Disadvantaged and visible minority students may be less likely to benefit from supportive relationships with teachers

Children’s success at school helps to lay the groundwork for career and personal success; the continued underperformance of disadvantaged and racial minority students is therefore of great concern to policymakers. In new research using data from a longitudinal child development survey in Quebec, Caroline Fitzpatrick and her co-authors found that race and appearance contribute to academic adjustment problems regardless of how academically talented students are, and that this may at least partially stem from conflict with, and lack of support from, their teachers.