often lack the appropriate technology for learning at home. They also often have parents who must work during school hours or who have limited ability to help their children with online learning. As a result, families in the survey reported lower levels of schoolwork completion and class engagement, two important predictors of academic achievement.</p>
<p>We also found that 57% of the families whose children could use computers for school were staying engaged during distance learning, compared to 43% of the families whose kids had to rely on tablets or smartphones. Likewise, when students can attend live class sessions, which usually requires high-speed internet, they are significantly more likely to complete their schoolwork.</p>
<p>The obstacles to learning away from school went beyond technology. Only one in three of the families we surveyed said they have an appropriate space, free of noise and distractions, in their homes for remote learning and homework. We also found that parents unable to work remotely often struggle to help their children during school hours. Instead, this job falls on older siblings and other relatives.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p><a href="https://rossier.usc.edu/files/2020/10/USC-Report-When-School-Comes-Home-Aguilar.pdf">Our findings</a> highlight the urgency of narrowing the <a href="http://arnicusc.org/publications/covid-19-and-the-distance-learning-gap/">digital divide</a> as a way to improve academic achievement among low-income students of color.</p>
<p>The pioneering American educator <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Mann">Horace Mann</a> famously characterized public schools as the “<a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Education-The-Great-Equalizer-2119678">great equalizer</a>,” places where children could receive a high-quality education regardless of individual or family circumstances. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, this goal was <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/raceindicators">far from realized</a>. But when living rooms and bedrooms become classrooms, disparities in digital technology and support students have at home have a bigger impact than ever. Our research also comes at a time when a group of seven families have <a href="https://www.politico.com/states/california/story/2020/11/30/california-families-sue-state-over-distance-learning-inequities-1338612">sued the State of California</a>. Their lawsuit accuses the state of failing to provide “basic educational equality” during an extended period of remote learning brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<h2>What still isn’t known</h2>
<p>We conducted this survey in July 2020, shortly after the 2019-20 school year ended. School districts have taken steps to improve remote learning since then by <a href="https://theconversation.com/initiatives-to-close-the-digital-divide-must-last-beyond-the-covid-19-pandemic-to-work-146663">spending more on technology</a>.</p>
<p>But there are early indications from the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-02/failing-grades-surge-poor-la-students-covid-19">Los Angeles Unified School District</a> and other large school districts that <a href="https://bellwethereducation.org/publication/missing-margins-estimating-scale-covid-19-attendance-crisis">attendance remains lower than it was before the pandemic</a> and that <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/education/when-covid-19-closed-schools-black-hispanic-poor-kids-took-n1249352">more students than usual are getting failing grades</a>. That troubling news suggests that many of the challenges to remote learning identified in our study may remain largely unresolved.</p>
<p>Another major concern is whether remote learning will affect the transition to college for students who would be the first in their families to continue with their education beyond high school.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>We are following up by conducting in-depth interviews with Hispanic families to better understand how they are coping with remote learning. We also plan to survey other groups, including Black families and English language learners.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150709/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>This study received funding Great Public Schools Now (GPSN).</span></em></p>When homes become classrooms, things like a lack of technology and a quiet place to study take an even bigger toll on student achievement, new research finds.Hernán Galperin, Associate Professor of Communication, USC Annenberg School for Communication and JournalismStephen Aguilar, Assistant Professor of Education, University of Southern CaliforniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1419672020-07-30T12:11:44Z2020-07-30T12:11:44ZBusiness major fails to attract Latino students<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348989/original/file-20200722-32-5huez8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Latinx students majoring in business are underrepresented in higher education.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/two-ethnic-college-friends-leave-class-together-and-royalty-free-image/900413292?adppopup=true">FatCamera/GettyImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/06/04/covid-19-protests-racial-inequity-economy/">inequity</a> of the U.S. economy toward minority racial and ethnic groups. Research shows that <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11187-017-9883-5">successful entrepreneurship</a> can help reduce the racial wealth disparity, especially for the Latino community.</p>
<p>For example, Latino business owners are <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/data/while-minority-owned-businesses-are-plentiful-in-seattle-diversity-is-elusive/">more likely to hire</a> people within their communities. This results in helping lower unemployment among Latinos and increasing the purchasing power of Latino neighborhoods.</p>
<p>Latinos make up approximately <a href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/RHI725219">18.5% of the American population</a>, but <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/statistics/employment/jobpatterns/eeo1/2018/national/table">account</a> for just 4% of executive or senior-level managers, and 9% of first-and mid-level managers.</p>
<p>They are also <a href="https://www.gmac.com/market-intelligence-and-research/research-library/diversity-enrollment/rr-16-02-underrepresented-populations">underrepresented</a> at America’s business schools, representing only 12.6% of <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d19/tables/dt19_322.30.asp">business degrees awarded</a> at the bachelor’s level and 5.8% of those who took the <a href="https://www.gmac.com/%7E/media/Files/gmac/Research/GMAT-Test-Taker-Data/gmat-profile-north-america-ty2017-final_web-release.pdf">GMAT</a> in 2018, which is a test used for admission to graduate business school programs.</p>
