Supporting Students’
Educational Resilience in
Racially Diverse Contexts
Dena Phillips Swanson, Ph.D.
Warner School - University of Rochester
Counseling & Human Development
dswanson@warner.rochester.edu
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Introduction
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Presentation overview
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Overview of CNN’s recent “doll study”
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The design
The findings
The interpretation
Children’s perspectives of race
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Why talk about race
Strategies for shaping perspectives
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Purpose of Research

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Describe – what is the issue of interest
Explain – what are the processes that guide the
issue
Predict – what factors contribute to relevant
outcomes
Influence – what strategies can be implemented to
change the outcome(s)
Purpose of the CNN study:

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Describe and Explain children’s racial preferences in
comparison to historical findings (and not on Predicting
children’s self-esteem);
Additional research conducted allows us to predict
outcomes that help identify strategies for positive long
term outcomes
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Overview of the CNN Study
Locations: New York, NY and Atlanta, GA
 Race (& Gender): Black and White children
 SES: schools w/ ≤30% & ≥70% free lunch
 Ages
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Early Childhood (4-5 year olds)
Middle Childhood (9-10 year olds)
Procedure: child’s comfort; the right to not
answer any question they didn’t want to
 Assessments

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Children’s attitudes, beliefs and social preferences about
skin tones using the Visual Inventory for Skin Tone
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Assessment (VISTA)
School Demographics
New York City Area
#1
#2
#3
#4
Free Lunch
85%
57%
10%
0%
White
7%
84%
72%
7%
Black
72%
7%
11%
74%
School
Central GA Area
#5
#6
#7
#8
Free Lunch
28%
74%
98%
71%
White
78%
9%
21%
70%
Black
6%
76%
76%
21%
School
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Children’s Unchallenged Stereotypes
Attitudes, Beliefs & Social Preferences
 Lighter skin tones selected most often for:
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positive attitudes (smart, nice, good, good looking)
social preferences (classmate, friend)
color preferences (skin color others like)
reported more frequently by White children
than Black children
VISTA (ECV) - Boys Version
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VISTA (ECV) - Girls Version

Darker skin tones selected most often for
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negative attitudes (dumb, mean, bad, ugly)
color rejection (with no racial differences)
20 out of 133 (15%) across groups
indicated they would choose “none” or “they
were all the same”

VISTA - Color Bar
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2010/05/19/ac.360.panel.cnn
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/08/13/obrien.doll.marcus.cnn
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Interpretations: Biased or Observant Children
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Children are not colorblind
Children accurately read their environment
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They learn that there are color and social biases
Their information is unchallenged by adults that can
initiate discussions
They are aware of adults discomfort
They are capable of coming to their own (unchallenged
yet socially informed) conclusions
The consistency of omission by adults contributes
to the impression that talking about race or skin
color is taboo.
Recognize race is not the problem but rather the
attributes we ascribe to it.
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Why Talk About Race
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Why not? (unsupported, but anecdotally common)
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Focuses on race rather than character
Difficult and complicated for adults to discuss
It’s irrelevant
Why should we? (supported through research & practice)
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Provides a sense of belonging and acceptance
Enhances self esteem as they learn to recognize their
own, and others, attributes and values
Positively shapes their relationships with others
Enhances their academic and creative potential
Prepares them to constructively deal with negative
encounters and attitudes of others
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Why Talk About Race
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Of all racial and ethnic minorities, Black
children receive the least information
related to racial (or cultural) validation.
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White children receive it through traditional
history classes or have affiliations with
countries of origin
Latino children receive it through familial,
cultural, and language traditions
Asian American children receive it through
cultural and family expectations
Native Americans receive it through tribal
affiliations
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Schools: A Microcosm of Society
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Structure
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Expectations/Boundaries
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Consistency
Security
Behavior
Performance
Consequences
Opportunities
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Enjoyment/Disappointments
Belonging/Rejection
Competence/Vulnerability
Proverb: A stream cannot rise above it’s source
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Demystifying Race: The F.A.C.T.S.
It takes explicit and continuous effort to
negate the stereotyped messages all
children receive about race.
 Sticking to the F.A.C.T.S.
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Frame your message around child’s age & intent
Acknowledge children’s questions, perspective,
or experiences
Consistency is necessary
Talk it out – discuss media images - what they
say and don’t say; observed messages are the
most powerful sources of information
Share children’s diverse cultural history with
them and regularly participate in cultural
activities with other groups
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Framing Strategic Considerations

Strategies for shaping perspectives are
relevant, regardless of race, for:
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Administrators – of schools, homes, classes
and businesses (managers of these contexts)
Educators – in schools, homes, classes and
businesses (socializes in these contexts)
Strategies facilitate educational resilience

a specific domain of resilience where youth
have positive educational adaptations and
outcomes within the context of significant
adversity (children have one job – school
work, but every job comes with challenges)
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Where to from here?
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Work toward being proactive in contrast to
reactive
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I’m READY: I am a Mature, Respectful, Engaged,
Accountable and Determined Youth
All efforts should be relatable to the students:
Validating, multidimensional and empowering
Offer programs to initiate new approaches and that
reinforce prior initiatives – not once/year or term efforts
Make existing efforts relatable to students
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Use existing school identity and efforts
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School motto
Regular, brief tributes to historical figures twice a week that
includes what they accomplished and what/how they
overcame – students don’t generally relate to these figures
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Motivating Students
PERSEVERANCE
What lies behind us and what lies before us are small
compared to what lies within us
DETERMINATION
The ultimate GOAL should be doing your best
PERSISTENCE
Challenges are what makes life interesting;
Overcoming them is what makes life meaningful
DETERMINATION
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
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Where to from here?
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Provide supports for collaborative networks
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Teachers that share student-engaging strategies
With colleges to draw students from courses that can
address your initiatives as part of their course
requirements.
Have students (1) identify challenges they feel
younger students (similar to themselves in race
and gender) will experience and (2) offer
suggestions for helping reduce the challenges.
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Gives an opportunity to examine their perceptions and
Explore opportunities for change
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Age-Appropriate Considerations
Frame the message- Acknowledge child - Consistency is necessary - Talk it out - Share culture
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Goal: Confident, competent, caring, and connected children
When young – the issue is…
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Categorizing - “I’m not black, I’m brown”
During Middle childhood, issues are…
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Developing skills – what I can do well
Social comparisons – how others look and what they can do well
Don’t assume their intent or perspective
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find out what makes them believe or say something derogatory
when making a statement about an individual that is generalized to a
group
During early to middle adolescence, issues are…
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Defining “who I am”, how I look (identity) and where I fit in
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http://www.ls.cc.al.us/blackhistory/blackhistory.html
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In closing…
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Over time, many children can feel isolated, confused,
inferior, insecure, angry, or even entitled. In response they
can become reactive in ways that are developmentally and
socially unproductive.
Our goal is to raise children with character
that are confident, competent, connected,
and caring.
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Among the many factors we consider in this
process, their race is one that should not be
ignored.
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References
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Swanson, D.P., Cunningham, M., Youngblood, J.,
& Spencer, M.B. (2008). Racial Identity During
Childhood. In the Handbook of African American
Psychology (pp. 269-281). New York: Sage.
Visual Inventory for Skin Tone Assessment
(VISTA)
Thanks to:
•CNN AC360° for conducting and reporting the story;
•Drs. Tabitha Del’Angelo and Margaret Spencer as co-collaborators on the study
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