Segregation paradox? School racial/ethnic and socioeconomic composition and racial/ethnic differences in engagement

Associations of School Diversity with Students' Race-based Victimization and School Connectedness: A Combined Influence of Student and Teacher Racial/Ethnic Diversity and Socioeconomic Diversity

School diversity has been shown to be associated with students' school experiences. However, most studies have focused solely on student racial/ethnic diversity, in spite of the multifaceted nature of diversity. This study assessed how the combined influence of student and teacher racial/ethnic diversity and socioeconomic diversity were related to race-based victimization, school connectedness, and racial/ethnic disparities of these outcomes. The participants were Asian, Black, Latinx, and White students (n = 100,408; 46.2-53.5% female) in Grade 7 to Grade 12 attending 278 public schools in California. The participating schools' diversity contexts were categorized into four latent profiles differentiated by varying levels of student and teacher racial/ethnic diversity and socioeconomic diversity. Race-based victimization was the least prevalent in schools with low student racial/ethnic diversity, low socioeconomic diversity, and moderate teacher racial/ethnic diversity. The magnitude of racial/ethnic disparities in race-based victimization differed across the four latent profiles; racial/ethnic disparities were minimal when there were similar numbers of students in each racial/ethnic group. School diversity's relation with school connectedness was minimal. White students perceived higher school connectedness than other racial/ethnic groups across profiles, but the White-Latinx gap was smaller in profiles with schools having a homogeneous Latinx student population. The findings underline the importance of understanding school diversity's interaction with students' characteristics, particularly racial/ethnic identity, on students' school experiences.

Classroom Immigrant Density Predicts Psychological Well-Being Among Adolescents With an Immigration Background: Findings From the 2017/18 Swedish Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study

Objectives: Group-level characteristics in shared contexts such as schools may affect adolescent psychological health. This study examined if the immigrant density in the classroom was associated with the level of self-reported psychological complaints among students with an immigration background.

Methods: Cross-sectional data were derived from 2,619 lower secondary school students (aged 13–15) in the 2017/18 wave of the Swedish Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. Using multilevel analysis estimating two-level random intercept linear regression models, classroom immigrant density was considered as a potential predictor of immigrant students’ psychological complaints.

Results: Students with an immigration background reported significantly fewer psychological complaints, on average, than students without such a background, even when adjusting for other sociodemographic characteristics. A cross-level interaction indicated that both first- and second-generation immigrant students experienced fewer psychological complaints in immigrant-dense classes compared to when the proportion of immigrant students was lower.

Conclusion: Students with an immigration background fare better psychologically in classes with a higher proportion of immigrant students. Such compositional effects could be alleviated by strengthening all schools’ capacities to provide a more inclusive classroom climate.

School Choice at a Cost? Academic Achievement, School Satisfaction and Psychological Complaints among Students in Disadvantaged Areas of Stockholm

School choice allows students from more disadvantaged district areas in metropolitan Swedish cities to commute to more prestigious schools outside of their residential area. This study examined how such students fare compared to their peers who attend more deprived schools in their own district area. Multilevel analysis was applied, estimating 2-level random intercept linear regression models based on cross-sectional survey data collected among ninth grade students in 2014 and 2016 (n = 2105). Analyses showed that students living in relatively disadvantaged district areas of Stockholm who chose to attend more prestigious schools outside of their residential area performed better academically compared to students who opted to remain at more deprived schools in their catchment area, an association that was partly mediated by school quality in terms of teacher-rated school ethos. Yet, commuting students reported lower school satisfaction and more psychological complaints than students who stayed behind, even when taking academic achievement and school ethos into account. The association with psychological complaints was partly mediated by school satisfaction. Thus, the academic gain associated with having chosen to commute from a disadvantaged area to a more prestigious school does not appear to translate into higher school satisfaction and better psychological well-being.

Social closure, school socioeconomic composition, and inequality in college enrollments

We study associations between secondary school socioeconomic composition and college destinations using the Education Longitudinal Study, and whether the association between school SES and type of college enrollment varies by student socioeconomic background. We also examine nonlinearities in these associations, seeking to understand if avoiding poor secondary schools or seeking out affluent secondary schools drives the positive associations between socioeconomic composition and college destinations. Our results indicate that higher SES schools benefit mid- and high-SES students more so than low-SES students. Furthermore, the relationships between school SES and college destinations are non-linear. Results suggest mid- and high-SES students' chances of enrolling in nonselective four-year colleges are higher when they avoid the poorest schools, while their chances of enrolling in selective four-year colleges increase when they enroll in the most affluent secondary schools.