<h2>Not a popular major</h2>
<p>Business schools aren’t successfully attracting Latino college students after they’ve started college. That’s according to recent findings from the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey, or <a href="http://www.ifyc.org/ideals">IDEALS</a>. </p>
<p>The study – done in partnership with the Interfaith Youth Core, North Carolina State University and Ohio State University – followed thousands of students from over 120 colleges and universities through four years of college, from 2015 to 2019.</p>
<p>The survey found that of the roughly 50% of Latino students who changed their major during college, none changed their major to business. Furthermore, of the 85 Latino students who entered college undecided about their major, only one went on to major in business. </p>
<h2>Generational concerns</h2>
<p>Federal data show that only <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2018/2018009.pdf">9% of Latino students</a> have at least one parent who went to college, compared to 70% of white students.</p>
<p>Being the first in their families to go to college, many Latino students may not be aware that majoring in business is a viable option. Studies have shown that these students enter college with a <a href="https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1187206.pdf">lack of awareness</a> about how to begin the process of choosing a major, in part because they haven’t experienced many family conversations about selecting a major. </p>
<p>Michael Resendez, a rising senior majoring in finance at the University of Houston, observed that many first-generation Latino students on campus choose to remain undecided for as long as they can, or choose majors that are more common like those in the liberal arts or education.</p>
<h2>What to do</h2>
<p>Exposing Latino students to opportunities to study business is just one part of the equation. An important question remains: Will business schools be welcoming places for them?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=359&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/348490/original/file-20200720-151933-1yw0h3i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=451&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Less than 3% of business professors at four-year colleges are of Hispanic/Latino descent.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-in-class-raising-their-hands-to-ask-royalty-free-image/1049942740?adppopup=true">andresr/GettyImages</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One glaring issue that business schools must address is the lack of Latino full-time faculty. </p>
<p>As of 2016, only <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08832323.2016.1175410?scroll=top&needAccess=true&">2.6% of full-time faculty</a> at America’s business schools were Latino, while 4.2% were Black, 16% were Asian or Pacific Islander, and 75% were white. This percentage isn’t growing. From 2013 to 2017, the number of Latino tenured faculty remained relatively flat, only rising by <a href="https://www.dropbox.com/s/9ijhhx37niz8jf5/2019%20ISSUE%20Heilig%201-31.pdf?dl=0">two-thirds of a percent</a>.</p>
<p>In June 2020, Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria issued an <a href="https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2020/6/17/hbs-anti-racism-initiatives/">apology</a> for the lack of minority representation in their faculty.</p>
<p>Beyond faculty, Resendez foresees new hurdles for Latino students. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a slew of business internship offers being <a href="https://learn.joinhandshake.com/career-centers/handshake-student-employer-survey-results/">rescinded</a>. There were also <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/poetsandquants/2020/03/29/how-covid-19-is-crashing-on-the-class-of-2020-job-offers-already-disappearing/#7d56821d3ffb">hiring freezes and massive job losses</a> in the <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/education/497425-half-of-college-graduates-may-be-headed-for-unemployment">business sector</a>.</p>
<p>“The Latinx community is risk averse; they tend to pursue what is safe and what they know will support themselves and their families,” Resendez explained. The professional and business services sector has seen some of the <a href="https://thehill.com/opinion/education/497425-half-of-college-graduates-may-be-headed-for-unemployment">greatest job losses</a> during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<p>As a case in point, Latino students are more <a href="https://communitycapital.unc.edu/files/2018/04/UnidosUS-Student-Debt-Report.pdf">reluctant to borrow</a> than students of other racial groups. That’s important when you consider the fact that full-time MBA program tuition can total up to <a href="https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools/mba-rankings">$50,000 to $80,000</a> on average, and the top U.S. business schools charge in the <a href="https://poetsandquants.com/2019/11/13/the-total-cost-to-attend-a-top-25-mba-program-keeps-rising/">six figures</a>.</p>
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<p>Nevertheless, the number of Latino college students is growing at a rapid pace, as it is estimated that <a href="https://universitybusiness.com/recruiting-and-supporting-the-growing-latino-student-population/">one-fifth of college students</a> will be Latino by 2025, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. </p>
<p>Business schools may want to evaluate whether they are prepared to serve this growing population. A USA Today investigation <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/nation/2020/01/06/more-hispanic-students-than-ever-go-college-but-cost-high/2520646001/">found</a> that Latino students tend to be “intimidated by the cost, whiteness and bureaucracy” of U.S. colleges. A more customized approach to this population that affirms their heritage and their unique contributions will be needed if business schools hope to welcome more Latino students through their doors.