Understanding Socio-Emotional Learning Through a Cultural Lens: A Focus on Racial Identity Development
- Donna Y. Ford & Erik M. Hines
- May 7
- 8 min read
Donna Y. Ford, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Education and Human Ecology
College of Education and Human Ecology
The Ohio State University
Erik M. Hines
Professor
College of Education and Human Development
George Mason University
For many valid reasons, there has been an increased focus on socio-emotional learning (SEL) among students, especially since COVID-19. Accompanying issues pertaining to the pandemic, students are contending with more bullying overall, and more racism when it comes to students of color. As scholars deeply devoted to DEI– diversity, equity, and inclusion – we urge educators to be intentional about considering culture and cultural differences in all aspects of teaching, evaluating, and counseling. While students of color share many issues affecting negative self-esteem and self-concept, they also have different challenges – racial discrimination that is traumatic and goes beyond SEL in isolation, in a ‘culture blind’ way.
Experiencing racial discrimination and injustice can take a heavy emotional toll and trigger chronic stress, anxiety, depression, and racial trauma. More explicitly, William A. Smith (Smith et al., 2007) refers to this as ‘racial battle fatigue’ – the cumulative result of a natural race-related stress response to distressing mental and emotional conditions. These conditions emerged from constantly facing racially dismissive, demeaning, insensitive and/or hostile racial environments and individuals.
Below, we share definitions, one theory, and then address how educators can merge SEL and culture, resulting in a positive racial identity, so that students of color can cope with challenges to their identity as racial beings.
Definitions:
Self-esteem. Per the Mind Website (https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/self-esteem/about-self-esteem/#:~:text=Self%2Desteem%20is%20how%20we,value%20yourself%20as%20a%20person), self-esteem is how we value and perceive ourselves. It is based on our opinions and beliefs about ourselves, which can feel difficult to change. Self-esteem can affect whether individuals:
Like and value themselves as a person
Can make decisions and assert themselves
Recognize their strengths
Feel able to try new or difficult things
Show kindness towards themselves
Move past mistakes without blaming themselves unfairly and excessively
Take the time they need for themselves
Believe they matter and are good enough
Believe they deserve happiness
Mind goes on to state that causes of low self-esteem include:
Being bullied or abused
Experiencing prejudice, discrimination or stigma, including racism
Losing your job or difficulty finding employment
Physical health problems
Relationship problems, separation or divorce
Worries about appearance and body image
Feeling pressure to meet unrealistic expectations
Negative self-talk
Self-concept. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology https://dictionary.apa.org/self-concept, one’s description and evaluation of oneself, including psychological and physical characteristics, qualities, skills, roles and so forth. Self-concepts contribute to the individual’s sense of identity over time. The conscious representation of self-concept is dependent in part on nonconscious schematization of the self. Self-concept can be defined as the totality of a complex, organized, and yet dynamic system of learned attitudes, beliefs, and evaluative judgments that people hold about themselves. Springer Nature (https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_2001-1) stated that self-concept can be defined as the totality of a complex, organized, and yet dynamic system of learned attitudes, beliefs, and evaluative judgments that people hold about themselves. Further, per SimplyPsychology, (https://www.simplypsychology.org/self-concept.html ) it is formed through experiences, interactions, and reflections, and plays a pivotal role in influencing behavior, emotions, and interpersonal relationships. A healthy self-concept promotes well-being, while a negative one can lead to emotional and social challenges.
Who am I? This is the fundamental question that, throughout their lives and across diverse contexts, people strive to understand. We are concerned about who we are, who we can become, and how we fit into the environment to function effectively, attain a secured sense of self, and therewith strive for personal goals and development; being confident in ourselves and our actions (Baumeister, 1998; Oyserman et al., 2012). May it be the social or cultural context, family life, work, or settings in which people pursue personal responsibilities or interests, people constantly reflect on themselves, their behaviors, and the related outcomes (Springer Nature, para. 2).
Racial Identity. According to the APA Dictionary of Psychology, racial identity is an individual’s sense of being defined, in part, by membership in a particular racial group. The strength of this sense depends on the extent to which an individual has processed and internalized the psychological, sociopolitical, cultural, and other contextual factors related to membership in the group. Given the socially constructed nature of racial categories, racial identifications can change over time and in different contexts (https://dictionary.apa.org/racial-identity).
