The roles of school racial climate and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics classroom climate in adolescents’ gender and racial peer inclusion and attribution decisions

Abstract

Adolescents use social identities and reasoning to make peer inclusion and attribution decisions. School climate plays a role in these decisions. Thus, this study analyzed how school racial climate and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) classroom climate were associated with the choices of adolescents (N = 294; Mage = 15.72 years; 52.3 % female; 36.7 % White/European American, 32.9 % Black/African American, 11.2 % Latino/Hispanic [the most common racial/ethnic groups in the schools where data collection took place]) in two tasks: peer inclusion and attribution of ability. On the peer inclusion task, participants were more likely to choose a non-White peer for a STEM activity if they had lower perceptions of stereotyping at school, and they were more likely to choose a female peer if they were female. Participants were more likely to use reasoning based on personal characteristics when choosing a peer, but female participants who chose a female peer were more likely to use reasoning based on gender. On the attribution task, participants were more likely to choose a non-White peer if they perceived greater STEM connectedness, and they were more likely to choose a White or male peer if they had more positive relationships with their STEM teachers. Therefore, students’ perceptions of school racial climate relate to adolescents’ peer inclusion decisions, and their perceptions of STEM classroom climate relate to adolescents’ ability attributions. Schools may need to focus on creating welcoming school and classroom environments as a way to promote equity in STEM.