Ethnic Course Identity and Student Academic Performance

Introduction and Research Questions

Many universities and graduate schools offer courses or whole programs of study in ethnically or culturally specific areas. Examples include African-American studies and Asian studies. This research explores whether students who identify with the ethnic or racial group covered in such courses will perform better or worse than their counterparts. The research also explores general perceptions of taking ethnic course content.

The study blends information from both psychology and sociology, showing how race, ethnicity, identity, and performance converge. As Hansen, Owan, and Pan (2013) point out, the ethnic composition of a group or overall class diversity does not necessarily impact individual student performance in general. However, no known research has been conducted specifically on ethnically topical classes and the academic performance of students who identify with that group. This research could lend insight into some of the ways race, ethnicity, identity, performance anxiety, and achievement are interrelated.

There are several theoretical underpinnings to this research. One is that psychological and psychosocial variables — including intimidation, cultural and social influences, biases, and the comfort of connection — might impact student performance when the ethnicity of the student matches the content of the course. Intervening variables include the ethnicity of the instructor and the ethnic composition of the class.

Prior research has shown that ethnic identity impacts behavior and performance in significant ways (Tsai, Chentsova-Dutton & Wong, n.d.). Therefore, it is hypothesized that persons who self-identify with a particular ethnic group will perform better in classes directly about that ethnic group. Potential reasons why a self-identified member of a specific ethnic group might perform better than their counterparts include familiarity with the subject matter, intimidation, cultural and social influences, biases, and the comfort of connection.

Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

Based on the literature and the theoretical underpinnings described above, two research hypotheses were developed.

The first research hypothesis is that academic performance in culturally or ethnically specific courses is higher among students who identify as being part of that group. This hypothesis assumes that factors like comfort with the material, familiarity with basic concepts related to the course, and self-pressure to perform well in order to "prove" membership in that community might have an impact on academic performance. Likewise, pressure or perceived intimidation by friends and family members might also cause a person to perform better than peers in courses related to his or her ethnic background.

Second, the reverse hypothesis could also hold true: students who identify with the cultural or ethnic group might perform worse in those classes because of factors like antagonism or disagreement with the instructor, or boredom. In this case, a student might be put off by the fact that their African-American Studies professor was not from that community, or that course readings did not reflect the lived experience of the cultural or ethnic group in question.

Both hypotheses highlight the importance of group identity and individual identity. Research has repeatedly shown that identity impacts behavior (Tsai, Chentsova-Dutton & Wong, n.d.), and this study seeks to examine whether that relationship extends to measurable academic outcomes in ethnically focused coursework.

Operationalizing Key Concepts

There are several terms that must be operationalized for this research. Those terms include race, ethnicity, and race/ethnic-related coursework. Race is a social construct, not a biological reality (Sussman, 2014). Given this, there is no way to measure a person's race based on biological markers, and the same is true for ethnicity. This makes it difficult to provide clear operational definitions other than those that are subjective. Based on the illegitimacy of race as a biological variable, it was determined that the best way to define ethnicity and/or race would be to use a series of survey questions designed to solicit information from each participant — relating to how the person perceives himself or herself, and also how the person believes he or she is perceived by others. Race and ethnicity therefore form the key independent variables in this research.

Ethnicity can be defined as the group to which an individual believes himself or herself to belong, based on self-reports. This definition helps eliminate the problems that could otherwise arise with persons from mixed racial or ethnic backgrounds, because if a person identifies strongly enough with a racial or ethnic group to have that identity impact academic performance in a class, then the cultural, ethnic, or racial designator would apply. Given that most anthropologists and biologists agree that race does not exist as a biological category, an operational definition of race would best depend on how a group has been labeled rather than by any objective measure such as skin color (Sussman, 2014).

To define academic performance, measures such as rate and extent of class participation, attendance, and grades would all be important factors. Gender is also taken into account, but not used as an experimental variable, as it is not believed that gender would have any bearing on performance in race- or ethnicity-based classes. To properly control for gender, it would be critical to evaluate courses that are gender-neutral in their content. Thus, a course on Latina sexuality would introduce the confounding variable of gender in a way that coursework in medieval Arabic literature would not.

Conclusion and Implications

Results offer some support for the first and primary research hypothesis. Persons who identify with a specific ethnic group, or who have been identified by others as belonging to that group, perform well in classes related to their ethnicity — but not necessarily better than their counterparts in the classroom from other backgrounds. Some students perceived their performance to be related to their race or ethnicity, but their actual grades did not necessarily reflect this perception. Thus, the implications are that ethnicity does not consistently impact student performance, but it does influence subjective perceptions of the class. Many students indicated that the courses caused them to think differently about their own and others' identities, and about the ways race and ethnicity are linked to social status and power.

Performance was most noticeably affected when the course had overt language implications, including literature classes. For example, there were more Asian students in a course on Chinese and Japanese literature than students of non-Asian descent, and students struggled more with languages other than their own than they did with conceptual topics like the sociology of race. This is likely due to language familiarity, which confirms the hypothesis that in some cases students' backgrounds will impact their performance in class.

The relationship between academic performance in ethnically topical courses and individual variables like intimidation, cultural influences, biases, and the comfort of connection presents unique and important implications for academia. Research in this area could potentially call into question the validity or relevance of ethnic studies programs, and reveal potential biases in the way these courses are being taught. Moreover, research could help illuminate factors for improving course curricula and content development. From a sociological point of view, research in this area would lend insight into identity development and in-group status. There are also meaningful differences between how outsiders perceive a specific racial or ethnic group, how that group perceives itself, and how that group believes itself to be perceived by outsiders.

