youth of color from working-class families who grow up believing in America’s narrative of hard work, perseverance, and grit—all components of character education—are more likely to participate in risky behavior and have lower self-esteem. The study is grounded in the social-psychological theory of “system justification,” which explains how humans believe, defend, and rationalize the status quo because they see social, economic, and political systems as fair and legitimate. Among the low-income youth of color in the study, 91 percent believed in the “American dream.” While holding
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