ABSTRACT This issue of Theory Into Practice is devoted to the closure of opportunity gaps for Black youth. Why is it important to close opportunity gaps for Black youth? First, the opportunity gap was previously called the achievement gap. This change in terminology was needed to reflect more accurately that disparities in student outcomes are more accurately described by the inequitable opportunities to achieve rather than deficit-thinking that placed the blame on the Black youth. Therefore, in this special issue, we describe the opportunity gap as the manifestation of the way external factors can contribute to lower rates of success in educational achievement, career prospects, and other life aspirations (McNamara et al. 2020). This gap is sustained and exacerbated by inequitable distribution of resources such as under-resourced schools (Kitchens, 2021), lack of Black professionals in child-serving professions (e.g. Farinde-Wu et al. 2020), lack of quality teachers as more Black students enroll in a school (Jackson, 2009), the intersection of health disparities and education(Fiscella & Kitzman, 2009), and lastly recent publications have related to Black children are lacking access to appropriate social-emotional learning experiences that humanize them and prepare them for a world of anti-Black racism (i.g. Miller et al, 2022; Rogers et al. 2022). Therefore, this gap cannot be attributed solely to academic instruction nor can it be measured solely through academic achievement. Outcomes of this gap include lower graduation rates, a lack of Black students enrolled in gifted and talented programs, and an overrepresentation of Black children in special education. An example of the punishment gap (Morris et al. 2021), the disproportionate number of Black children in restrictive special education placement (U.S. Department of Education, 2021), and the percentage of Black students in the juvenile justice system (Padgaonkar et al. 2021) collectively provide oppressive conditions that lead to the exclusion of Black children from mainstream educational placements and society. These cataclysmic contributors remove Black children from learning and support a hegemonic relationship that is efficacious to all life-sustaining outcomes. In this issue, we provide nine contributions to eradicate the opportunity gaps for Black children.

ABSTRACT Social-emotional interventions (SEL) are purported to be beneficial toward all students, yet researchers call into question their effectiveness toward Black boys because of the limited SEL interventions that have been culturally adapted for them to account for their lived experiences (e.g. experiencing disparate discipline within schools). Within this review, we discuss the state of research on Black boys, provide an overview of SEL interventions, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the current SEL intervention research base. Next, we emphasize the need for culturally relevant SEL interventions and how practitioners can make SEL interventions culturally relevant for Black boys using a universal Afrocentric framework. Finally, this article highlights recommendations for practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to improve the cultural adaptation of SEL interventions for Black boys to promote improved school outcomes.

ABSTRACT For too long, Black children’s educational needs have not been prioritized with attention to their culture, language, historical and contemporary racialized experiences, and building their positive racial identity. It is critical that early childhood education settings for young children be transformed to be a place of learning and healing by centering Black children’s cultural identity through African-centered education (ACE). Through ACE practices, Black children can find meaningful connections with their ancestral heritage to expand on their knowledge. In this article, we discuss the need and the history of ACE, its link to Black children’s well-being and outcomes, the status of these types of programming, and educational leaders’ understanding of what ACE entails. Finally, we end with ways to integrate ACE in early childhood through the R.I.C.H.E.R. framework. It is critical that the full humanity and cultural roots of Black children are centered on delivering on the promise of equal educational opportunity.

ABSTRACT The disparate experiences of Black adolescent girls across academic and behavioral domains when compared to their same-gender peers call for further examination and discussion to aid in tailoring support efforts. This narrative review aims to identify processes that contribute to the psychosocial functioning of Black girls, an understudied area of research. By employing an intersectional framework grounded in Black feminist ideology, this article explores the racial identity and socialization of Black girls, their academic and behavioral experiences within school and beyond, how the strong Black woman schema can conceal the needs of Black girls, and the impact of racial stress. Identified themes of support for Black girls include gender-specific programming that focuses on positive racial identity development, messages regarding positive racial views as part of racial socialization, psychoeducation on the impact of racial trauma as well as lessons on power, privilege, and oppression to aid in self-understanding and cultivate critical consciousness.

ABSTRACT School-aged Black boys are mathematically gifted; however, they are often underserved vis-à-vis their mathematics education. In this article, we provide guidance for multiple stakeholders to support and elevate high-quality mathematics learning opportunities for Black male youth. In doing so, we begin by engaging W. E. B. Du Bois’ storytelling. We then offer BlackCrit as a theoretical frame to enrich evidence-based work regarding Black mathematics teachers and culturally relevant pedagogy. We also advocate for the establishment of “grow-your-own” programs given the strong links to Black male achievement as well as the critical need for continuous federal funding in service to Black boys’ mathematics education. We conclude with a summary of the guidance provided to bolster school-aged Black boys’ mathematics achievement outcomes.

ABSTRACT Teaching reading to children from minoritized communities in ways that are both effective and meaningful is demanding and complex work. It requires educators to integrate their knowledge of (a) the various skills involved in reading, (b) assisting children to learn to read, and (c) the everyday sociocultural practices and identities of young readers. Weaving firsthand experiences of the 2nd author, Dr. Patricia Edwards (or “Pat”), as a young Black girl in the Deep South in 1955 with moral philosophy and a review of extant research, we identify 3 principles for transforming opportunities for Black children to become successful readers. That is, we assert that teaching reading equitably (a) requires the exercise of teacher dispositional virtue ; (b) requires support for teachers to make reasoned pedagogical judgments on behalf of Black and other minoritized children; and (c) provides teachers and their students alike with moral rewards that are inherent to the practice of equitable teaching. We offer actionable recommendations for teachers, school leaders, parents, and teacher educators.

ABSTRACT The opportunity gap has contributed to unequal educational opportunities and success among Black youth, college students, and early career professionals. The American Psychological Association, Association for Black Psychologists, and Academics for Black Survival and Wellness (A4BL) have called psychologists to act in support of Black lives in higher education. Most research and guidance on this topic are communicated in a siloed manner (e.g. content for multicultural psychology courses) and across single domains (e.g. teaching). However, closing the gap warrants widespread change at many levels, requiring psychology professors to have a multifaceted impact simultaneously through their many roles. This article reviews 1) the opportunity gap in higher education and among early career psychologists; 2) psychology’s contribution to this gap; 3) evidence-based strategies to address the gap in higher education and in training the next generation of psychologists; and 4) one psychology professor’s multifaceted plan and actions in response to A4BL call to action including notable outcomes and lessons learned.

ABSTRACT Albert Bandura’s social learning theory focused on the interaction of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors. This article honors Bandura’s legacy with the real-life application of his theories regarding modeling, enactive rehearsal, vicarious learning, and self-efficacy. Included are excerpts from a discussion of a group of teachers from a low-income school sharing their effective classroom strategies. The teachers discussed how learning has been lost due to the interruption of the pandemic. In their conversation, teachers lamented the lack of basic skills, such as using scissors, that students were missing and general social behavior skills, including sitting in a chair, when school resumed as “normal.” This article provides strategies teachers can use to teach or reteach basic skills and behaviors through conversation, modeling, observing, and setting expectations. Also included are practical examples of Bandura’s theory at work in the classroom setting.

ABSTRACT Use of peer models during classroom demonstrations can be an effective teaching practice to support student learning and self-efficacy. According to social cognitive theory, modeling is a form of vicarious experience: those experiences through which students are able to learn and acquire knowledge through observation. As a critical source of self-efficacy, vicarious experiences involving peer models are likely to support students’ efficacy. Although qualities of effective peer models have been identified, there has been less translational work that discusses the tensions between best practice and the practical considerations by educators in identifying, selecting, and using peer models for classroom demonstrations. The aim of this paper is to review the qualities of peer models research and discuss how effective peer models can be implemented in diverse classrooms. Here we pay particular attention to the perceived similarity of ability and identity between the model and student observers. This paper also outlines gaps in the research and identifies pathways for future research.

ABSTRACT By and large, teachers approach their work with the utmost care for students’ intellectual, social, and emotional well-being. But even those who hold themselves to high moral standards can sometimes act in ways that harm others when they disengage self-sanctions like guilt or self-criticism. These mechanisms of moral disengagement include (1) portraying harmful acts as beneficial, (2) obscuring one’s own role in harm, (3) minimizing the harmful effects of one’s actions, and (4) viewing victims as less-than-human or deserving of blame. Because moral self-sanctions can be both disengaged and reengaged, we examine how these mechanisms operate in educators’ social systems and point to practices that may promote their moral engagement. We end our piece with a call for interventions that disrupt disengagement and promote moral self-efficacy.