UC Riverside

The school psychology profession currently faces a significant shortage of Black school psychologists. While all school psychologists should be able to serve diverse students, research suggests that Black school psychologists are especially valuable for supporting Black K-12 students due to the racial marginalization they often face both inside and outside of school. To address this shortage, it is crucial to investigate the factors that impact the persistence of Black school psychology students in their graduate programs. Notably, Black school psychology students may encounter racialized experiences at the intersection of salient identity markers, such as gender and undergraduate affiliation, that may affect their sense of belonging and subsequent persistence. This proposed study will employ a mixed methods explanatory sequential design to explore the intersectionality of racialized experiences, their impact on students' sense of belonging, and how this sense of belonging influences their persistence. The findings from this research will empower school psychology programs to create supportive environments that foster the persistence and success of Black students in school psychology.