The Role of Racial Match Between Students and Teachers in School-Based Consultation

Abstract

Disparities between the educational outcomes of students of color and their White peers have persisted across decades. Multicultural consultee-centered consultation has the potential to mitigate negative outcomes for students of color by improving the knowledge and skills of teachers. However, more empirical research is needed to understand the role of diversity within the consultative relationship and problem-solving process. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of racial diversity between students and teachers during school-based consultation on the perceptions school psychologists have of collaboration, teacher expectations of students, and student–teacher relationships, as school psychologists commonly serve as school-based consultants. The study employed an experimental design, in which 83 practicing school psychologists were randomly assigned to watch videos of a teacher describing a student referral problem in a racial match or racial mismatch condition. Results suggested school psychologists’ perceptions of the collaborative relationship were more positive when students and teachers were Black compared to when they were White. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed. Impact Statement This is the only known experimental study conducted in over 20 years to examine the impact of student and teacher racial differences within school-based consultation. Results suggested that school psychologists perceived the collaborative relationship with a teacher to be more positive when both the student and teacher were Black compared to when the student and teacher were White. Given the predominantly White sample, these findings highlight the importance of culturally responsive strategies even when members of the consultation triad are racially matched.