School Counselors Addressing Racial Disparities in Education Among African American Students Through an Intersectional Lens: A Conceptual Framework

In K-12 public school settings, African American students experience racial disparities impacting their academic outcomes, career readiness, and social-emotional wellness (Bottiani et al. in Journal of Educational Psychology, 109 (4), 532–545, 2017). To ensure equitable outcomes for these students, school counselors should view them through an intersectional lens, embracing their distinct hierarchical positions in comparison to their counterparts. As social justice change agents, school counselors model transformative leadership in an attempt to minimize racial, systemic, and institutional disparities experienced amongst this population (Cobb, 2019). The manuscript aims to provide practical interventions for school counseling leaders through the efforts of advocacy, data analysis, and systemic change.