Marcela Pineda

Effect of Race on Education Quality and Social Identity in the United States

Introduction

The United States continues to suffer from ethnic-based challenges despite being among

the world's most democratic countries. Social disadvantages are apparent in socio-economic

statuses, politics, health, and education opportunities (Zembylas, 2014). Racial profiling is a

common problem for all age groups among minority populations. Social institutions' policy

systems strive to address this problem, creating a rights-driven environment to protect these

socially challenged groups’ social experiences. However, little has been achieved through this

approach, with most social disparities ingrained in public institutions (Bergerson, 2003). It can

be suggested that protective measures involving establishing a surveillance network are essential

in limiting the negative effects and promoting individuals’ equal treatment.. However, structural

racism in government institutions may be the main mechanism facilitating ethnic-based social

challenges in American society.

Race on Education Quality

Education disparities remain one of the major social problems in the United States

(Bergerson, 2003). Some of the educational challenges include crime-related suspicion based on

the student's inconsistent school performance (Glock et al., 2013), putting them directly in the

hands of law enforcers. However, students of different immigration status experience these forms

of social problems based on ethnicity. Most research work on racial effect on education has

highlighted the dominant role of structural racism in negatively influencing the education

experiences of students of color (Vaught & Castagno, 2008). Considering this concept's

implication, Glock et al. (2013) noted that teachers discriminately scored their students and
assigned them high school ranks based on their ethnic context. Therefore, it is notable that

although previous policy efforts sought to address racial segregation in learning, this problem

molded, shifting its harm to the fundamental section in upward mobility.

Race on Social Identity

Racial discrimination among people of color is a common social problem in the United

States. School children from the minority population continue to face ethnic-based social

stratification. Although some studies have highlighted the potential link between racial

experiences and individual beliefs (Vincent, 1998), most research works have reported the

presence of systemic racism affecting students of color (Peterson et al., 2004; Vaught &

Castagno, 2008; Zembylas, 2014). It is essential to consider that these forms of structural racism

affect student interaction and performance in school. Peterson et al. (2004) noted the association

between ethnic profiling and performance in the school environment, indicating poor career

satisfaction after racial experiences. While context plays a crucial role in influencing social

identity, the failure to address systemic racism encourages social segregation, negating the gains

and education’s role as an agent of change.

Intersection between Race and Education on Social Identity

The moderating role of interaction between education and race may limit the effects of

race on social identity. Some studies have highlighted the possible contribution of individual

beliefs and partisanship in facilitating and reinforcing ethnic-based discrimination and disparities

(Vincent, 1998). One of the main areas outlined in this finding is modifying individual

interaction in a social context, which influences perception. The finding's implication involves

the possible moderating effect of education interaction with the race on shaping social identity.

However, in their research, Warikoo et al. (2016), expanding on this earlier work, noted complex
interaction between these factors, which shape the overall experience. In stretching this

argument, the present study will investigate the mechanism responsible for sustained racial

challenges.

Study Hypothesis

The study seeks to answer how race affects the quality of education a person receives in the U.S.

educational system and its effect on social identity using three hypotheses:

1. The education system plays a crucial role in reinforcing and facilitating ethnic-based

assessments in the school system.

2. The effect of race on education quality differed across different ethnic backgrounds.

3. Performance consistency may have a protective effect on daily experiences in education.

Results

The results show the mean frequencies of information utilization in student description

for teacher tracking and student academic progress. Performance-related information includes

work habits, test scores, learning, and school grades. Non-performance related information

comprises general student characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and socio-economic status.

The outcome indicates a significant difference in teacher reference to performance-related

information in the inconsistent case description category (p<0.01).

Table 1: Data on teachers’ judgement on student performance (Source: Glock et al., 2013)

No Immigrant Immigrant p

Background Background values

Consistent Case Description

Perf-related 4.92 5.05 0.57

Infor

NonPerf-

related Infor 0.37 0.39 0.75

Inconsistent Case

Description

Perf-related

Infor 5.98 7 <0.01

NonPerf-

related Infor 0.52 0.41 0.17

Consistent Case Description

The data shows that teachers were more consistent in referencing the performance-related

information than nonperformance-related information when making student decisions and

tracking performance.
Inconsistent Case Description

The results indicate that teachers made references to all data on those with the immigrant

background in the category of inconsistent performance than those without immigrant status. The

report shows a significant difference in teacher decision methodology and academic tracking

system on referencing performance-related records between students with immigration status and

those without (p<0.01).

Mediation Role of Racial and Education Performance on Social Identity

In non-performance related information, the interaction between consistent academic

performance and student race showed a significant effect (p=0.05), where teachers engaged in

bias decision structures among students with immigrant status.