There are several limitations to this research that must be addressed. The first is the small sample size and the constraints of the methodology. Future research should be more robust and should include a much larger sample size. Second, future research should not focus on as broad a course selection. Instead, targeting only Asian studies, Muslim studies, or African-American studies might be more productive. It was also difficult to measure variables like perceived intimidation and coercion; ultimately, these variables were poorly accounted for through the survey instrument alone. Future research should use an interview method to extract more detailed information from participants.

Another drawback is related to the use of concept mapping. The drawback to concept mapping is that it sometimes diminishes the uniqueness of individual responses. As noted, if concept mapping is used for a question concerning race, the response "Taiwanese" might be placed into the category "Asian." In doing so, however, the individuality of the response would be removed — contrary to the intent of the original open-ended question. The question was asked in an open-ended manner in order to receive a response that reflected how the respondent genuinely felt, which is particularly important when the question is about race or ethnic identity. The concept mapping technique could therefore undermine the respondent's answer. Nevertheless, there is merit to concept mapping for the purpose of identifying generalizations across responses. Thirty individual experiences have value as subjective evidence, but they carry greater weight when they are understood as answer types. It is for this reason that some of the responses were filtered through the lens of concept mapping.

In spite of these limitations, the research illuminates many issues related to identity and academic performance. The results revealed a wide range of responses related to race and ethnicity. Some students claimed that their ethnic background did have a bearing on their performance, in some cases due to language familiarity. In other cases, students indicated that their performance was affected by their thinking more deeply about their own ethnic background. This suggests that ethnic course material can be helpful in stimulating discussions about the role of race in society. Some students who had not previously considered issues like race and power found the coursework illuminating — which should inspire professors to continue developing similar material. Students whose backgrounds were "mixed" offered particularly nuanced answers related to identity and perception. In general, confronting the full range of issues related to race, identity, ethnicity, social structure, stereotype, and power proved fruitful across cases.

One of the more unusual and interesting responses came from a participant who identified as Black and who found Asian studies coursework challenging due to several factors, including lack of familiarity with the material. The student reported that it was difficult to understand the instructor in the large (300-person) classroom and that the professor may have presumed students already had familiarity with the topic. As a result, the student did not enjoy the class as much as hoped and felt the need to work harder than usual to keep up. This response highlights how professors might develop coursework in ways that are more sensitive to the diversity of their students. A professor cannot assume that students in an Asian studies class are already familiar with Asian culture. Introductory readings and materials might be helpful in some cases, while in others, instructors might provide students from that ethnic background the opportunity to contribute more actively to the class.

The results of this study show that relatively few students pursue whole programs of study in ethnic material. Many take these courses because they are interested in learning more about their own culture, while others take them out of interest in cultures other than their own. Notably, all participants indicated an awareness of the importance of race and ethnicity in general. These courses remain valuable for students and university discourse alike.

References

Hansen, Z., Owan, H., & Pan, J. (2013). The impact of group diversity on class performance: Evidence from college classrooms. Education Economics, 1–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09645292.2013.813908

Jackson, K., & Trochim, W. (2002). Concept mapping as an alternative approach for the analysis of open-ended survey responses. Organizational Research Methods, 5(4), 307–336.

Sussman, R. W. (2014). There is no such thing as race. Newsweek, November 8, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.newsweek.com/there-no-such-thing-race-283123

Tsai, J., Chentsova-Dutton, Y., & Wong, Y. (n.d.). Why and how researchers should study ethnic identity, acculturation, and cultural orientation. Retrieved from http://www-psych.stanford.edu/~tsailab/PDF/Why%20and%20How%20Researchers%20Should%20Study%20Ethnic%20Identity.pdf

Appendix A: Survey Questions

1. What was the name of the course taken?

2. Why did you choose the course?

3. Was the course part of your major course of study?

4. Did you have friends or family members who influenced your decision to take this course?

5. What racial or ethnic group, or mix thereof, did you identify with as a child?

6. What racial or ethnic group, or mix thereof, do you currently identify with?

7. Regardless of how you identify yourself, how do you believe others perceive your racial or ethnic background?

8. Do you feel that your background had a bearing on your performance in the course? Why?

9. Do you feel that your background has had a bearing on your performance in any other courses? Why?

10. Do you believe the course was easier or harder for you because of your background?

11. Did an academic advisor suggest this course to you? If so, do you believe it was because of your background?

12. Do you believe the instructor for the course belonged to the ethnic or racial group in question? If so, how did the ethnicity or race of the instructor impact: (a) your perception of the professor; (b) your performance in the class?

13. How would you describe the ethnic or racial composition of the class?

14. Did you feel comfortable, uncomfortable, or indifferent concerning the ethnic or racial composition of the class?

15. How familiar were you with the course content prior to taking the course?

16. Prior to beginning the course, what was your perception of your academic ability as it pertained to the course? Did your perception change after starting the course? If so, in what way?

17. Did you feel comfortable sharing your opinions in class?

18. Were you able to link any of the course concepts to any of your personal experiences?

19. What grade did you receive from the course?

20. Did the grade you received positively or negatively affect your GPA? If so, what impact did it have?