Fix Your Crown, Queen: Evaluating the Effects of a Culturally Enriched Social–Emotional Learning Intervention for Black Girls

Although much of the literature on disproportionality has focused on Black boys, Black girls are suspended at higher rates than girls of any other race due to the misconstrued ideology that Black girls are less innocent and feminine and more adultlike than their White counterparts. Culturally responsive interventions at the student level can support students’ social, emotional, and behavioral well-being and improve their skills in navigating inequitable school systems. The purpose of the present study was to develop and implement a culturally enriched social emotional learning curriculum, titled Fix Your Crown, Queen, and evaluate the effects of the curriculum on Black girls’ academic engagement during classroom instruction, inappropriate behaviors, office discipline referrals, social skill development, racial identity, and self-esteem. Results were mixed for academic engagement, office disciplinary referrals, and social skills development. Additional results found that racial identity was maintained at high levels, and there was a decrease in self-esteem. Based on these preliminary findings, more research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of Fix Your Crown, Queen intervention on Black adolescent girls.