Transition to High School in a Multi-Ethnic Sample: Opportunities and Risks

本研究的目的是考察城市青少年向高中过渡的情况。 样本是大的，包括约1500名早期青少年在两个队列谁已被招募在6年级的纵向研究在中学的同伴骚扰。 样本也是种族多样的，参与者是非洲裔美国人，拉丁裔，亚洲/太平洋岛民和高加索人。 拉丁裔和亚裔学生在移民历史上也有差异。 关于学生的社会适应，情绪健康，成就态度和学业成绩的数据将在秋季和春季收集在9日为队列2和队列1在10年级。 该项目的具体目标是：（1）如何在中学社会风险（即，（2）是否有特定的途径（不良）调整是由社会风险预测的;（3）过渡过程如何受到背景因素的影响，如种族认同，高中的种族构成和移民历史。 在这个为期一年的项目中收集的数据将有助于确保有多个时间点来检查高中过渡作为一个随着时间的推移而展开的过程。尖端的统计技术将被用来模拟学术成就的变化轨迹，包括增长，下降和恢复的可能性。 研究结果将为顺利过渡与破坏性过渡的社会和文化基础提供新的见解。 首先，对9年级和10年级社会脆弱性的研究与教育实践有关，因为这些年级是高中青年与学校疏远最有可能辍学的年级。 教师和其他教育专业人员需要更好地了解青少年社会生活对持续取得成就的重要性。 其次，研究的多民族重点和主题的及时性为吸引和指导有才华的学生的颜色，在本科，研究生和博士后水平提供了一个很好的背景。 首席研究员在培养有色人种学生的智力和专业发展方面有着良好的记录。

The purpose of this research is to examine the transition to high school in an urban adolescent sample. The sample is large, comprised of about 1500 early adolescents in two cohorts who had been recruited in 6th grade for a longitudinal study of peer harassment in middle school. The sample is also ethnically diverse, with participants who are African American, Latino, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Caucasian. Latino and Asian students also differ in immigrant history. Data on students' social adjustment, emotional well-being, achievement attitudes, and academic outcomes will be gathered in Fall and Spring during 9th for Cohort 2 and during 10th grade for Cohort 1. The specific aims of the project are to examine: (1) how social risk in middle school (i.e., having a reputation as an aggressor or victim of harassment) affects the high school transition; (2) whether there are particular pathways to (mal)adjustment that are predicted by social risk; and (3) how the transition process is influenced by contextual factors such as ethnic identity, the ethnic composition of high schools, and immigrant history. The data collected during this one-year project will help assure that there are multiple time points to examine the high school transition as a process that unfolds over time. Cutting-edge statistical techniques will be used to model trajectories of change in academic achievement, including growth, decline, and the possibility of recovery. Findings will provide new insights into the social and cultural underpinnings of a smooth versus disruptive high school transition.The proposed research can have broader impact in two ways. First, the study of social vulnerability in 9th and 10th grade is relevant to educational practice because those are the grades when high school youth who have become alienated from school are most at risk for dropping out. Teachers and other educational professionals need to become better informed about the importance of the social lives of adolescents to sustained achievement strivings. Second, the multiethnic focus of the research and the timeliness of the topic provide an excellent context for attracting and mentoring talented students of color, at the undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral levels. The Principal Investigator has an excellent track record of fostering the intellectual and professional development of students of color.