Discussion

The paper review aimed to assess the effect of race/ethnicity on education quality in the

United States. The findings from the literature review answer the research question while
supporting the hypothesis of the study. The study points out the education system's role in

reinforcing and facilitating racial approaches in the school system, providing teachers with a

robust framework for biased student assessment and report generation. While this may be taken

as a case of implicit racism, it is essential to highlight the different student assessment

approaches based on consistent and inconsistent academic performance, which only affects

students with immigration status. These findings indicate that teachers and the school policy

system on student tracking are the primary facilitators of racism in the school setting. The

finding suggests a need for a blinded school-based intervention for student scoring to address the

prejudice degrading the education quality for students with immigrant status. What remains,

however, is whether the teacher judgment problem is a training-related problem rather than an

individual and socially reinforced concept.

Although most studies have examined the effect of race on education quality, few of

these research works have focused on the pathway of influence (Bergerson, 2003; Flintoff &

Dowling, 2017; Glock et al., 2013). As hypothesized, the race provides the context for teacher

stereotyping facilitated by teacher-driven assessment, which degrades immigrant students'

quality of education. Thus, race contributed to a reduction in education quality through racial

prejudice common among teachers facilitated by student policy on tracking judgments (Glock et

al., 2013; Vaught, S. E., & Castagno; Warikoo, 2016). The concept that race effects on social

identity has been researched, with quantitative findings showing the negative effect of race on

social consciousness (Peterson et al., 2004; aught, S. E., & Castagno). The notion of the

interactive effect of ethnicity and education on social identity is well researched on. The report's

interaction effect indicates that individual performances influence teachers, colleagues, and the
superiors' perception of their potential, resulting in performance stereotyping under ethnic

context (Vincent, 1998; Warikoo, 2016; Zembylas, 2014).

Effect of Race on Education Quality

In racial effect on educational quality for US schools, the findings support the concept

indicating that education quality varies across different racial groups, even within the same

school setting. In a study conducted on 54 respondents of a primary school admitting students

from many racial groups in America, Glock et al. (2013) reported a strong relationship between

student ethnic background and teacher assessment system. Immigration status showed a negative

correlation with the quality of education exposure for the students. The performance tracking

system differed for students with immigration status, with non-performance parameters more

referenced by teachers in the analysis of student progress those with immigrant status than those

without immigrant background (Glock et al., 2013). Inconsistent academic performance among

students of color was linked to a significantly different referencing than consistent performance

for same minority groups, indicating the effect of racial stereotyping of poor performance among

this group of the population (Glock et al., 2013; Flintoff & Dowling, 2017).

Warikoo et al. (2016), in their study, highlighted the complexity of racial pathways in the

social setting, outlining the essential contribution of relationships in shaping teachers' perception

and overall quality of education for individuals. In addition, some studies have reported similar

observations relevant in advancing the debate and shifting the blame to victims' contact and

interaction (Vincent, 1998; Zembylas, 2014). This review's findings address this debate by

providing another perspective to understanding the relationship between race and education

quality, establishing that student behavior does not influence the stereotyping concept of

performance. Still, it is merely a teacher's moral standing perpetuating the problem. In an

elaborative finding, this review notes the different racial prejudice directed at different students

based on performance categories, where teachers considered ethnicity in dealing with

inconsistent performers than consistent performers.

In the context of different immigration statuses, the present study augments people's

concerns with foreign identity, establishing that their ethnicity is positively associated with poor

educational quality worse than their reactive behaviors. In investigating the role of beliefs and

interaction on teacher perception and education quality, the present study demonstrated that the

education system and affective modes of racial dominance contribute significantly to the strong

correlation between race and quality of education for the students with immigrant status. These

findings are essential in affirming that the education system in the United States provides an

ideal environment fostering ethnic-dependent education disparity.

Race Profiling of Performance

Although some research work has shown the protective effect of consistent performance

on ethnic profiling and better experience with education across individuals of different

immigration status (Glock et al., 2013), there were deviations of this observation in the current

study. While all students in school tend to go through a similar performance scoring system,

those from the immigration background showed consistent experiences of poor education

quality, irrespective of their academic performance deviating from the concept of behavior-

triggered teacher profiling. Ethnic profiling affected teachers’ assessment of the students with

immigration backgrounds compared to students without immigration status. Teachers showed

poor evaluation and grading of success probability among those with immigrant identity. Most of

them attributed lower success probabilities and less consideration to the highest school track

among this student category than those without immigration status. Thus, affective modes of
ethnicity showed a strong correlation with teachers tracking decisions, suggesting that teacher

perception of racial dominance influences education through social stratification.

It should be noted that although social stratification plays a crucial role in teachers'

profiling of performance, individual consistency may have a protective effect in daily

experiences on education. The finding that inconsistent performance positively influenced

teachers' references to the ethnic information among individuals with immigrant backgrounds

was supported by this hypothesis. This concept also supports the study's original hypothesis that

the effect of race on education quality differed across different ethnic backgrounds, with non-

Hispanic white teachers assigning fewer success probabilities to students with immigration

background despite identical performance with those enjoying native identity. This finding

indicates a lack of mediating role of the consistent performance on education quality among

students with foreign identity, suggesting that students in the two categories of performance

share similar educational experience related to their ethnic background.