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/141967/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alyssa N. Rockenbach receives funding from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the John E. Fetzer Institute, and the Julian Grace Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew J. Mayhew receives funding from the National Science Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Fetzer Institute, the U.S. Department of Education, the Merrifield Family Foundation, and the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kevin Singer and Laura S. Dahl do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Not many Latino students major in business. A researcher explores the reasons why.Kevin Singer, PhD Student, Research Assistant with IDEALS (Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Study), North Carolina State UniversityAlyssa N. Rockenbach, Professor of Higher Education, North Carolina State UniversityLaura S. Dahl, Assistant Professor of Education, North Dakota State UniversityMatthew J. Mayhew, The William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Higher Education, The Ohio State UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1173712019-07-02T11:13:53Z2019-07-02T11:13:53ZFlying colors: Researcher reveals hidden world through the eyes of butterflies<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/279431/original/file-20190613-32317-1gd8v1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Adriana Briscoe, in the greenhouse with a blue morpho, University of California, Irvine, June 2019</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Koseki - UCI School of Biological Sciences</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>An award-winning scientist and professor of evolutionary biology, Adriana Briscoe studies <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=brdXz7oAAAAJ&hl=en">the evolution of vision in butterflies</a> and how they see color. Briscoe is currently working on her first book, which is a memoir about, what else? Butterflies. A descendant of Mexican immigrants who fled the Mexican Revolution at the turn of the century and settled in San Bernardino, California, Briscoe has called for more Latino teachers in science. Below is an edited version of an interview with her that explains her work, roots, and why the US needs more Latino STEM teachers.</em></p>
<p><strong>You won <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaleBM6i-YQ">an award</a> once for distinguished research. What makes your research or instruction distinguished?</strong></p>
<p>I am fascinated by the sensory world of animals, which is both similar and different from our world. Butterflies can migrate using <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627305002369">ultraviolet polarized light</a>, a feature of sunlight we can’t see, and by sensing the earth’s magnetic fields. They can also see colors that we cannot. I often wonder, why is the natural world so colorful? Are all color patterns meaningful to the animals that bear them? Or are some colors meant to help the animals adapt to their thermal environment? I take an interdisciplinary approach to the study of animal coloration and vision.</p>
<p><strong>What’s the most interesting science you’ve done in the last five years?</strong></p>
<p>Butterflies cannot tell us directly what colors they recognize so I’ve trained them <a href="http://visiongene.bio.uci.edu/Adriana_Briscoe/Publications_files/Movie1.mov.qt">to show me what colors they can see</a>. People can train a butterfly to fly toward a colored light if you reward it with sugar water. After several bouts of training, if you give a hungry butterfly a choice between two colored lights, it often will go toward the light associated with the sugar water. Seeing a butterfly you’ve trained fly towards the right light is a bit electrifying. Their behavior tells you something about their sensory world – what colors do and do not matter to them, what colors they can and cannot see. Some butterflies have red-green color vision, others <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/content/209/10/1944.short">are red-green color blind</a>, like some humans. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280333/original/file-20190619-171208-fewp7c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Adriana Briscoe holding a <em>Morpho peleides</em> butterfly, also known as a blue morpho, in the greenhouse at the University of California, Irvine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Koseki - UCI School of Biological Sciences</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>What prompted you to get into teaching?</strong></p>
<p>I come from a family of Mexican American teachers. Growing up, I heard stories about how my grandmother and mother had to fight for their education. In 1937 my maternal grandmother, Consuelo Lozano, a daughter of Mexican immigrants, was the <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/47300666/">only Spanish-named woman</a> attending Colton High in San Bernardino County, California to graduate. Two years later, she married my grandfather, who had dropped out of high school to pick oranges during the Great Depression.</p>
<p>During World War II my grandmother <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/48927081/">inspected airplanes</a> at the San Bernardino Army Air Field. My mother, Loretta Mejía, was the only Spanish-named <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/53998403/">woman from San Bernardino County, the largest county</a> in the U.S., to graduate from the University of California, Riverside in 1965, which at the time had more than 3100 students.</p>
<p>From the ages of six to nine, I watched my grandmother, who went back to school to earn her teaching degree in her 60s, study at home with other student teachers. These women were part of the <a href="https://www.newspapers.com/image/62441653/">largest group of bilingual teachers</a> to graduate at one time in the U.S. Both my mother and my grandmother became bilingual elementary school teachers. Watching my mother prepare lessons to help kids learn how to read night after night, imbued me with a deep respect for the work that teachers do.</p>
<p><strong>You’ve spoken of the need for <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/116/hr2528/text">government action</a> to get more Latino individuals to teach science. Why do we need government intervention to make this happen?</strong></p>
<p>Many Latinos in the U.S. live in low-income communities like the town where I grew up. Food insecurity <a href="https://www.scpr.org/programs/take-two/2019/06/17/19829/">is widespread among college students</a>. Government intervention is especially needed to increase the number of STEM workers and educators. Most students can’t afford to work as unpaid interns in laboratories, yet gaining experience in the lab is key to becoming a scientist. Doing science and teaching science are costly enterprises. For every $100,000 I spend on students, I have to obtain a grant of $150,000 due to indirect costs.</p>
<p>We need more highly trained teachers and training is expensive. I was able to become a scientist because by the time I applied to college, my formerly working class parents had elevated their economic status through education and could afford to pay for my undergraduate tuition at Stanford. When it came time to go to graduate school, private foundations such as the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Ford Foundation paid my way and the U.S. National Science Foundation paid for my research.</p>
