Student Racial Conceptualization: Understanding its Roots and Impacts within White University Spaces 

My current research looks at how student racial conceptualizations –or the set of beliefs students hold about what race is, how it operates, and why race matters– influence student racial attitudes and beliefs, and ultimately shape their social interactions and behavior.  More specifically, this work explores the cognitive processes of racialized meaning-making that are influenced by both ethnic-racial socialization in families and the institutional contexts in which students find themselves–namely, elite predominantly-White institutions of higher education.  This multimethod study includes a voluntary survey and semi-structured interviews directed towards first year undergraduate students as they navigate their first year on campus at three unique White institutional spaces.  The survey and interview focus on students’ educational experiences in high school and college, experiences talking about race with their parents and family, and their current conceptualization of race.  By looking at the interactions between families and schools, as well as the multiple forms of social interaction within these two institutions, the present work will contribute to a more holistic understanding of how varied and dynamic meanings of race maintain or challenge current structures of racial inequality found within schools.  Moreover, a longitudinal approach allows me to assess the extent to which students' racial conceptualizations, attitudes, and sense of self change across time and space, as well as, capture ways in which university logics and practices moderate these changes.

Recruitment for Wave 1 began in September 2023.  Wave 1 includes over 500 survey responses from first-year undergraduate students.

Recruitment for Wave 2 began in Spring 2025.  Wave 2 includes a follow-up survey and interviews with students who participated in Wave 1 when they are in their second year at university.