Culturally relevant school support profiles are associated with academic achievement trajectories post-COVID dual pandemic onset
Maciel M Hernández, Kristia A Wantchekon, Olga Kornienko, Caroline Toth, Esther Burson, Valeria C Gutierrez, Priscila Gámez Hernández, Norma J Perez-Brena, M Dalal Safa, Alejandro Martinez, Faheemah N Mustafaa, Thao HaAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 racial awakening posed challenges to adolescents’ academic functioning. Culturally relevant school supports are one potential source of resilience in the dual pandemic. This study examined whether heterogeneous culturally relevant school support profiles buffered declining grade point average (GPA) trajectories from 2019 to 2021 among sixth- and ninth-grade students in the U.S. Southwest (N = 717; Mage = 13.7; 49.9% girls; 31.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 31.5% Multiethnic, 25.7% White, 11.1% Black/African American, Asian American, American Indian, or AMENA). Ninth-grade students experiencing high general, moderate cultural, & critical support or low general, devoid cultural, & critical support had significantly better GPA trajectories than those experiencing moderate general & cultural, devoid critical support. Among sixth-grade students, no differences emerged. Discussion of these complex patterns focuses on implications for academic resilience after the dual pandemic.