When describing SEL for students of color, we use a Venn Diagram to depict the merger of SEL and culture that results in racial identity (Figure 1). Ford defines culture as “the beliefs, values, attitudes, habits, customs, and traditions shared by a group of people. Culture is learned, acquired. Culture serves as a frame of reference through which a group of people view and respond to events and situations”.
Figure 1
Venn Diagram of Socio-emotional Learning, Culture, and Racial Identity
There are several theories of racial identity. In this piece, Cross’ (Cross & Vandiver, 2001) Nigresence Theory is described regarding Black individuals. Ford and Whiting (2009) discussed racial identity and peer pressure among gifted Black students, reporting that the majority had faced negative peer pressures by being accused of ‘acting white’. Cross’ theory consists of three phases/stages. ‘Phase’ is used with children, while ‘stage’ applies to adults. Worrell et al. (2011) describe the theory as such:
a. Pre-Encounter Phase
Assimilation attitudes assess low race salience on the part of the individual and reflect a view of the self as American rather than African American.
Miseducation attitudes reflect an acceptance or endorsement of the negative stereotypes that are present in society about African Americans.
Self-Hatred attitudes are the most personally negative; these attitudes reflect unhappiness with being African American and having physical characteristics reflecting an African heritage.
b. Immersion-Emersion Phase
Anti-White attitudes refer to profound negative views of European Americans.
Afro-centricity attitudes reflect an acceptance of pro-Black views that are perceived to be African in origin.
c. Internalization Phase
Afro-centricity attitudes reflect an acceptance of pro-Black views that are perceived to be African in origin (i.e., Afrocentric).
Multiculturalist Inclusive attitudes reflect pro-Black attitudes coupled with a willingness to respect and engage with other cultural groups (p. 639).
Note that to move from pre-encounter to immersion-emersion, Blacks face ‘encounters’ such as racial microaggressions (Ford et al., 2013), and other forms of racial discrimination (e.g., low expectations, biases, prejudice, deficit thinking) (Ford, 2013). This can be direct or indirect, as well as one major event or a series of smaller events. Either way, racialized SEL (i.e., racial identity) is affected in negative, harmful, and traumatizing ways.
Recommendations
To promote positive and healthy racial identity (i.e., internalization) among students of color, it is essential to understand racial identity for each group (e.g., Black, Hispanic, Asian, Native American, biracial and multiracial), with attention to each phase to support students with prevention and intervention strategies. To note phases/stages may differ depending on the race or culture of the student. We highly recommend bibliotherapy. Ford has selected a sample of multicultural books for each phase of Cross’ theory, which can be found at www.drdonnayford.com. For young Black boys (P-3), Ford’s Bloom-Banks Matrix is applied and grounded in promoting healthy and positive racial identity (Wright et al., 2022). The Matrix combines Bloom’s Taxonomy with Banks’ levels of multicultural infusion. The objective is to have most (ideally, all) lesson plans in quadrant four which is high on both frameworks. Sample Matrices are also on Ford’s website.
Teachers should reach out to school counselors for guidance and resources to facilitate students of color, with the objective of reaching internalization. Focusing on racial discrimination, isolation in gifted and talented programs, unequal access to Advanced Placement classes and other courses for advanced learners (due to underrepresentation) is essential. Such a collaboration means that supporting students of color is comprehensive and holistic.
We also recommend that students of color have mentors from their racial background who can serve as role models and hold discussions about their experiences and resilience. Finally, we encourage educators (e.g., teachers, administrators, and school counselors) get formal training and preparation to be culturally competent – to have the dispositions, knowledge, and skills to work effectively and responsively with students of color (Hines et al., 2022; Hines et al., 2023; Hines et al., 2025). This includes professional development, attending diverse conferences, taking culturally based courses, reading multicultural books, engaging in immersion experiences with students of color such as attending a place of worship, collaborating with educators of color, and collaborating with families of color, and becoming involved in the community of students of color.
A Final Word
When students literally love the skin they are in, it serves as a buffer to negative experiences. It behooves all educators to work intentionally to promote racial identity and pride in their students, just as is done with SEL, self-esteem, and self-concept.
References
Baumeister, R.F. (1998). The self. In D.T. Gilbert, S.T. Fiske, & G. Lindzey (Eds.), Handbook
of social psychology (4th ed., pp. 680–740). McGraw-Hill.
