School Climate as a Link Between High School Black Males’ Math Identity and Outcomes

Abstract

The association between students’ academic identity and their academic outcomes has been well-established. The importance of a positive school climate has also been widely documented. However, Black males experience factors that uniquely and collectively comprise their school climate. As such, the purpose of this study was to test the extent to which school climate mediated the relationships between math academic identity and math outcomes of Black males. Bootstrapping mediation analyses were conducted in a sample of students in the 11th grade ( n = 1,106) using data from the High School Longitudinal Study. Results indicated that students’ math identity was positively associated with math scores. Moreover, partial mediation was established, demonstrating that school climate partially explained the relationship between math identity and student outcomes. Implications of these findings for school administrators, teachers, and counselors are discussed.