Identity matters : racial-ethnic representations among adolescents attending multi-ethnic high schools

• Main Author: Webber, Melinda
• Other Authors: McKinley, Elizabeth
• Published: ResearchSpace@Auckland 2011
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2292/10199

Racial-ethnic identity is a fundamental aspect of an early adolescent's identity because it includes the attitudes and feelings associated with ethnic and racial group membership. Literature shows racial-ethnic identity to be an important aspect of adolescents' developmental and psychological well-being. This is important in light of the increasingly diverse racial-ethnic demographic for New Zealand, particularly in our large cities. The present study is based around the broad research question 'What influences early adolescent racial-ethnic identity development?' This includes a fundamental question of 'How do early adolescents enact racial-ethnic identity in high school contexts?' and then, 'How does racial-ethnic identity impact on the way early adolescents engage at high school?' This study examines the importance of racial-ethnic identity among young adolescents who attend large, multi-ethnic, urban high schools in New Zealand. The project is comprised of one study with three parts. The analysis in this study focuses on a comparison of Year nine students (13-14 years old) in New Zealand from four racial ethnic groupings: New Zealand European/Pākehā, Māori, Samoan and Chinese. Study 1a and 1b (n = 695) examined the self-identifications, feelings of connectedness, meanings and perceived consequences of adolescents' racial-ethnic identities using a questionnaire. In line with the literature, the findings from these two parts show that racial-ethnic identities are important for adolescents from all four ethnic groups; it frames who they are, where they belong, and what they are trying to achieve. Study 1c used semi-structured interviews to examine the relationship of racial-ethnic identity to educational engagement among high-achieving adolescents from the four ethnic groups (n = 31). Findings here indicated that enacting multiple social identities protected the adolescents from the negative pressures of stereotype threat, but their racial-ethnic identity influenced the ways they enacted their academic and other social identities in the school context; they were constantly, and consciously, contesting contradictory racial-ethnic stereotypes in each context. The research concludes that although racism is prevalent and powerful in the lives of adolescents, a strong racial-ethnic identity may provide adolescents with the capacity to not allow negative pressures to interfere with their educational engagement.