Race-related Socialization, Motivation, and Academic Achievement: A Study of Black Youths in Three-Generation Families

The overall pattern of results suggests that the manner in which black parents orient their children toward blocked opportunities is a significant element in their motivation, achievement, and prospects for upward mobility.

Abstract

This study focuses on race-related socialization in order to extend past research, which demonstrated that a sense of personal control over the environment is critical to effective performance of black youth in educational settings. In contrast to underclass views, both a sense of personal efficacy and academic performance were enhanced by proactive orientations toward racial barriers transmitted by parents to children. Sixty-eight percent of black youth in a national three-generation family sample reported that their parents transmitted some message to them about theri racial status. With only slight gender differences, parents emphasized either the importance of ethnic pride, self-development, racial barrier awareness, or egalitarianism. The intergenerational transmission of self-development orientations was associated with a greater sense of personal efficacy. In contrast, those whose parents emphasized racial barrier awareness received higher school grades, even when the effect of persoanal efficacy was controlled. The overall pattern of results suggests that the manner in which black parents orient their children toward blocked opportunities is a significant element in their motivation, achievement, and prospects for upward mobility.