Understanding Perceptions of School Climate Among Asian-Indian American Adolescents

Asian-Indian Americans represent among the largest Asian subgroups in the USA. Nevertheless, studies of the school experiences of Asian-Indian American (AIA) youth are limited. Whereas within-group differences in school climate perceptions have been investigated for other minoritized racial-ethnic groups, no such studies have been conducted with AIA youth with origins in India. More importantly, limited studies have examined response patterns with minoritized ethnic populations. The present study utilized latent class analysis (LCA) to identify classes of school climate perceptions among 10th-grade AIA students ( n = 460) in California as well as to provide insight into how AIA youth respond to school climate items. The results of the LCA suggested five categories and revealed that about 60% of AIA students perceived their school climate positively. Notably, more than two-thirds of respondents reported negative perceptions of meaningful participation at school. Relative to their reports in other areas of school climate, AIA students also reported feeling less involved in making decisions and advocating for themselves within the school system. The discussion of results explores similarities and differences in findings as compared with other student populations; it also considers implications for further scholarship and practice.