<p>Glenda Flores has noted in her award-winning book “<a href="https://nyupress.org/9781479813537/latina-teachers/">Latina Teachers</a>” that affirmative action policies primarily benefit white women and have led to an increase in the proportion of white women in professions like medicine and law. Teaching and nursing, professions previously occupied mostly by white women, have become more open to Latino teachers and teachers of color. The number of Latino teachers is increasing. In California, <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/cb/ceffingertipfacts.asp">20.2%</a> of K-12 teachers are Latino, although the number that are U.S. born is not entirely clear. My research with Dylan Rainbow suggests the percent of Latino science and math public school teachers in California is currently <a href="https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/df/index.asp">3%</a>, a number we clearly need to work on.</p>
<p><strong><em>Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Ford Foundation were early supporters of The Conversation US.</em></strong></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117371/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Adriana Briscoe has received funding from the National Science Foundation, the Ford Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. </span></em></p>A scientist explains how she got a glimpse into the secret world of butterflies and her hopes of encouraging more Latinos to enter the field of science.Adriana Briscoe, Professor of Biology, University of California, IrvineLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/647922016-12-21T00:28:31Z2016-12-21T00:28:31ZAre Brazilians Latinos? What their identity struggle tells us about race in America<p>Bikini waxes, keratin hair blowouts and all-you-can-eat steakhouses.</p>
<p>In the United States, all three are closely associated with the word “Brazilian.” Yet, although none of these things are linked to Latino identity, one of the questions that journalists frequently ask me is, “Are Brazilians Latinos?” Surprisingly, many Brazilian-Americans also ask me the same question. As one of my students put it, “Because ‘Brazilian’ is not an option in any census, job or college form, you get older and wonder, where do I fit in?”</p>
<p>The confusion is warranted. </p>
<p>It illuminates how U.S. public discourse and policy classifies <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/pew-57m-hispanics-now-in-u.s.-17-of-population-54-of-total-growth/article/2601396">57 million people</a> from very different ethnic, racial and national backgrounds into the categories of “Latino” and “Hispanic.” That Brazilians do not quite fit the box enables us to probe the terms “Latino” and “Hispanic” and their implications. This is important at a time when Latinos are reaching <a href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/09/15/facts-for-national-hispanic-heritage-month/">18 percent</a> of the U.S. population.</p>
<h2>Latino ID</h2>
<p>Some have argued that the Brazilian confusion simply stems from the fact that the Brazilians are “Latino” – <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/difference-between-hispanic-latino-and-spanish_us_55a7ec20e4b0c5f0322c9e44">a term</a> that references Latin-American geography – but not “Hispanic,” which accentuates Spanish language. Yet, since 2000, the census has used these terms <a href="http://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html">interchangeably</a> to mean “a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race.”</p>
<p>The override of “Spanish culture” has roots in the 19th-century <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Harvest-Empire-History-Latinos-America/dp/0143119281">American expansion</a> into northern Mexico and Spain’s last Caribbean colonies, and underscores how Latino identity emerged out of empire-building. For many living in these areas, U.S. settlement resulted in land dispossession, labor exploitation and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Harvest-Empire-History-Latinos-America/dp/0143119281">cultural subordination</a>. As a “conquered” people perceived to have Spanish, Indian and black “blood,” Latinos were regarded as racially and culturally inferior to white Americans. </p>
<p>I’d argue that “Latino” or “Hispanic” signifies a subordinated racial group that is associated with a homogenized “Spanish” culture. Given that Brazilians speak Portuguese and Brazil has not endured American invasions, it follows that they must be something other than Latinos.</p>
<h2>Mixed messages</h2>
<p>At the same time, it is not so clear-cut. </p>
<p>Brazil is located in South America and viewed in the U.S. as a “third world” country with a <a href="http://press.princeton.edu/titles/4281.html">mixed-race population.</a> In certain contexts, this means Americans consider Brazilians as “Latins.” </p>
<p>Hollywood has been one of the greatest <a href="http://media.wix.com/ugd/73fa65_e8b1b4ec675c41b3a06f351926129cea.pdf">promoters</a> of this idea. The industry typically portrays Brazilians as stereotypical <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=vnEvBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA218&lpg=PA218&dq=brazilians+portrayed+hollywood&source=bl&ots=87aIEFkIDf&sig=mi9kEFf6EL6Yc1BLzlBTfs5P33M&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-3PWUv_7QAhWl44MKHUtJBrsQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=brazilians%20portrayed%20hollywood&f=false">Latinos</a>: The women are sexy or tragic, the men dangerous or disposable – all are terrific dancers.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=781&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=781&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=781&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=981&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=981&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/138120/original/image-20160916-17039-1oii33l.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=981&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Carmen Miranda.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Not surprisingly, Hollywood’s most famous Brazilian of all time, Carmen Miranda, embodied all things “Latin” under her tutti frutti hat <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-carmen-miranda-19550806-story.html">during the 1940s</a>. The conflation also shows up in the recent Netflix series “Narcos.” Brazilian actor Wagner Moura plays Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar with a foreign <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/netflixs-narcos-pablo-escobars-accent-has-annoyed-colombians-10505706.html">accent</a> in both English <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/17/narcos-netflix-colombian-accents">and Spanish</a> to great acclaim.</p>
