Science

The rising social unrest regarding social justice issues across the nation, as well as health concerns and isolation as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, brought about a time of unprecedented distress for students across the United States. As schools transitioned back to in-person instruction, teachers may have utilized different strategies in the classroom to help support student mental health during this time of crisis. In the present study, we surveyed a sample of 1,449 full-time K–12 teachers during the Spring 2022 semester to examine the relationships between their perceptions of student mental health decline and their use of emotionally supportive and culturally relevant practices. We examined whether these relationships differed depending on whether students spoke a foreign language at home and the racial background of the students in the class. Structural equation modeling results revealed that teachers’ perceptions of student mental health decline were associated with greater use of emotionally supportive, but not culturally relevant, strategies. The relationship between teachers’ perceptions of student mental health decline and use of both types of strategies were stronger in classrooms with 50% or more students who spoke a foreign language at home, but not as a function of the proportion of Black, Indigenous, and people of color students in class. Results highlight teachers’ responsive use of emotional support, and use of both emotionally supportive and culturally relevant strategies to support the mental health of students from non-English-speaking households. However, findings point to the need for teachers to utilize more culturally relevant strategies in times of crisis, particularly in classrooms with more Black, Indigenous, and people of color students. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

School engagement generally declines during adolescence and was reported to be worse in Chinese adolescents in rural areas compared to those in urban cities. Extensive studies have investigated the roles of perceived social support (i.e., students’ perceived teacher support, family cohesion, and peer support) in shaping students’ school engagement. However, inconsistent findings were documented. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism between perceived social support and school engagement lacks investigation. Therefore, informed by the bioecological model and the process model of interpersonal strategies, this longitudinal study examined (a) whether three sources of perceived social support (i.e., teacher support, family cohesion, and peer support) at Time 1 were associated with school engagement at Time 2 both directly and indirectly through emotion regulation (i.e., cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression) at Time 2 and (b) whether such pathways differentiated between non-left-behind adolescents and left-behind adolescents (LBA), with left behind being a unique cultural phenomenon in rural China. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the multiple mediation models among 3,043 Chinese rural adolescents (46.86% boys; Mage = 15.82 years, SD = 1.56) in two rural boarding schools in Guizhou and Gansu province. In the overall sample, (a) cognitive reappraisal fully mediated the association between teacher support and school engagement. (b) Family cohesion was positively associated with school engagement, while the indirect effects were not significant. Different pathways were revealed in non-left-behind adolescents and left-behind adolescents. (c) Peer support had no direct or indirect effect on school engagement. This study contributes to the understanding of how social–emotional processes influence school engagement and informs culturally responsive strategies and practices that enhance school engagement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Reading problems may emerge beyond the primary grades when the linguistic and cognitive demands of reading comprehension increase in middle school. The accurate identification of students requiring supplemental reading instruction is critical to provide remediation and decrease the prevalence and likelihood of reading problems in secondary settings and beyond. Nevertheless, research guidance on middle school reading screening is scarce. This study analyzed data from 193 sixth-grade students across 12 classrooms to examine (a) how well various reading screeners predicted proficiency on the year-end state assessment, (b) what combinations of reading screeners were most accurate, (c) the extent to which a brief teacher rating improved classification accuracy, and (d) the agreement rates between the most accurate combinations of screeners. Screeners included the Sight Word Efficiency, oral reading fluency (ORF), maze, and a multiple-choice reading comprehension (MCRC) assessment. Results from logistic regressions and receiver operating characteristic curve analyses suggested that no single screener was appropriate for use and that combinations of two or three screeners assessing different reading skills improved classification accuracy (i.e., ORF + MCRC, ORF + maze + MCRC). Moreover, teacher ratings further improved classification accuracy but its predictive value depended on the combination of screeners. Finally, there was a high agreement regarding which students were identified as needing intervention between these combinations of screeners. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Resilience, broadly defined as effective adaptation to stress, adversity, or change, is an important capacity to foster in adolescence. To date, there has been little review of the literature on universal school-based resilience programs for teens. The current scoping review had three aims. The first aim was to report on the scope of literature on universal school-based resilience programs for adolescents. The second aim was to code and summarize the features and outcomes of these programs (stand-alone programs and whole-school programs). The third was to identify key themes emanating from nonempirical articles (i.e., theoretical articles, review articles, published guidelines, and reports) about what makes an effective school-based resilience program for adolescents. A total of 34 articles met the criteria for the review (47% empirical and 53% nonempirical). The collated data present a summary of who (e.g., sample demographics), how (e.g., research designs, the duration and number of posttest evaluations), and what has been studied (e.g., the types of programs and the types of outcomes). Randomized control trial evaluations (53%) and quasi-experimental designs (47%) were the common designs. The studies displayed large variation when it came to program delivery aspects such as number of lessons, length of the lessons, duration of the program, type of teaching, and program facilitators. Six themes were identified for creating effective universal school-based resilience programs: dual focus (ill-being and well-being), ethos and embedding, nurturing environment, adopting a systems approach, building teacher resilience, and fostering real-time resilience through implicit and explicit teaching. Suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Taking a reading comprehension (RC) test is a goal-oriented task, with the goal of answering questions correctly. We assume the number of questions students correctly answer represents their ability to engage successfully in the RC processes necessary to understand texts. Students, however, use various test-taking strategies, some of which negatively impact passage comprehension. The present study used eye-tracking procedures to measure what students do when reading the one part of the tests that all students must read to perform well on an RC test, the questions. Participants included 248 third-, fifth-, and eighth-grade students who read six texts and responded to associated questions while researchers recorded their eye movements. Eye-movement records were used to code students’ test-taking strategy and measure the time students spent reading multiple-choice questions and each response option. Students were also administered a measure of reading achievement. Analyses suggest eye movements on multiple-choice questions were associated with reading achievement, and the challenges less-skilled readers experience with texts are also present when reading in the question region. Differences in strategies and processes do not only occur in the text region. Therefore, researchers and practitioners should pay increased attention to the strategies that are taught and used by students when reading and responding to RC questions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

School psychology is informed by norms and beliefs that perpetuate harmful treatment, discrimination, and unchecked microaggressions across research, training, and practice. Hetero- and cisnormativity (HetCisNorms) empower a worldview that is harmful for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer/questioning (LGBTIQ+) individuals. This review presents what these norms are, how they function in school psychology, and calls on school psychologists to act. The adapting strategies to promote implementation reach and equity framework are applied with an intersectional analysis to examples across researchers, training, and practice to model for school psychologists how to take initial steps to disrupt these damaging practices. Addressing HetCisNorms can facilitate an equitable and just field for all, with particular emphasis in promoting equity among LGBTIQ+ individuals. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

It is important for researchers to understand the factors that attract marginalized community members to participate in youth service intervention programs, considering their historic mistrust in White-dominated systems (i.e., education and mental health). We employed a hermeneutic phenomenology study to understand 15 Black caregivers’ experiences of a university–church partnership program that was grounded in a school mental health paradigm. Using individual interviews and a structured coding process, we examined factors that informed participants’ engagement with the program from start to finish. First, caregivers initiated involvement with the program due to their children’s holistic needs, the accessibility of the program, and the trust they had in program leaders (including church representatives) and processes. Second, caregivers sustained involvement in the program due to graduate interventionists/mentors displaying professional competence, cultural responsiveness, and an ethic of care. Finally, caregivers viewed the program as helping the children, family, and community thrive, which influenced their desire to see the program grow and expand. As informed by the present study and related literature, recommendations for school mental health professionals involved in culturally responsive and equity-centered community partnership work are offered. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

There is a continuous push from researchers, accrediting bodies, and national education and behavioral health centers to address the safety, well-being, and success of our diverse student population in U.S. schools. However, several states are introducing or passing bills that ban or restrict culturally responsive practices in schools. The opposing views overshadow the importance of cultural responsiveness for children and the benefits of cultural responsiveness from the caregivers’ perspective based on their lived experiences. Therefore, this study utilized phenomenological inquiry to gain caregivers’ experiences of culturally responsive (and unresponsive) practices in their child(ren)’s preschool or elementary school. Interviews were conducted with 13 culturally diverse parents and caregivers from varying racial, ethnic, linguistic, religious, and financial backgrounds. An analysis of the interviews revealed six themes: (1) creating an inclusive and safe educational space, (2) establishing a parent–school alliance, (3) a need for cultural cognizance in the school community, (4) accommodation of religious and cultural holidays, (5) culture in the curriculum, and (6) equitable access to educational opportunities. This study reflects an essential step toward examining and incorporating the perspectives of parents and caregivers into our practice, research, and policy efforts for enhancing cultural responsiveness in schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)

Studies evaluating school readiness profiles and quality of early education are scarce and have produced inconsistent results. This study aimed to identify school readiness profiles, correlating them with the quality of education, in an epidemiological sample of 722 children (4 and 5 years old; 48.9% female). A four-class latent class analysis model best describes school readiness profiles. Fifty-eight percent of children were considered ready for school. The remaining children presented isolated or combined risks for academic underachievement and social maladjustment. High-quality preschools seem to be a protective factor only for at risk for poor academic achievement (OR = 1.22). The prioritization of high-quality preschools could mitigate risk factors at the family and socioeconomic levels, increasing the chances for academic success. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)