The two worlds of school: Differences in the photographs of black and white adolescents

A growing body of literature indicates that the socialization experiences of blacks causes them to focus onpeople stimuli while Whites learn to focus onobjects. If so, these differences may impact on school performance. This study sought to determine whether the photographs of school taken by black and white adolescents attending three middle schools would reflect race differences in people vs. object orientation. And they did. Moreover, the analyses of the photographs revealed significant race differences in who were included within them, type taken, where they were taken, and the themes they represented. Black students were found to have less affective attachment to school, including teachers, than did whites. Implications for educators are drawn from these findings.