Through the Eyes of Friends: An Investigation of School Context and Cross-Racial Friendships in Racially Mixed Schools

Racially mixed schools are important because they affect the distribution of academic achievement, racial attitudes, subsequent social and economic outcomes of students, and patterns of residential integration. The purpose of this article is to capture and describe the role that adolescent friendships play in the educational and social experiences of students enrolled in racially mixed, or desegregated, schools. Based on qualitative analysis that includes semi-structured, in-depth interviews of female adolescents from middle school to high school, this study provides the practice- and policy-based implications of cross-racial friendships.