EDF 6481 Assignment: Racial Identity and Academic Outcomes

This assignment analyzes a study by Germine H. Awad (EDF 6481) that investigated the influence of racial identity, academic self-concept, and self-esteem on the academic outcomes (GPA and verbal GRE scores) of African American students. The study involved 313 participants and explored the relationships between predictor variables like age, sex, and SES, along with dependent variables such as GPA and GRE scores. The assignment delves into the population and sample characteristics, sampling methods, and the validity and reliability of the measures used. The study found that academic self-concept significantly predicted GPA, but not test scores, and racial identity did not predict either. The assignment also compares Awad's results with those of previous studies by Chavous et al. (2003) and Sellers et al. (1998), highlighting the differing influences of racial identity. The analysis includes a discussion of the statistical evidence supporting the reliability and validity of the study's measures, such as Cronbach's alpha and correlations with university records. The study's findings emphasize the complex interplay of factors affecting academic success among African American students, with implications for educational strategies and interventions.

Running head: EDF 6481 1
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Student Name
Institution

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EDF 6481Assignment
Describe the (a) population (units at the construct level)
A population is the whole lot of anything that a researcher is interested in generalizing
about. In this study, African American students were the group of interest that the researcher
wanted to study. This is, therefore, comprises the population.
(b) Sample (units at the operational level).
A sample is a fraction of the population which the researcher selects as the representative
of the population. A sample of 313 African American students was selected. This was the total
number from two categories. The first sample comprised of 168 students of African American
origin who were between 17 to 47 years of age. The second portion comprised of 145 African
American where 32 were men while 113 were women.
What type of sampling method did Awad use? Do you think that this method allowed her to
select a good representation of the population? Why or why not?
A non-probabilistic method such as convenience sampling was used to pick African
American students from a black university in Northeast. Since random sampling was not used to
select the black school from others. This method is judgmental and most time affects the
representation since it is not scientific. However, the selected sample of 313 students is sufficient
and a good representation of African American Students.
What are the (a) predictor variables at the construct level, (b) predictor variables at the
operational level, (c) dependent variables at the construct level, and (d) dependent variables at
the operational level?
Dependent variables for construct and operational levers were verbal GRE and the overall GPA
scores respectively.
Predictor variables were Sex, SES, and age for construct level. Other independent variables are
racial identity subscales, self-esteem and the general academic self-concept considered at
operational level.

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What evidence is given that suggests that these measures are valid and reliable? Provide four
points of evidence: two that support measurement reliability and two that support measurement
validity.
 Reliability measures how consistent a measure is. This is checked through test–
retest correlation between scores and the Cronbach Alpha value. The results of the
internal consistency estimates were found to be between .71 to .90 for the CRIS
subscales. The sub-scale of self-esteem had an internal consistency value of 0.84.
Similarly, for the self-concept scale high internal consistency reliability estimate
was found to be 0.90. This values of Cronbach alpha are greater than .7 which is
the desired threshold hence showing evidence of reliability.
 Self-reported GPA in this study was found to have a correlation of r = .97 with
university records. This implies there is a high positive correlation which suggests
that the measure is reliable.
 Validity measures how scores indeed represent the variables they are supposed to
represent. Checking the content validity, the researcher used the survey method
where questionnaires were used. Matching was done on respondents from sample
1 and 2 and they had a similar mean age of 19.3 years. This shows validity.
 Checking the criterion-related validity, the extent the measure predicts criteria is
checked. There was found to be high Intercorrelations between sample 1 and
sample 2 as shown in table 1 which suggest the measure is valid.
How did Awad’s results on racial identity compare to the results from Chavous et al. (2003) and
Sellers et al. (1998)?
The earlier results by Chavous et al. (2003) and Sellers et al. (1998) revealed that racial
identity had a significant influence on the students’ academic performance. In comparison with
the Awad’s result, all the racial identity components were found to have no significant influence
on GPA. This result is caused by existence of pertinent and other variables that affect racial
identity. These include; academic self-concept. Also, it could be having an indirect relationship
with GPA.

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References
Chavous, T. M., Hilkene Bernat, D., Schmeelk-Cone, K., Caldwell, C. H., Kohn-Wood, L., &
Zimmerman, M. A. (2003). Racial identity and academic attainment among African
American adolescents. Child Development, 74, 1076-1090.
Sellers, R. M., Chavous, T. M., & Cooke, D. Y. (1998). Racial ideology and racial centrality as
predictors of African American college students’ academic performance. Journal of
Black Psychology, 24, 8-27.