Faheemah N. Mustafaa

The COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 racial awakening posed challenges to adolescents’ academic functioning. Culturally relevant school supports are one potential source of resilience in the dual pandemic. This study examined whether heterogeneous culturally relevant school support profiles buffered declining grade point average (GPA) trajectories from 2019 to 2021 among sixth- and ninth-grade students in the U.S. Southwest (N = 717; Mage = 13.7; 49.9% girls; 31.8% Hispanic/Latinx, 31.5% Multiethnic, 25.7% White, 11.1% Black/African American, Asian American, American Indian, or AMENA). Ninth-grade students experiencing high general, moderate cultural, & critical support or low general, devoid cultural, & critical support had significantly better GPA trajectories than those experiencing moderate general & cultural, devoid critical support. Among sixth-grade students, no differences emerged. Discussion of these complex patterns focuses on implications for academic resilience after the dual pandemic.

Deficit narratives about Black children are ubiquitous, with numerous propositions regarding what they need to thrive, particularly in education. While Black educators are often experts on what Black children need to succeed, their perspectives are underrepresented in education research and policy. This study describes the perspectives of 156 Black educators on the needs of Black children. Drawing on Garcia Coll et al.'s (1996) Integrative Model for the Study of Developmental Competencies in Minority Children as a guiding theoretical framework to foreground a raced-conscious understanding of children’s needs, this study uses educators' open-ended survey responses on Black children's needs, which were analyzed using open and thematic coding. Findings reveal a range of intersecting assets that Black educators believe Black children need to thrive in education, with an emphasis on the interconnectedness between family, community, and schools. Three primary themes emerged: (1) the importance of supportive developmental relationships with teachers and other role models, (2) the necessity of coordinated partnerships among families, communities, and schools, and (3) the salience of developmental, instructional, and societal needs working in concert. We found diversity in the extent to which race and culture were mentioned explicitly, implicitly, or not at all. Notably, many educators emphasized needs aligned with mainstream developmental frameworks while others foregrounded race-conscious priorities such as Black educator representation and culturally relevant curriculum. The implications of these diverse perspectives are discussed as necessary to support Black students' fullest self-actualization and to inform policies that support Black children and youth.

In scientific fields such as veterinary medicine (VetMed), instruction is often content-focused and lecture-based, leaving insufficient room for students to make meaningful connections to the curricula or see themselves in related careers. Inclusive pedagogies such as engaged teaching and culturally relevant pedagogy help students to make connections between their lived experiences and academic content, and are associated with deepening students' motivation and interests. During the summer of 2024, Education and VetMed faculty from a large, research-intensive university collaborated to create a culturally relevant, engaged curriculum for a veterinary summer engagement program. This program was geared toward middle and high school students from racial-ethnic groups historically underrepresented in veterinary medicine. In this teaching tip, we highlight the ways VetMed faculty adapted their activities after collaborating with the Education faculty. Overall, the VetMed faculty focused on revising their activities around three core principles: connection, interaction, and relevance. The findings of this article showcase the ways in which these principles were enacted within the activities of the summer program, and the reactions the students had from participating in these activities. This pilot program exemplifies curricular ideas that veterinary medicine faculty can implement to create meaningful learning experiences in both K-12 pipeline programs and in higher education settings. Through supporting interdisciplinary collaborations, particularly between VetMed and Education faculty, we can foster learning environments that increase access and engagement to VetMed for youth from historically underrepresented groups.

Historically, Black educators have played a critical role in Black youth's well-being. Consequently, they are often assumed to “naturally” engage culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), obscuring the diverse ways Black individuals identify, think, and behave regarding race and culture. This psychological survey study examines in-service Black educators’ ( N = 238) multidimensional racial identity attitudes, background sociodemographics, and education contexts (postsecondary and current/teaching) in relation to their varied enactments of three CRP domains ( African American Curriculum, Culturally Relevant Teaching, Sociopolitical Commitment). Results show CRP variation across individuals according to their racial identity attitudes, backgrounds, and contexts. The resulting conceptual framework advances research and discourse on teacher race by challenging homogenizing, detrimental narratives. Findings have important implications for teacher workforce diversification, training, and retention.

Introduction: We propose a visionary working model to normalize the pursuit of social justice praxis in educational psychology courses. Using our undergraduate course as an example, we discuss our roles as instructors, curriculum, and pedagogical strategies for forward progress. Statement of the Problem: Despite stated commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion as integral to psychology research and practice (e.g., American Psychological Association statements), most educational psychology courses are highly theoretical and do not prepare learners to counter social injustices in praxis that are meaningful for the global majority. Literature Review: We make the case for why educational psychology courses are ideal for training students for social justice praxis, and outline how diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies in the literature can be used as levers. Teaching Implications: We provide assignment resources to illustrate how instructors can begin to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout a course to co-construct more just futures. Conclusion: Actualizing this visionary model of normalizing social justice praxis in educational psychology courses requires multi-level supports at global and local levels. Using case studies to address complex social injustices within an engaged teaching and learning environment has significant potential to empower and prepare learners to forward social justice.