Several theorists (e.g., LaFromboise, Coleman, & Gerton, 1993; Ogbu, 1992) have suggested that ethnic minority children's beliefs about their ethnicity may affect their self-perceptions in other domains (e.g., academic and social competence). The purpose of the present study was to examine the relations between 4th-and 5th-grade Mexican American children's beliefs about their ethnicity and their perceptions of themselves, their attitudes toward school, and their school performance. In general, children identified with their own ethnic group over Anglo-Americans, but indicated acceptance of allpeople rather than a preferencefor only people of their own ethnic group. Children 's beliefs about their ethnicity were related to their perceptions of their social and behavioral competence, theirself-worth, theirattitudes toward school, and their intrinsic motivation for learning, but not to their school achievement.
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