Race in Persistence of Education Inequality

The American minority population has suffered from structural racism in the educational

sector, with information about its impact on education quality for people with immigrant status

well documented (Vaught & Castagno, 2008). Although policy frameworks have been amended

to accommodate diverse population needs, the education experiences for the population with

immigrant status are considered separate and unequally poorer than those with native tags. The

current study's findings confirm this concept, demonstrating the modern-day processes negating

the efforts made in policy amendments towards education equity. In exploring the shift of

structural racism along with the policy framework, the current study highlights the role of the

current teacher tracking system, and performance assessment approaches in endorsing the
persistence of race-based educational inequality. In the context of teacher scoring and its

implication on the persistence of education inequality, the present study endorses the concept of

inherent structural racism in public institutions demonstrating that the tracking system

exacerbates these disparities by segregating students based on their ethnic backgrounds. The

study notes that despite matching performance among minority students and non-Hispanic white

backgrounds, students with immigration status are less assigned to the high school track. This

pattern of segregation denies students from minority populations equal rights to quality

education. Thus, the sizable effect of education disparity is influenced by teacher scoring rather

than individual ethnicity, pointing to the inherence of systemic racism in the United States social

environment. Given the finding, it is certainly possible to vindicate affective mode among

teachers while placing blame the whole responsibility on structural racism.

Race on Social identity

Few studies on race and racism have focused on the effect of academic-based racial

discrimination on individual social identity (Peterson et al., 2004; Vaught & Castagno, 2008).

However, there have been supporting findings demonstrating the effect of racial discrimination

on self-perception. It should be noted that most of the existing research findings have highlighted

the contribution of context in influencing the outcome of racial effect on social identity. While it

may not be possible to generalize context-specific qualitative findings, the existing research

suggests that government institutions' racial attitudes are illustrative of systemic racism that

degrades individuals' sense of self-worth. Research on the association between race and social

identity shows a positive association between school-based racism for students or employees and

negative social identity (Peterson et al., 2004). Individuals exposed to high levels of racial

content in the school environment have a high potential to experience low self-esteem, poor
school performance, and low career satisfaction levels. This finding implies that individuals in

different settings will experience varying racial effects on social identity.

In their study, Peterson et al. (2004) noted that medical schools' racial experiences

affected individuals’ self-identity and perception of their social surroundings. Other researchers

have highlighted the link between education-based racism and structural racism, which elicit a

higher reaction from individuals based on context than in a community environment (Vaught &

Castagno, 2008). However, there has been a controversy with some researchers indicating that

most of the racial associated challenges result as an effect of the individual belief and political

system (Vincent, 1998). The present study clarifies this controversy between the different aspects

of racial effect on individual identity and context specific elements, demonstrating that belief

system or partisanship are part of the social context that influences the individual reaction to

racial challenges. In the context of social identity, the review finding supports the concern that

ethnic referencing affects individual self-perception, leading to loss of social identity. This

finding supports the concept that racism in a school setting, similar to other government

institutions, has a significant effect in degrading individual social identity.

Intersection between Race and Education on social Identity

Mediating Effect of Race and Education

The concept of race interaction with education has not been an area of interest for many

researchers. However, it is essential to consider the interactive effects of these two parameters in

influencing individual self-perception. In exploring the self-perception effect in the interaction

between race and education, the present study shows the intersection effect of social identity

outcome mediated by educational performance. In this review, the findings show that academic

performance consistency influenced teachers' scoring of the students along with racial contexts.
In matched performance between students with immigrant status and those without, teachers

showed ethnic-related consideration in tracking student progress and assigning high school

systems (Peterson et al., 2004) stratifying students based on ethnicity. Thus, in a mixed-race

population, education significantly influences the racial profiling of individuals with immigrant

backgrounds than those with native connotations. The finding indicates an interactive effect of

race and education on social identity among students exclusively with foreign identity,

suggesting that minority groups experience identical ethnic profiling regardless of educational

performance.

Conclusion

This review paper advances academic knowledge of race's effects on education quality

and social identity among the US population. The present study results implicate the teacher

performance grading system as a mechanism fostering race-dependent education quality. As a

form of systemic racism, the education system policy of teacher-driven assessment negates the

efforts made in policy amendment directed to addressing educational inequalities. This study

advances the knowledge of the ethnically related mechanism of influence on social identity by

highlighting systemic racism's contribution to enhancing racial and social discrimination in

public institutions. The study shows the interactive effects of race and education in influencing

social identity. Therefore, it is notable that the policy structures serve as the main pathways of

racial associations in schools, perpetuating social disparities. The study findings indicate the

need for future research to investigate the complex interlink of teachers' role in facilitating

reactive behaviors and performance inconsistencies while simultaneously using the same

parameters in tracking student progress.

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