<p>Still, if Brazilians can tell the difference, why are they confused? </p>
<p>Apart from the mixed messages of Hollywood and the census, another source of uncertainty lies in the different racial schemes prevalent in the <a href="http://library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-9/brazilians-in-the-u-s/">U.S. and Brazil</a>. While Americans often perceive people of mixed ancestry <a href="http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2010/12/one-drop-rule-persists/">as nonwhite</a>, Brazilians tend to understand race <a href="https://books.google.fr/books?id=kMOiAgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false">in a continuum</a> and consider not only appearance or descent but also social and economic status. </p>
<p>As Luciano Gomes, a Brazilian immigrant who lives in Florida and works as a driver, observes, “We see race in shades: light-skinned, dark skin, café con leche.” </p>
<h2>Navigating Brazilian-ness</h2>
<p>Clearly, disparate frameworks and conflicting signals make for muddy conceptual waters. Yet, how do Brazilians navigate them?</p>
<p>For the nearly 1.5 million Brazilians <a href="http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/brazilian-immigrants-united-states">living in the U.S.</a>, the short answer is: It depends. While scholars generally agree that Brazilians are largely of middle-class origin and migrate in search of economic opportunity, they also settle in cities with different racial histories and dynamics. This often leads to a range of <a href="https://library.brown.edu/create/fivecenturiesofchange/chapters/chapter-9/brazilians-in-the-u-s/">identity experiences</a>.</p>
<p>In Miami, one of the areas with the largest concentration of Brazilians in the U.S., most can assert their identity with few complications. This is the case because Miami is a Latino-majority city where Latinos wield considerable political power and have greater control over how they are <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/not-just-cubans-many-latinos-now-call-miami-home-n37241">racially classified</a>. In contrast to the majority of the country, light-skinned or mixed-race Brazilians can integrate into a pan-Latino mainstream as “white Hispanics” without loss of status. “We blend and mix,” says my Brazilian-American colleague Walyce Almeida, a journalist who grew up in “la Florida” speaking English, Spanish and Portuguese. “No problem.” </p>
<p>The situation is thornier in northeastern cities where Latinos are a smaller share of the population, poorer and have less access to political institutions. In these cities, Brazilians are frequently grouped with “Latinos” regardless of preference.</p>
<p>“It was in New York that I became a Latina,” Almeida adds. “The first day I came to the office, an African-American coworker told me, ‘So you are the new Latina in the office?’ It didn’t bother me. I understood that people found me more relatable if they think I am Latina.” </p>
<p>Becoming Latino can also be a survival strategy. “Brazilians like to think of themselves as better than Latinos: We are the best soccer players, the best dancers,” notes Caroline Braga, a law student raised in Newark’s Little Brazil. “But when I started filling out college forms, I started checking the Latino box. If we are discriminated against as Latinos in the U.S., you have to buddy up with the others. Being Brazilian and special is not going to get you far.”</p>
<h2>Brazilian: Blend or brand</h2>
<p>Many Brazilians, however, avoid being seen as Latinos because Brazilian identity is widely viewed as a finer “cultural brand.” “You get a more positive response when you say that you are Brazilian,” Braga continues. “Brazil is carnival and beautiful women. Latinos are illegal immigration and crime.”</p>
<p>Keeping the boundary may be particularly important to some Brazilians who are well off and perceived as “white.” </p>
<p>A case in point is Gisele Bundchen, who is promoted in the U.S. as a “Brazilian supermodel,” <a href="http://www.vogue.com/13464214/brazil-supermodel-squad-dressing-for-rio/">not a Latina</a>, and described as a “sixth-generation Brazilian” of <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/brazilian-giseles-so-called-retirement/2015/04/27/9aeb600e-e945-11e4-8581-633c536add4b_story.html">German descent</a>. In Bundchen’s case, Brazilian identity is an erotic curiosity that is not passed on to the next generation. Fittingly, Bundchen’s children with football player Tom Brady, who is white, are never described as Brazilian or Latino, even though she moved to the U.S. in 1996 at age 16.</p>
<p>But while some Brazilians can become white, Afro-Brazilians are frequently not recognized as black or Latino, underscoring how these identities are presumed to be irreconcilable in the U.S. Reva Santo, an artist from Los Angeles now living in New York, put it this way:</p>
<p>“It’s confusing to be a black Brazilian-American. Growing up, my friends would say ‘you’re not black’ because of my cultural heritage. But in my white school I was treated as black. So, what I learned to do was to shape shift: I am black, Brazilian and Afro-Latina, according to where I am.”</p>
<p>So, are Brazilians Latinos? On TV and the big screen, absolutely sí. In everyday life, sometimes; on the catwalk, muito menos, not so much. Just like Latinos, most would prefer to be understood in the myriad ways that they see themselves.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/64792/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>In the past, Frances Negrón-Muntaner has received funds from Ford, Truman, Pew, Rockefeller, and ITVS, among other sources. None of the sources were linked to research on Brazilians.</span></em></p>Being Brazilian in the US means navigating an identity that doesn’t neatly fit into a single check-box, and can be perceived in vastly different ways depending on what part of the country you’re in.Frances Negrón-Muntaner, Professor of English and Comparative Literature, Columbia UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/650282016-09-14T10:03:37Z2016-09-14T10:03:37ZScience achievement gaps start early – in kindergarten<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137619/original/image-20160913-4958-1n9zghz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/martincron/2208024963/in/photolist-4n7GTV-EPYBw-EPYzJ-EPY98-cBo6h-4MZcyJ-4Barme-6EPxDS-dAs1tX-dAxuFE-5dG1WJ-iS6sD-4aHC9E-dArYQr-5dBFAR-dArXRP-cQKuTb-cQKuzj-cQKvPm-hoj72P-cQKuju-9fn3ab-8MtafS-4MUUfi-2saPB2-qWeHvS-4zu8pR-dN3Evf-bUBJEC-pBQqjU-2hYSYe-2khPBd-h1ZuP7-dc7xAX-7qCmEv-e4x7LY-79SQJK-JcYvJS-7A9bKJ-7A5pA2-Ha1Bs4-7A9byj-oYVWDp-EWyyM-usbQH-7A9bkm-iXJHvm-9ccufc-iXGxhC-6fDypu">Martin Cron</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The annual back-to-school season is filled with high hopes for making new friends, meeting new teachers – and, from the <a href="http://www.nap.edu/read/13158/chapter/4">view of many policymakers</a> – promoting gains in science achievement. Scientific learning and research <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/sosp/econ/weinberg.pdf">carry substantial economic benefits</a>.</p>
