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The Relationship between Race-Congruent Students and Teachers: Does Racial Discrimination Exist?

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  • Nguyen, My

Abstract

This paper explores the role of teacher race/ethnicity in the teacher-perceived relationship with early elementary school students. Employing a model with both student and teacher fixed effects, I discover a positive link between the racial/ethnic match and the teacher-reported relationship with students. Specifically, minority students tend to have a closer and more positive relationship with their teachers than white students when they are taught by a minority teacher. Adapted rank-based tests of discrimination reveal that the favorable teacher-reported relationship with students is not prompted by teachers favoring their own kind or discriminating against opposite-race students. I show that these estimates are driven by minority students reacting positively when they have a minority teacher but adversely once assigned to a white teacher, which is consistent with the role model effect. Given the importance of the relationship between young children with non-parental adults in their early stages of life, these findings have crucial policy implications.

Suggested Citation

  • Nguyen, My, 2018. "The Relationship between Race-Congruent Students and Teachers: Does Racial Discrimination Exist?," MPRA Paper 90002, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:90002
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    Cited by:

    1. Kien Le & My Nguyen, 2021. "The Impacts of Temperature Shocks on Birth Weight in Vietnam," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 47(4), pages 1025-1047, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Racial/Ethnic Interaction; Relationship Scale; Learning; Ethnicity; Minorities; Non Labor Discrimination; Race; Racial Discrimination; Students; Teachers.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General
    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

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