Understanding African American vernacular English and reading achievement: Implications for the science of reading.

The purpose of this article is to discuss issues of language, specifically African American Vernacular English (AAVE), as it relates to the reading performance of African American children. Previous research on the science of reading provides a research-based framework that is a starting point for evidence-based research that can be used to improve the reading outcomes of African American children. School psychology literature is limited in its inclusion of issues posed by deficit perspectives of AAVE with Black children and reading achievement.

Examining the effectiveness of a culturally adapted social-emotional intervention for African American males in an urban setting.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the efficacy of a culturally adapted version of the Strong Start intervention program on the social-emotional outcomes of African American male students. Externalizing behavior problems of children, specifically African American males, are of great concern for schools. Punitive discipline polices such as expulsion and suspension have proved to be ineffective and harmful.

Promoting diversity through program websites: A multicultural content analysis of school psychology program websites.

The recruitment of culturally and linguistically diverse students to graduate programs is critical to the overall growth and development of school psychology as a field. Program websites serve as an effective recruitment tool for attracting prospective students, yet there is limited research on how school psychology programs use their websites to recruit diverse students. The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether school psychology program websites include sufficient levels of diversity-related content critical for attracting diverse applicants.

Examining the Associations Among Home-School Dissonance, Amotivation, and Classroom Disruptive Behavior for Urban High School Students.

The current study examined the association among home-school dissonance, amotivation, and classroom disruptive behavior among 309 high school juniors and seniors at two urban high schools in the Southern region of the country. Students completed two subscales of the Patterns of Learning Activities Scales (PALS) and one subscale of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS). ANCOVA analyses revealed significant differences in classroom disruptive behaviors for the gender independent variable.