Classroom racial proportions and children's peer relations: Race and gender effects.

Peer preferences (determined by both positive and negative sociometric choices) and perceptions of African-American and White children attending either majority White or majority African-American classrooms were examined. Results indicate that classroom racial minority status (i.e., being in a classroom in which most classmates are of a different race) is associated with peer rejection of girls but not of boys. Correlates of peer preferences differed for children in majority White versus African-American classes, providing support for the subjective culture hypothesis. Implications of these findings for girls' peer relations and for educational practices regarding classroom racial proportions are discussed