Racial social norms among Brazilian students: Academic performance, popularity, and racial identification.

ABSTRACT: Studies in the United States have shown that minority students might face a trade-off between better academic performance and peer acceptance, which has been termed "acting White." This paper investigates racial differences in the relationship between grades and popularity in five Brazilian schools. Popularity is measured using friendship ties among students, assigning a higher value to students more central in the network. The racial composition of friendship ties is generally diverse, although they tend to favor racial peers, especially among Black students. We find a positive correlation between grades and popularity of non-White students that is driven by their friendships with their White classmates. This contrasts with patterns associated with acting White, where a negative correlati

SUBMITTER: Portella A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9271153 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature