Systematic Review of School Based Services for Racial Minority Students

PURPOSE: In the U.S., 1 in 4 school-aged students are racial minority, and they are more likely to experience various challenges, such as academic failure, mental problems, substance abuse, and health issues. They are particularly vulnerable if they are from low-income and urban backgrounds because of limited access to appropriate services. Therefore, schools have been a good channel to provide services for hard-to-reach youth. However, although school-based services in the U.S. have a long history of supporting underserved students and their families, the evidence of its effectiveness for racial minority students is still unknown. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to review previous studies that evaluated school-based services that were provided for the racial minority students. Specifically, this study aims to examine both the rigor of research design and the cultural sensitivity of school-based services.

METHOD: A systematic review of four academic databases was conducted to identify studies evaluating school-based services/interventions with racial minority students. Study selection was developed and included four stages that the study should (1) be conducted in the context of the U.S., (2) evaluate a school-based service, (3) have sample mainly with racial minority and school-aged students, and (4) be conducted as outcome evaluation. For the review, the Levels of Evidence-Based Intervention Effectiveness (LEBIE) scale by Jackson (2009) was used to evaluate research design and rigor. Studies were also examined whether the service was designed as culturally sensitive to specific racial groups.

RESULTS: A total of 21 studies met the inclusion criteria, and were grouped into four categories based on the types of services: mental health, health, substance use, and school behavior. For the rigor of the research, the majority of the reviewed studies were rigorously designed with randomization and equivalent comparison/control groups. This result shows that the school-based services were evident to address the needs of racial minority students. For the cultural sensitivity examination, more than half of the services were not designed specifically for racial/ethnic minority students. Minority students were not either recruited exclusively. Thus, there is not enough evidence to claim that the services meet minority students’ cultural needs. Moreover, not many studies mentioned their intention to deliver cultural sensitive intervention for this population.  

IMPLICATIONS: Results from this review pose important implications for practice and future research in the field of school social work. This review calls for more efforts to establish evidence-based and culturally sensitive school-based services to accommodate the needs of racial minority students. In addition to addressing individual needs, school professionals should also consider various factors such as language, culture, family, peer group, and community which influence racial minority students’ engagement with general services. For research implications, since many of the reviewed studies did not report the effect size, future research should address this concern. By reporting the effect size of their intervention, they can argue for the effectiveness and clinical significance of the services that they are providing. Additionally, research should also be designed with cultural competency in terms of sample recruitment, data collection, and finding interpretations.