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With racial inequalities plaguing the U.S. school system, educators have recognized the importance of establishing inclusive, equitable, and diverse school environments where students from different ethnic-racial backgrounds can feel respected and supported. This study examined the longitudinal links between adolescents' experiences of school racial socialization, school climate perceptions, and academic performance and tested whether these links varied by race (n = 941; 54% boys; 63% Black, 37% White). Results revealed that adolescents' experience of school racial socialization practices (i.e., cultural socialization and promotion of cultural competence) predicted positive changes in their perceptions of school climate and, in turn, promoted better academic performance. School racial socialization was linked to positive school experiences and achievement for both Black and White adolescents.

Theory and limited research indicate that race and socioeconomic status (SES) interact dynamically to shape children's developmental contexts and academic achievement, but little scholarship examines how race and SES intersect to shape Black-White achievement gaps across development. We used data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (N [approximately equal to] 9,100)--which tracks a nationally representative cohort of children in the United States--to investigate how race and family SES (i.e., parental education and household income) intersect to shape trajectories of academic skills development from kindergarten entry through the spring of eighth grade. Results reveal that household income and parental education were differentially related to academic development, with Black-White gaps narrowing (and Black children's skills growing slightly faster) at higher income gradients but widening (and Black children's skills developing more slowly) at higher levels of educational attainment. Despite performance advantages at kindergarten entry, large baseline disparities meant that higher-income Black students underperformed their White peers by middle school, whereas Black students with better-educated parents consistently trailed their White counterparts. Taken together, these findings suggest that failure to examine how race and SES intersect to shape achievement gaps may obscure complex patterns of educational inequality.

COVID-19 changed the landscape of employment and financial security in the USA, contributing to multi-systemic disruptions in family life. Using dyadic, daily-diary parent–adolescent data from a nationwide American sample (18,415 daily assessments; 29 days: 4/8/2020–4/21/2020 and 5/18/2020–6/1/2020; N = 635 parent–adolescent dyads), this intensive longitudinal study investigated how COVID-19-related job loss and working-from-home (WFH) arrangements influenced parents' and children's daily affect indirectly through family functioning (i.e., parent–adolescent conflict, inter-adult conflict, and parental warmth) and whether these links varied by family socioeconomic status (SES). Parental employment status was linked to these family relational dynamics, which were then connected to parents' and adolescents' daily affect. Although SES did not moderate these links, low-income families were more likely to experience job loss, parent–adolescent conflict, and inter-adult conflict and less likely to WFH than higher-income families. As inter-relations within the family are a malleable point for intervention, clinicians working with families recovering from the fiscal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are encouraged to use approaches that strengthen family relationships, especially between adolescents and their parents. Unemployment subsidies are discussed as a means to support families struggling with job loss, and organizations are urged to consider the benefits of WFH on employee health and work-life balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: A handful of studies have previously reported on positive associations between critical consciousness and academic achievement for youth of color. The present study contributes to this scholarship by investigating how the association between critical consciousness and academic achievement varies for youth (N = 179) across different content areas in school, as well as whether this association differs for youth from different racial–ethnic groups. Method: For three different measures of critical consciousness, we fit single-level ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models to investigate their relationship to students' academic achievement in four different subject areas. We also included moderation models to investigate whether the relation between critical consciousness and academic achievement differed for students of color versus White students. Results: OLS regression analyses revealed that different components of critical consciousness differentially predicted students' academic achievement in different subject areas. Additionally, moderation analyses suggest that these associations between critical consciousness and academic achievement are stronger for students of color than White students. Conclusions: These findings may encourage more K–12 schools and school systems to adopt culturally relevant and sustaining curriculum (such as ethnic studies coursework) that offer more opportunities for youth from both dominant and marginalized identity groups to learn about issues of power, oppression, and resistance to oppression. Public Significance Statement: More than 30 states in the United States have recently adopted or introduced laws that limit teaching in K–12 schools about race and racism. The present study finds that, in a racially diverse sample of high school students, young people's ability to understand and analyze racism was significantly associated with higher levels of academic achievement in several subject areas, and that these associations were particularly strong for high school students of color. These results may encourage more K–12 schools to adopt culturally relevant and sustaining curriculum that offer opportunities for youth to learn about issues of power, oppression, and resistance to oppression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19 has presented threats to adolescents' psychosocial well-being, especially for those from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. This longitudinal study aimed to identify which social (i.e., family conflict, parental social support, peer social support), emotional (i.e., COVID-19 health-related stress), and physical (i.e., sleep quality, food security) factors influence adolescents' same- and next-day affect and misconduct and whether these factors functioned differently by adolescents' economic status. Daily-diary approaches were used to collect 12,033 assessments over 29 days from a nationwide sample of American adolescents (n =546; Mage = 15.0; 40% male; 43% Black, 37% White, 10% Latinx, 8% Asian American, and 3% Native American; 61% low-income) at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Peer support, parent support, and sleep quality operated as promotive factors, whereas parent-child conflict and COVID-19 health-related stress operated as risk factors. Although these links were consistent for adolescents irrespective of economic status, low-income adolescents experienced more conflict with parents, more COVID-19 health-related stress, less peer support, and lower sleep quality than higher-income adolescents. Food insecurity was connected to decreased same- and next-day negative affect for low-income adolescents only. Low-income adolescents also displayed greater negative affect in response to increased daily health-related stress relative to higher-income adolescents. These results highlight the role of proximal processes in shaping adolescent adjustment and delineate key factors influencing youth psychosocial well-being in the context of COVID-19. By understanding adolescents' responses to stressors at the onset of the pandemic, practitioners and healthcare providers can make evidence-based decisions regarding clinical treatment and intervention planning for youth most at risk for developmental maladjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. This study examined parental characteristics that related to children's early math learning. Specifically, we examined how parents engage in math activities with their children in the home and how their practices were informed by parents' experiences with and perceptions of math. Design. Using a mixed-methods design, we first quantitatively examined associations between two parental characteristics, past math experiences and current math anxiety, and various types of math activities to understand factors that predict home math engagement in a sample of 34 parents. We then conducted semi-structured interviews with a sample of 15 parents to identify additional factors that relate to parents' engagement in math activities with their young children. Results. We found that parents' math anxiety predicted their reports of math activity frequency in the home, controlling for demographics as well as prior measures of math enrichment. Through qualitative analyses, we demonstrated considerable variability in the way that math activities are implemented and described by parents and identify a novel theoretical construct – parents' goals for children's math learning – which relates to parents' practices. Conclusions. These results suggest that survey measures may fail to capture important heterogeneity in parents' practices and that additional predictors such as parental goals should be explored in future quantitative research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]