Cultural Pluralism in Practice: A Mixed-method Study on Reducing Asian American Students’ COVID-19-related Stress
Liz Weir, Aguiling, W., Aquino, A.K.
Mentor: Dr. Charissa Cheah, Psychology
Increased anti-Asian sentiment during the COVID-19 pandemic created a more hostile environment for Asian Americans (Cheah et al., 2020). For Chinese American adolescents, this sinophobic fear could impact their stress in school. Previous research has found experiences of discrimination among Chinese American adolescents to be associated with negative academic outcomes (Benner & Kim, 2009). One factor that might moderate this link is the extent to which adolescents believe their schools practice cultural pluralism by making minority students more visible and celebrating cultural differences (Brand et al., 2003; Green et al., 1988). Promoting diversity and inclusivity may increase students’ sense of belonging in school, thus minimizing the stressful effects of messages of rejection about their racial/ethnic group (Schachner et al., 2016). Applying the School Ethnic Racial Socialization (ERS) Transmission model (Saleem & Byrd, 2021) to Asian American adolescents, this study will examine the potential moderating role of schools’ support for cultural pluralism (SSCP) in the relation between students’ perceived Sinophobia and school stress in the context of COVID-19. In addition, we will incorporate qualitative interview data to understand Asian American adolescents’ ideas surrounding how schools can create inclusive learning environments that address and/or prevent racial marginalization.
This work was funded, in part, through an Undergraduate Research Award from the UMBC Division of Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
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