Cross Jr, W. E., & Vandiver, B.J. (2001). Nigrescence theory and measurement: Introducing the Cross Racial Identity Scale (CRIS). In J.G. Ponterotto, J.M. Casas, L.A. Suzuki, & C.
M. Alexander (Eds.), Handbook of multicultural counseling (2nd ed., pp. 371–393). Sage.
Ford, D.Y. (2013). Gifted under-representation and prejudice: Learning from Allport and Merton. Gifted Child Today, 36, 62-68.
Ford, D. Y., & Whiting, G. W. (2009). Racial identity and peer pressures among gifted African
American students: Issues and recommendations. In H.A. Neville, B.M. Tynes, & S.O.
Utsey (Eds.), Handbook of African American psychology (pp. 223–236). Sage.
Ford, D.Y., Trotman Scott, M., Moore III, J.L., & Amos, S.O. (2013). Gifted education and
culturally different students: Examining prejudice and discrimination via
microaggressions. Gifted Child Today, 36(3), 205-208.
Hines, E.M., Fletcher, E.C., Moore III, J.L., & Ford D.Y. (2022). Culturally responsive
postsecondary readiness outcomes for Black males: practice and policy recommendations for school counselors. Journal of School-Based Counseling Policy and Evaluation, 45(1), 11-25. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.25774/teyc-zk40
Hines, E.M., Mayes, R.D., Harris, P.C., & Vega, D. (2023). Using a culturally responsive
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Psychology Review, 52(3), 357-371. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2021.2018917
Hines, E.M., Mayes, R.D., Ford, D.Y., Middleton, T.J., Moore, J.L. III, & Emery, A. (2025).
A culturally responsive, ecological approach to cultivating and engaging twice exceptional black males in gifted and talented and special education. Educational Psychologist. 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2025.2473901
Oyserman, D., Elmore, K., & Smith, G. (2012). Self, self-concept, and identity. In M.R. Leary & J. P. Tangney (Eds.), Handbook of self and identity (2nd ed., pp. 69–104). Guilford Press.
Smith, W.A., Allen, W.R.; Danley, L.L. (2007). "Assume the Position . . . You Fit the
Description". American Behavioral Scientist. 51 (4): 551-578. doi:10.1177/0002764207307742. ISSN 0002-7642. S2CID 145558776.
Worrell, F.C., Mendoza-Denton, R., Telesford, J., Simmons, C. & Martin, J.F. (2011). Cross
Racial Identity Scale (CRIS) Scores: Stability and relationships with psychological
adjustment, Journal of Personality Assessment, 93(6), 637- 648 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2011.608762v
Wright, B.L., Ford. D.Y., & Moore III, J.L. (2022). Black boys are lit: Engaging PreK-3 gifted
and talented Black boys using multicultural literature and Ford’s Bloom-Banks Matrix.
IAP. Publishers.
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Donna Y. Ford, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor of Education of and Human Ecology in the College of Education and Human Ecology at the Ohio State University. She is also a Faculty Affiliate with the Kirwan Institute and the Center for Latin American Studies. Professor Ford is in the Department of Educational Studies and the Special Education Program.
Professor Ford conducts research primarily in gifted education and culturally responsive/multicultural/urban education. Specifically, her work focuses on: (1) the achievement gap; (2) recruiting and retaining culturally different students in gifted education; (3) multicultural curriculum and instruction; (4) culturally competent teacher training and development; (5) African-American identity; and (6) African-American family involvement. Professor Ford’s work has been recognized by dozens of professional and other organizations, including being one of the top 2% of scholars in the world.
Erik M. Hines, Ph.D., is a Professor of Counseling in the Division of Child, Family, and Community Engagement within the College of Education and Human Development at George Mason University. Dr. Hines prepares graduate students to be counselors in a clinical or school setting. His research agenda revolves around: (a) postsecondary readiness for Black males and other vulnerable populations; (b) academic and career outcomes of Black males; and (c) career exploration for students of color in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Dr. Hines is on the top 200 education scholars in the 2025 RHSU Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings in Education Week. Last, Dr. Hines is a proud American Counseling Association (ACA) Fellow, an International Colloquium on Black Males in Education Warrior Awardee, and recipient of the Al Dye Award from the Association for Specialists in Group Work.