Self-Affirmation and Minority Student Achievement

When black and Latino middle school students are encouraged to write a series of self-affirming essays, they are more likely to pursue a college education, according to a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study found that Latino students who write the essays become more likely than other Latino students to enter a college preparatory track in high school, rather than a remedial track. Black students who participate are more likely than other black students to enroll in college seven to nine years later. The lead author of the study was J. Parker Goyer, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University.