<p>Historically, however, not all groups have excelled in science equally. <a href="http://www.usnews.com/news/stem-index/articles/2015/06/29/gender-racial-gaps-widen-in-stem-fields">Black and Hispanic individuals as well as women</a> have been less likely to enter or persist in science-related studies or occupations.</p>
<p>These gaps have been well-studied at the level of <a href="http://aer.sagepub.com/content/50/5/1081.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr">high school</a> and <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009161">higher education</a>. These gaps, however, actually start much earlier.</p>
<p>My <a href="http://edr.sagepub.com/content/45/5/273.full">research</a> found that these gaps exist at the level of kindergarten. However, these gaps can also change significantly in the first two years of schooling.</p>
<h2>Large gaps in science</h2>
<p>In a <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16656611">2016 study</a>, my research assistant, <a href="http://umbc.academia.edu/AnnKellogg">Ann Kellogg,</a> and <a href="http://www.fchriscurran.com">I</a> examined the science performance of over 10,000 kindergarten students who began school in 2010. We analyzed data from a national study called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K) conducted by the federal government. </p>
<p>The data included science achievement tests that assessed concepts in physical, life and environmental science as well as scientific inquiry. Examples of science instruction in kindergarten includes studying how plants grow, experimenting with erosion on a water table or constructing a picture of the solar system.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">Previous research</a> had examined science gaps in early grades. Our study, however, looked at science gaps as early as kindergarten with newer data and better science achievement tests.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16656611">Our study revealed</a> large gaps in science achievement in kindergarten between white students and racial or ethnic minorities. And, where science gaps existed, we found that they were generally larger than the gaps in reading or mathematics achievement. However, we did not find significant gaps by gender. </p>
<h2>Achievement gaps are not stagnant</h2>
<p>On average, black students and Hispanic students performed significantly lower than white students on the science achievement tests in kindergarten. Approximately 41 percent of black students and 49 percent of Hispanic students scored in the bottom 25 percent. In comparison, only 12 percent of white students were in this category. </p>
<p>The difference in science achievement between black or Hispanic students and white students is roughly equivalent to what an average elementary student learns over a period of nine months between kindergarten and the end of first grade. The gaps between black, Hispanic and white students might be expected given <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/0038040715573027">similar gaps in mathematics and reading</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137618/original/image-20160913-4955-i5vb3w.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Asian students performed lower on science.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/jdsemma/2769032804/in/photolist-5dG1YU-e4x7P5-cA8V8A-4k2Hdw-cA8VQS-6robm-nGzSVF-dPt2G4-4uBBX-9YqxJe-dm5UiU-auHnEp-94GRs1-dAxsSL-5X9Fpm-aTGukZ-5tgZWx-cA8T3J-apeSDm-cA8SUN-at72xn-oHF9yR-cCAV5U-78zioW-i8Ccft-bRGxge-cA8Rs3-cA8Su9-8Mq7Pe-cA8VFh-cA8SLh-awFaMV-cA8UJN-6T9bfs-pEf93B-cA8UWb-at73eB-MMdAo-rN1xyk-cA8RK3-7dswpJ-cA8Vjy-5dG21U-K7g7H-6T9bfw-nmiH5p-dm5SLM-88TtS3-a9wERC-4Pjwru">Jennifer Smith</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What surprised us was that Asian students in our study performed significantly lower than white students in kindergarten on the science achievement test. Approximately 31 percent of Asian students scored in the bottom 25 percent on the science test. In contrast, only 12 percent of white students did so. This gap was present even though Asian students performed as well as or better than white students in mathematics and reading.</p>
<p>Interestingly, unlike the black-white gap, the science gap between Asian and white students closed rapidly between kindergarten and the end of first grade. In fact, by the end of first grade, the gap had reduced by almost 50 percent.</p>
<p>It’s unclear what causes this rapid decrease in the Asian-white science gap. However, what it does show is that achievement gaps are not stagnant.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15598539">Prior research</a> conducted by scholars <a href="http://rossier.usc.edu/faculty-and-research/directories/a-z/profile/?id=218">David Quinn</a> and <a href="https://education.utexas.edu/faculty/north_cooc">North Cooc</a> showed similar findings. By eighth grade, Asian student performance in science was <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15598539">equivalent to or higher</a> than that of white students. Other researchers have also found Asian students’ performance in science <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">increases rapidly</a> relative to white students throughout elementary and middle school. </p>
<h2>No gender gap</h2>
<p>Additionally, we found no difference in science achievement between boys and girls in kindergarten. A small male advantage was evident only in first grade. This too is an important finding given the <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15598539">documented</a> gender gaps in the later grades of elementary school.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X15598539">Prior work</a> has found that boys outperform girls in science at third grade. Similarly, <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2011451">results</a> from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) show a male advantage in science in the fourth grade.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137617/original/image-20160913-4955-2r4wbi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Study found no gender gaps in science during kindergarten years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/arselectronica/16791332781/in/photolist-rzMYeB-f2SRD1-rxBaoE-nGZcJK-5PmGwC-2aJd8u-nQMtyt-5mJzBi-FG5QVk-8AQgAB-5Uxub9-7bBuvR-7EjXVJ-9txHbj-pkbkn1-5NrGER-6RrkmU-bvEVbc-fm2pY7-aadxu7-6ijKYp-4Fgues-p3GYWi-8LhniS-76VJq8-q155aH-aadxEj-9mPpDq-gEYgS-p3GZfp-ee8Z9g-b6PGze-63dzxm-63dCdw-szJ5Q-639nTR-fkMeVe-63dAo5-639m8a-639oJg-639h2c-doiTpG-DtPUhC-CcrTfG-oiYi2c-e67QFb-bnPi5S-wzC7UB-pugG2a-65gMAX">Ars Electronica</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16656611">Our work</a> shows, however, that these gaps in later grades do not extend back to kindergarten. Instead, boys and girls appear to begin schooling on relatively equal footing when it comes to science achievement. It is only as they progress through school that the gender gap emerges.</p>
