Culturally Responsive School-Based Practices: Supporting Mental Health and Learning of Diverse Students

As trends continue in U.S. schools toward a more racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse K-12 student population, school-based professionals have an important role in supporting students' mental health and learning. Practitioners, including school psychologists, school counselors, and social workers, are expected to have the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to provide culturally responsive services with the goal of promoting safe, supportive, and inclusive schools. In Culturally Responsive School-Based Practices, Anisa N. Goforth and Andy V. Pham provide foundational knowledge and practical strategies for conducting culturally responsive assessment and promoting the resilience and well-being of culturally and linguistically diverse populations, including refugee, immigrant, racial and ethnic minoritized students, and English-language learners. The book integrates cultural humility and social justice, and emphasizes positive psychology and collaborative approaches that minimize the use of deficit thinking. With case examples, practical resources, discussion questions, and opportunities to engage in self-reflection or critical reflexivity, educators and practitioners who deliver educational and mental health supports in schools will be able to develop and demonstrate cultural humility, cultural responsiveness, and advocacy within educational settings.

About the Author

Anisa N. Goforth , PhD, ABPP, is Professor of Psychology at the University of Montana. Her research focuses on culturally responsive evidence-based practices for children and their families. She has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters and has been an Associate Editor of the Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation and President of the Montana School Psychology Association. Andy V. Pham , PhD, is Associate Professor of School Psychology at Florida International University. His research examines the intersection of neurocognitive and sociocultural variables on youth's academic and mental health outcomes. As a school psychologist, faculty mentor, and university trainer, he aims to reduce ethnic disparities in mental health and education by implementing cultural humility and cultural responsiveness in research and practice.