Students of color experience academic, social, and emotional challenges due to colorism in schools. The purpose of this scoping review is to compare the experiences with colorism of students from varying racial backgrounds (African Americans, Native Americans, Asians, and Latin) in U.S. public schools. It is predicted that the understudied group of Latinx and indigenous students of color will uniquely experience colorism in academic settings when compared to African American and Asian students. A 30 article literature review utilizing search dates from 1990 to 2020 was conducted employing a scoping review framework. Themes emerged that include: the privileging of lighter skin and more Eurocentric features in academic outcomes, the complicated social status created for students of color experiencing colorism in schools, and the increased potential for emotional challenges as a result of colorism. This review highlights possible school reform efforts to affirm all skin tones, reduce colorist biases, and offer mediation to mitigate colorist experiences in the school environment.

Although research has given ample consideration to the association between peer victimization and internalizing problems, little is known about the mediating and moderating influences on this relationship. This study investigated whether peer victimization at age 9 indirectly related to internalizing problems at age 15 via school connectedness and whether the direct and indirect associations between peer victimization and internalizing problems were moderated by race. Data were drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, which included 2467 adolescents. The sample was equally divided between male and female and 82% identified as Black and Hispanic. Results indicated that the predictive effect of peer victimization over a 6-year period on teen depression and anxiety was explained by increased school connectedness. Furthermore, there was a moderating effect of race on the direct effect of school connectedness and teen depression and anxiety. For both White and ethnic minority youth, increased school connectedness was associated with less teen depression and anxiety. However, this effect was weaker for ethnic minority students in comparison to White students in both moderated mediation models. The moderated mediation results for teen anxiety showed a greater differential effect among race. The findings have important implications, which are discussed.

This paper reports the findings of a study that investigated Black women’s experiences of colorism. The authors introduce a new framework, “colorist microaggressions”, which highlight the microaggressions experienced by Black women. The results indicate that colorist microaggressions impacted the social, relational, emotional, and relational aspects of Black women’s lives and their well-being. The results also showed that like racial microaggressions, the “colorist microaggressions” that Black women encountered in their community, family, and in society, were pervasive. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for social work research, education, and practice.

Understanding barriers to practice is a growing area within school social work research. Using a convenience sample of 284 school social workers, this study replicates the efforts of a mixed-method investigation designed to identify barriers and facilitators to school social work practice within different geographic locations. Time constraints and caseloads were found to be the most commonly cited barriers to practice, and respondents from urban locations reported the highest number of barriers when compared with those from suburban and rural settings. As a single category, school staff collaboration, communication, cooperation, and attitudes was cited as the most common facilitator and the highest ranked facilitator of practice. The authors conclude that differences in perceived barriers among locations highlight the importance of understanding the dynamics and unique needs of a given service area. Suggestions for future research directions are provided, and implications for skills development, education, and professional development aimed at the amelioration of barriers to school social work intervention are discussed.