This study examined caregivers' longitudinal reports of adolescent multiracial categorization across the ages of 9.5, 10.5, and 14 years, and adolescents' reports of their own multiracial categorization at the age of 14 years. A portion of caregivers' reports of adolescent multiracial status were inconsistent across the years of the study; some…

Measuring race and ethnicity for administrative data sets and then analyzing these data to understand racial/ethnic disparities present many logistical and theoretical challenges. In this chapter, we conduct a synthetic review of studies on how to effectively measure race/ethnicity for administrative data purposes and then utilize these measures…

This article focuses on the complexity of researching institutional culture and the ethical dilemmas posed in representing staff according to race and gender, drawing on three qualitative studies undertaken at a previously white South African university between 2000 and 2007. During the research process, issues of representation became a concern…

Promotion of diversity based on ethnic and racial identity of both students and faculty has become a central tenet in U.S. higher education, permeating everything from curricular development to student and faculty recruitment, and from campus infrastructural planning to articulation of an institution's strategic mission. References to diversity on…

In this article, the author argues that current strategies to study and understand students' identities fall short of fully capturing their complexity. A multi-dimensional perspective and a mixed-methods approach can reveal nuance that is missed with current approaches. The author offers an illustration of how mixed-methods research can promote a…

This paper presents an inside look at the rhythms of a year-long teacher research group by highlighting the experiences of four alternatively certified urban middle school teachers of color as they engaged in practitioner research about issues of gender equity, racial identity, and culturally relevant teaching. Using examples from "data dilemma"…

The expanding body of research on children and adults born to interracial/ethnic couples is in response, no doubt, to the changing demographics of the past three decades. This paper discusses the epistemological shift caused by these demographic changes. Many of the studies conducted since the 1980s on the contemporary experiences of mixed…

Argues the historical reference group orientation and personal identity study material done on blacks in the United States are flawed because they made inappropriate assumptions about the link between these two measures. Further, conclusions drawn from these materials constitute a major obstacle to the accurate understanding of the processes of…

Discusses the difficulties of defining races and establishing statistical differences between such groups. Points out that studies of such aspects as temperament or basic personality traits show much more variation within groups than between groups. Investigators of such questions should be especially careful to use sound methodology and cautious…

In "On the Desirability of Own-Group Preference" (1993), Michael L. Penn, Stanley O. Gaines, and Layli Phillips argue that misguided and mythical ideal of racial-social integration in America is the only reasonable and effective foundation for real African empowerment in American society. Serious intellectual battle will be required to…

Presents a synthesis and overview of literature on identity development in the childhood and adolescence of young people in ethnic and minority groups in the United States. (PCB)

This article contends that Nigrescence or Black racial identity theory often interacts with counseling research designs such that readers may underestimate the worth of, or misunderstand, such research. Methodological dilemmas resulting from interactions among theoretical formulations, environmental influences, and research participants' racial…

Claim of Michael L. Penn, Stanley O. Gaines, and Layli Phillips (1993) in their article "On the Desirability of Own-Group Preference"--that self-esteem and identity achievement are unrelated to own-group preference--is a matter of controversy. Recommendations are made for research that considers physical features beyond skin color,…

Argues that little of what Michael L. Penn, Stanley O. Gaines, and Layli Phillips (1993) have to say in their article "On the Desirability of Own-Group Preference" about ethnic own-group preference is new and that it is distorted and naive interpretation of social history to carry on the tradition of blaming African Americans for the…

Reviews and critiques the ethnic preference research that views minorities' own-group preference behavior as indicative of self-esteem and identity achievement. The assumption that own-group preference is ideal, normative, or healthy is called into question; and an alternative conceptualization is presented that considers age and maturity of the…