Christy M. Byrd

School belonging is a fundamental need that describes how much one feels they fit in, are valued, and accepted within a school (Goodenow, Psychology in the Schools 30:79–90, 1993). In this paper, we explore how racialization and racism contribute to opportunity structures for belonging (Gray et al., Educational Psychologist 53:97–113, 2018) through school racial climate and report on a meta-analysis of the associations between dimensions of school racial climate and school belonging in primary, secondary, and postsecondary settings around the world. A literature search resulted in 6396 citations, with a final sample of 77 studies and 276 effect sizes. Most (83%) of the studies were conducted in the USA, with 45% in primary/secondary schools and 55% in postsecondary settings. Analyses consisted of three-level random-effects models with tests of moderating effects of country, marginalized group membership, school level, and publication type and showed significant correlations between belonging and discrimination—personally experienced, general negative interactions, equal status/positive interactions, cultural socialization, intercultural competence socialization, critical consciousness socialization, mainstream socialization, positive interaction socialization, commitment to diversity, general socialization, and general racial climate. There was not a significant association for color-evasive socialization. In the discussion, we note the need for more longitudinal research, more research outside of the USA, and more ethnic-racial socialization research in higher education. We conclude by discussing challenges in the measurement of school racial climate and call for more nuanced investigations on belonging as a product of students’ embeddedness within racialized systems.

By Maru Gonzalez, Michael Kokozos, Katherine McKee, et al., Published on 03/21/24

Storytelling is a powerful medium through which to nurture and amplify youths' voices. When employed effectively and ethically, storytelling has been shown to foster connection, improve intergroup relations, promote socioemotional well-being, and motivate social action. Drawing on foundational research, Aristotle's three rhetorical appeals, and our experience pilot testing the #PassTheMicYouth curriculum, we developed ten guiding questions for effective and ethical youth storytelling for social change. 4-H professionals can use these questions with youths to guide them through social impact storytelling creation and delivery.

Many scholars and educators have written about how to approach teaching about social identities, diversity, and societal inequity in classrooms and beyond. The current article adds to this literature by considering the developmental trajectories of individuals as they engage in learning opportunities about identities, diversity, and equity. This article details the specific aspects of knowledge that are essential to develop cultural competence and critical consciousness as well as a sequence in which they should be acquired. Previous models emphasize progressive movement toward more advanced levels, but this article explains how motivation can explain movement and stalling in development. Furthermore, it analyzes the cognitive and motivational antecedents of resistance to diversity learning opportunities. The article concludes with implications for teaching and future directions for research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

We explore the interaction of different types of school ethnic-racial socialization, youth’s perceptions of the messages that schools and their agents broadcast about race and ethnicity, as it shapes Black youth’s critical action, the individual and collective action that youth engage in to combat oppression and racism. In particular, the co-occurrence of critical consciousness socialization (emphasizes racial inequity; CCS), cultural socialization (celebrates youth’s culture/s; CS), and color evasive socialization (de-emphasizes and thus delegitimizes the importance of race; CES) are explored. The adaptive culture and Mustaffa’s conceptualization of Black lifemaking, an aspect of freedom dreaming in which Black people define and care for themselves in ways (such as critical action) that counter dominant, anti-Black ideologies, serve as the overarching theoretical frameworks. As both the adaptive culture paradigm and critical action necessitate a target of resistance, we hypothesize that CES, in providing Black youth something to resist against, may actually serve as a positive moderator between CCS and/or CS and their critical action. We investigate these questions among a sample of Black adolescents (n = 285, M = 15.09 years, and SD = 1.38 years). Benjamini–Hochberg corrected hierarchical moderations with age as a covariate and socialization type and interaction between types as predictors revealed that the interaction between CCS and CES significantly predicted critically conscious action [β = 0.25, SE = 0.08, t(193) = 2.54, and p < 0.05] and political anti-racist action [β = 0.21, SE = 0.09, t(193) = 2.38, and p < 0.05]. Critically conscious action was more frequent among Black youth who perceived greater CES. The relationship between CCS and political anti-racist action was stronger among those who perceived greater CES. These findings may provide comfort to those worried about CES’ impact. Black youth simultaneously socialized with CCS seem to develop a critical consciousness that allows them to trouble CES and to be critically active despite it. Engaging in varied, frequent critical action allows Black youth to continue the life-making which improves the Black American experience and drives their freedom dreaming.

Parents are the earliest transmitters of ethnic‐racial socialization (ERS), but transmitters within the school context become more important as youth move into adolescence. Yet, the current literature has limited frameworks to describe the transmission of ERS in schools. We propose a conceptual model that outlines the transmitters, methods, and content of school ERS as well as how school ERS can influence adolescent outcomes. Although scholars have begun to understand dimensions of school ERS, no frameworks have outlined the process, content, and effects of school ERS. This paper builds upon the burgeoning literature to unpack this process at institutional and individual levels. The paper includes discussion of research and practice implications for utilizing school ERS to address racial disparities and increase healthy school racial climates in K‐12 schools.

Despite its status as the largest youth-serving organization in the United States, there is a dearth of empirical scholarship about LGBTQ+ youth within 4-H; research examining 4-H professionals’ competencies to effectively support LGBTQ+ youth is even more scarce. To address this gap in the literature, this quantitative study explored the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of 4-H professionals in North Carolina as they relate to working with LGBTQ+ youth. Seventy-five professionals responded to an online survey. Professionals displayed higher levels of knowledge than skills or dispositions, were more knowledgeable about how to support LGB youth compared to transgender and gender expansive youth, and expressed the need for and substantial interest in professional development. Rural professionals tended to report lower knowledge, skills, and dispositions compared to professionals working in urban/suburban settings. This article presents the study’s findings and explores implications for future research and practice.

Given that ecological models of development highlight the interacting influences of multiple environments, further research is needed that explores ethnic‐racial socialization from multiple contexts. The current study explores how families, schools, neighborhoods, and the Internet jointly impact academic outcomes, critical consciousness, and psychological well‐being in adolescents, both through socialization messages and experiences with racial discrimination. The research questions were: (a) What profiles of multiple contexts of socialization exist? and (b) How are the different profiles associated with academic outcomes, critical consciousness, and psychological well‐being? The sample consisted of 1,084 U.S. adolescents aged 13–17 (M = 14.99,SD = 1.37; 49% girls) from four ethnic‐racial groups: 25.6% Asian American, 26.3% Black/African American, 25.3% Latinx, and 22.9% White. The participants completed online surveys of socialization and discrimination from four contexts and three types of outcomes: academic outcomes, critical consciousness, and well‐being. A latent profile analysis revealed three profiles: Average, High Discrimination, and Positive School. The Positive School class had the most positive academic outcomes and well‐being. The High Discrimination class reported the highest critical consciousness. Their academic outcomes and well‐being were similar to the Average group. The findings support complexity in perceptions of socialization from different contexts and the associations of socialization with youth outcomes.