Understanding the perceptions of memorable messages about academic performance among students of color in the United States*

ABSTRACT

This study addresses students of color (SOC) perceptions of memorable messages (MMs) related to their academic ability. A survey of 165 undergraduate students who identified as people of color vividly recalled both positively and negatively valenced messages. Our analysis identified four distinct positive themes embedded within the MMs: praise, encouragement, advice, and support, and four negative themes: criticism, discouragement, reprimand, and accusation. The study also showed that many SOC used positive MMs as microaffirmations to combat threats to their identity, and perceived negative MMs as racial microaggressions that trigger a lack of confidence and/or doubt in their academic ability. We conclude with a set of practical recommendations for constructing equity-minded communication in instructional settings that promotes SOC success.

KEYWORDS:

• Memorable messages
• students of color
• racial microaggressions
• microaffirmations
• equity-minded communication

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

IRB approval

This study and its procedures were approved by the California State University, Northridge Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Human Subjects Research (IRB-FY20-234).

Data availability statement

The data that supports the findings of this study will be available on request from the corresponding author.