Examining the Link Between Critical Thinking, In-School Racial Discrimination, and Perceptions of Future College-Going Beliefs

Youth from racial minority backgrounds frequently report encountering racial discrimination within their school. These experiences can create additional barriers to their pursuit of higher education. This study explored whether critical thinking can protect and enhance youth college aspirations despite discrimination. We examined whether critical thinking protects against the impact of racial discrimination on beliefs about future college plans in a racially/ethnically diverse sample of 189 adolescents (Mage = 14.47, SD = 1.402, 66.8% female) using a cross-sectional approach. Results indicated that among adolescents with low and moderate critical thinking skills, higher levels of in-school racial discrimination were linked to lower beliefs in their future college attendance. This suggests that in environments where racial discrimination is prevalent, individuals with lower critical thinking skills are more susceptible to negative effects on their college expectations. Conversely, for adolescents with high critical thinking skills, the relationship between in-school racial discrimination and beliefs about college plans was not significant. These findings emphasize the importance of developing critical thinking skills through interventions and policies to mitigate the adverse effects of in-school racial discrimination and to promote college access and success among underrepresented racial minority youth.