<h2>Science gaps larger</h2>
<p>Finally, we found that the kindergarten gaps by race or ethnicity tend to be <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16656611">larger in science</a> than in mathematics or reading.</p>
<p>For example, on the kindergarten achievement tests, the Hispanic-white gap was about twice as large for science as mathematics or reading. Similarly, the black-white gap was slightly larger in science than in mathematics and was about twice as large as the gap in reading.</p>
<p>It is possible that students lagging behind in math and reading struggle even more in science as it requires the <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">application of language and mathematics</a> to scientific content.</p>
<p>In sum, our findings point to the importance of the early elementary grades for equity in science achievement. We show that many gaps, such as the black-white gap, already exist when students start school. We also show, however, that these gaps can change significantly in the first two years of schooling as evidenced by the Asian-white gap and the emergence of a gender gap. </p>
<h2>What’s happening in classrooms?</h2>
<p>All this means that the early elementary years may be an appropriate point for addressing inequities in science achievement. However, science instruction has not been a high priority in the early elementary grades.</p>
<p><a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415616358">Research</a> comparing kindergarten in 1998 to that in 2010 found that teachers cover fewer science topics than before and students spend less time using science equipment. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=435&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/137621/original/image-20160913-4955-hvtyc7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=546&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Is science instruction the problem?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2458666314/in/photolist-4KgiQw-cA8Uwu-ataj5A-a3JkQ7-2L86u-cA8VZd-9xAES4-5pYXhS-9FTJMe-dAim4m-nomvhR-h1YVSp-a9u4iM-MMo5V-h1Z21S-7UkadE-qAWzYQ-7Xecsw-pEf9K8-fVddvw-h1Zb1V-mrQV5-qjAnrX-qFX3f-5pUAMF-bw6U2r-5dG27G-5T32yc-cA8SkJ-h1ZmdC-7n9G4N-e3R82c-h1Z7as-9cfuCs-e3R8wM-3H7icY-5Leucr-e3R8eH-33zZuP-h1ZvDd-8TAHye-5ZsbDG-6PpTnY-cA8Th7-5VKweG-qEicKc-qjnQC8-63jLJE-drrUTq-6VXNhy">woodleywonderworks</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Furthermore, kindergarten classrooms today are much less likely to have <a href="http://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415616358">science or nature areas</a>. Indeed, in kindergarten classrooms, teachers spend only about a <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0002831213513634">fourth of the amount of time on science</a> that they do on mathematics or language arts.</p>
<h2>What can we do?</h2>
<p>Our findings point to the need for increased emphasis on science in kindergarten and first grade. I believe, for example, that teachers and school leaders should look for opportunities to incorporate science concepts into reading and math lessons. </p>
<p>Looking beyond the classroom setting, the findings of our work and that of <a href="http://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X16633182">others</a> suggest the need to provide support to informal science learning opportunities. Visiting museums, interacting with nature and exploring novel tools all represent ways in which parents and caregivers can support early science inquiry.</p>
<p>Science achievement gaps begin early. It is important that our policies and interventions take steps in those early years to ensure increased science achievement for all.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65028/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>F. Chris Curran has received funding from the AERA Grants Program with support from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>Researchers have found large achievement gaps in science in kindergarten. However, these can change significantly in subsequent years.F. Chris Curran, Assistant Professor of Public Policy, University of Maryland, Baltimore CountyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/537912016-02-02T11:07:32Z2016-02-02T11:07:32ZWhy do fewer black students get identified as gifted?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109842/original/image-20160201-32240-u4pl5m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Why aren't enough black students identified for gifted programs?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/hocolibrary/8672913964/in/photolist-edoXao-edoVj1-ediikt-edighc-edijCP-edifkF-edifQM-edoW5S-edoVkL-edienx-ediee2-edid4K-edoU4Y-edoVNC-edoTaE-ediiWx-edijJB-edoXZb-edidsk-edoWa1-edicQ8-ediiwg-edoY8A-edoWBs-edoU2A-edierM-edoRT9-edicTM-edijnz-edoXum-edoTHs-edoV4b-edoTmJ-edid6Z-ediewZ-edoRNW-edoX3o-edoTz3-edieXp-ediekH-edoRgd-edigcx-ediebn-edoSpY-edoWqf-edoUyJ-edihQe-edoVD5-edoRH1-83VeBw">Howard County Library System</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nationally, black and Hispanic students are <a href="https://my.vanderbilt.edu/jasongrissom/files/2012/05/teacher_principal_diversity_gifted.pdf">underrepresented in gifted programs</a>, which provide specialized instruction or other services to meet the needs of especially bright or talented students.</p>
<p>Data from the U.S. Department of Education show that black and Hispanic students make up 40 percent of public school students but make up only <a href="http://ocrdata.ed.gov/StateNationalEstimations/Estimations_2011_12">26 percent of students</a> enrolled in gifted programs. </p>
<p>So what are the reasons for this underrepresentation?</p>
<p>One possibility is that these disproportionately low rates simply reflect differences in academic achievement across demographic groups. Indeed, a large body of research demonstrates that black and Hispanic students <a href="http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/003465304323031049">lag behind</a> their white and Asian peers even at kindergarten entry.</p>
