A systematic review of African-centered school-based interventions.

Abstract

Cultural-specific interventions often outperform standard protocols because they align with the identities and lived experiences of the youth they serve. For Black students, African-centered approaches have demonstrated improvements in social-emotional functioning, mental health, and school engagement. At the same time, growing public dissatisfaction with PK-12 education has fueled policy efforts to dismantle DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, threatening access to culturally responsive interventions in schools. Given that schools remain the most common setting for youth mental health services, understanding the state of African-centered school-based interventions is essential. This systematic review identified nine school-based African-centered intervention studies published between 1970 and December 2024. Results indicate meaningful progress in program structure and documentation, including manualized interventions demonstrating consistent benefits for Black youth. However, variability in study design and measurement strategies limits conclusions regarding overall effect and magnitude. Findings indicate the need for stronger implementation of research, standardized outcome evaluation, and wider practitioner training. African-centered interventions represent a research-supported and culturally affirming avenue for advancing equity and well-being for Black students, particularly as DEI-related supports face increasing political restriction in U.S. schools. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).