School-Based Diversity Education Activities and Bias-Based Bullying Among Secondary School Students

Bias-based bullying (e.g., bullying related to race, weight, sexual orientation) is a common experience among youth, yet few school-based prevention programs explicitly address this type of bullying. This study explores whether schools that offer diversity education activities have lower rates of bias-based bullying among students compared to schools that do not offer these activities. Data came from two sources: the 2018 CDC School Profiles Survey ( N = 216 schools) and the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey ( N = 64,510 students). Multilevel logistic regression tested associations between diversity education activities (diversity clubs, lessons, or special events) and eight types of bias-based bullying among students, with attention to effect modification by relevant demographic characteristics. Students attending schools that offer a wider variety of diversity education opportunities had significantly lower odds of bullying about race, ethnicity, or national origin among boys of color ( OR = 0.89, CI: 0.80, 1.00), about sexual orientation for gay, bisexual, and questioning boys ( OR = 0.81, CI: 0.67, 0.97), and about disability for boys with a physical health problem ( OR = 0.86, CI: 0.76, 0.99). Attending a school with more types of diversity education activities may protect vulnerable students against specific types of bias-based bullying and advance health equity. A diversity education is recommended as a key component of antibullying efforts and policy.

College Transition Program for Student-Athletes (CTPSA): A Psychoeducational Group for Boys of Color

This article suggests a group intervention for student-athlete boys of color who intend to play sports in college. This group is a component of a larger proposed school-wide program, the College Transition Program for Student-Athletes (CTPSA). The CTPSA’s suggested group intervention offers school counselors a college readiness option to support the college application process, college adjustment, and transition for boys of color who are student-athletes. We discuss the group’s purpose, design, format, curriculum, and expected outcomes and present implications for school counselors and other counseling professionals.

Rigor restricted: Unequal participation in advanced placement

Although participation in Advanced Placement programs has been expanding rapidly across the United States, participation among marginalized students generally, and boys of color in particular, has remained lower than for other students. In his observations at an urban high school, Suneal Kolluri found that, if they were going to put in the work required in these classes, Black and Latino boys needed to feel connected to the teachers and the curriculum. Some signed up for AP classes because they liked the teachers, but when they got the impression that those teachers didn’t believe in them, they disengaged. In addition, they didn’t see the value of the content presented in AP classes. Although teachers and counselors tried to motivate them by explaining that it would prepare them for college, the students were unconvinced that they needed this help.

Explorations in Intersectional Policymaking

Chapter 5 explores the concept of intersectional policymaking further by examining closely the content of legislation sponsored by a small subset of Democratic state legislators serving majority-minority constituencies in California, New Jersey, and Texas in 1997 and 2005. What might intersectional policymaking look like and who practices it? The analysis uncovers a wide variety of intersectional proposals, spanning multiple policy arenas and addressing many different problems arising from multiple, intersecting forms of inequality and marginalization. Particularly notable are measures concerning the health and welfare of women of color, immigrants, and others often disproportionately located within low-income communities, as well as criminal justice measures taking on issues of over-policing and mass incarceration that disproportionately affect men and boys of color in similar low-income, urban communities. Most lawmakers in this subsample sponsor at least one intersectional bill, but women of color stand out as the most reliable practitioners of intersectional advocacy.

“The Child is Not Broken”: Leadership and Restorative Justice at an Urban Charter High School

Background/Context There has been growing attention to the disproportionate and harmful effects of school exclusion, including suspension and expulsion, on boys of color. Restorative justice may be one possibility for addressing these disparities. Yet the research on restorative justice in schools is nascent, and in particular, little is known about the role of school leaders in enacting restorative practices as a means to creating more equitable schools. Focus of Study By highlighting the work of school leaders, this study contributes to our collective understanding of how restorative justice can function as a meaningful alternative to school exclusion. The study explores how two leaders exercise leadership, build legitimacy, and develop relationships with teachers and students. It examines how these leaders make sense of their efforts to transform the school from a place reliant on traditional punitive mechanisms as a form of control to a restorative school culture. Setting The study took place at a charter school with campuses in two neighboring cities in the Northeast United States. Research Design This study uses portraiture, a methodology that emphasizes participants’ phenomenological perspectives and illuminates the complexity of goodness and success, making it well-aligned with the topic of this research. I gathered data through in-depth interviews with and observation of the two leaders at the center of the study, as well as interviews and observations of students and teachers. Conclusions Ultimately, the leaders exhibited restraint, persistence, and respect, qualities that served as the basis for meaningful relationships with students and teachers. In turn, these relationships were an important component of how the school sought to reduce suspension rates and narrow racial gaps in exclusionary punishments.