<p>However, a recent <a href="http://ero.sagepub.com/content/2/1/2332858415622175">study</a> I coauthored with <a href="https://my.vanderbilt.edu/chrisredding/">Christopher Redding</a>, a doctoral student at Vanderbilt University, shows that differences in achievement are only part of the story. </p>
<h2>The black-white gap in gifted identification</h2>
<p>We based our research on an analysis of gifted placements in the <a href="https://nces.ed.gov/ecls/">Early Childhood Longitudinal Study</a>, which tracked a nationally representative sample of kindergartners throughout elementary school. A nice feature of these data is that they contain standardized achievement measures in math and reading for every student. </p>
<p>When we took student achievement levels into account, we found different patterns for Hispanic and black students. Essentially all of the gifted assignment gap between Hispanic and white students can be explained by test score differences. In stark contrast, math and reading scores explained only a little of <a href="http://ero.sagepub.com/content/2/1/2332858415622175">the black-white gap</a> in gifted assignment. In fact, a black student with the same scores as a white student is still only half as likely to be assigned to a gifted program.</p>
<p>In other words, two students – one black and one white – with the same math and reading achievement could have very different likelihoods of being identified as gifted. </p>
<p>This is a startling finding. </p>
<p>And, as additional analysis in our study shows, it cannot be explained by other differences in student background, such as parental education and household income.</p>
<p>Our investigation of school and classroom factors, however, does point toward two contributors to the black-white gap.</p>
<p>The first is that black students are less likely than white students to attend schools that offer gifted programs. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/109844/original/image-20160201-32237-s5p83h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A teacher’s race can influence who gets selected for gifted programs.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/departmentofed/9605585697/in/photolist-fCP8Yv-7QFkaS-fD6FGQ-9XjBSP-4sCHMR-6N6iwj-74jQRR-bmYYT5-fCVoqV-7y4D5d-e7Nm5-9hrRxn-akMvBf-fCVm5H-bzTN62-fD6Fvy-fCXgng-rbsKXR-7Qw18m-7Lgd87-bzTKMr-fDcVnW-gS6x9-kbHFt-fD6Grf-fCVioK-fCP8ua-fDcWah-bzTKGp-8UDAVN-kbHFu-6cPpRH-fCVnBr-fDcUzW-fCVkS6-fDcUTE-fCViac-fDcUZy-9cHyFS-fDcUsd-tCs3L-fDcULC-fD6GhA-dmYcfU-fD6Fkw-cU6sKU-3NQVr-fD6Fau-fCP8kR-oM4qKN">US Department of Education</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The second is that black students assigned to a white classroom teacher are much less likely to be assigned to gifted programs than those assigned to a black teacher.</p>
<p>The differences are big. </p>
<p>Black students in black teachers’ classrooms have almost the same probability of being assigned to gifted services as otherwise similar white students. However, black students in white teachers’ classrooms are identified for gifted services only about a third as often. </p>
<p>We find no similar evidence that having a same-race teacher matters for the gifted assignment of white, Hispanic or Asian students.</p>
<h2>Black teachers vs. white teachers</h2>
<p>Why would the teacher’s race matter for whether a black student is identified as gifted? </p>
<p>There are <a href="http://edr.sagepub.com/content/44/3/185.short">multiple possible explanations</a>. </p>
<p>Perhaps black students respond differently to teachers who look like them in ways that make their giftedness more apparent. Perhaps parents feel more comfortable advocating for their child to be evaluated for giftedness when they share a common background with the child’s teacher.</p>
<p>More likely, however, is that black teachers and white teachers perform differently when it comes to identifying giftedness in black students. What a black teacher more attuned to a black child’s background, culture and language may recognize as evidence of exceptional aptitude or talent may go undetected by a white teacher. </p>
<p><a href="http://research.upjohn.org/up_workingpapers/231/">Research</a> also shows that white teachers tend to express lower expectations for the academic success of black students than do black teachers. Worth noting is that at last count, <a href="http://edr.sagepub.com/content/44/3/185.short">83 percent of the teacher workforce is white</a>. </p>
<h2>How should students be screened?</h2>
<p>To receive gifted services, students must go through an evaluation to be formally designated as gifted. </p>
<p>School districts’ gifted evaluation processes vary, but most <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=xaJRhhzulgwC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&ots=SqZmn6FWGR&sig=5jJPkhokhDqOMYFmOPkkmorZNKY#v=onepage&q&f=false">begin with a referral</a> for gifted evaluation from a classroom teacher. Students who are not referred by a teacher are unlikely to be evaluated. Teachers failing to recognize (or expect) giftedness in some students can be an important barrier to equal access.</p>
<p>One solution to the problem is to reduce the role of teacher discretion in gifted identification. Testing or evaluating all students for giftedness could ensure that high-aptitude students from traditionally disadvantaged groups get access to the services they need. </p>
<p>Indeed, school districts that have implemented so-called “universal screening” policies have seen <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w21519">dramatic increases</a> in the numbers of black, Hispanic and low-income students (another group our analysis shows are underrepresented) identified as gifted.</p>
<p>Studies show that gifted youth <a href="https://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/gifted-education-practices/why-are-gifted-programs-needed">benefit from gifted programs</a> on such outcomes as achievement and motivation. And gifted youth from marginalized groups <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w20453">benefit even more</a> than other students. </p>
<p>Gifted black students deserve the same opportunities as gifted white students to reach their academic potential. Whether the strategy is universal screening or better training of teachers to recognize giftedness among all students or another approach, our research suggests that school districts need to get serious about making sure that gifted services are accessible to all students who need them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/53791/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason A. Grissom does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Two students – one black and one white – with the same math and reading achievement could have very different likelihoods of being identified as gifted.Jason A. Grissom, Associate Professor of Public Policy and Education, Vanderbilt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.