An Antiracist Strengths-Based Framework for School Counseling: Reframing Narratives and Advancing Equity for Black Students

Abstract

Antiracist School Counseling: Antiracist school counseling requires actively disrupting systemic racism through advocacy, critical consciousness, and the creation of affirming school environments that honor Black students’ humanity, cultural identities, and lived experiences. Strengths-Based School Counseling: Strengths-based school counseling emphasizes identifying and cultivating students’ assets to promote agency, belonging, and well-being. For Black students, this approach counters deficit-oriented narratives by centering cultural wealth, resilience, and community-based strengths. The Antiracist Strengths-Based School Counseling (ASBSC) Framework, With Case Study: This article introduces the ASBSC framework, integrating antiracist praxis with strengths-based principles through four components: reframing student narratives, elevating cultural assets as strengths, affirming strengths through data-informed action, and activating strengths for collective empowerment. A case study of Malik, a seventh-grade Black student experiencing racialized discipline, illustrates how school counselors can apply the framework to reinterpret behavior, affirm identity, and challenge inequitable practices at both individual and systemic levels. Implications and Future Research: The ASBSC framework calls for school counselor preparation programs to embed antiracist and strengths-based training that emphasizes systemic analysis, culturally sustaining practices, and advocacy. Future research should examine implementation and outcomes of the framework, centering student voice and employing antiracist methodologies to assess impacts on student development and school climate. Conclusion: The ASBSC framework offers a cohesive, equity-centered approach for reframing narratives, affirming strengths, and advancing systemic change to support Black students’ success and well-being.