ABSTRACT
This study examined the hypothesis that African-American adolescents’ school achievement is detrimentally influenced by their perception of a discriminatory “job ceiling” affecting their employment opportunities. As a consequence of these perceptions, African-American adolescents allegedly: (a) devalue the importance of educational achievements, (b) perceive that they have low academic ability, and (c) develop a social or racial identity at odds with academic achievement. These predictions were examined in a sample of 344 African-American and White students attending public and Catholic high schools. Results consistent with the model revealed that the more aware of discrimination the African-American adolescents were, the less important they perceived academic achievement to be, and the less engaged they were in their school work. However, the adolescents’ awareness of discrimination was unrelated to their self-perceptions of their own academic abilities and their ethnic identity. Indeed, adolescents’ ethnic identity was positively associated with their school achievement and engagement. Overall, the findings offer mixed support for the model.
