Race and Ethnicity in School Psychology Publications: A Content Analysis and Comparison to Publications in Related Disciplines

Previous research has examined the quantity and types of diversity-related research in the field of school psychology, revealing gaps in the literature. Extension of this line of research with current data and comparison to related disciplines is needed. This study used content analysis to address these issues, with a specific focus on the racial and ethnic dimension of diversity. Specifically, this study examined and compared the quantity and types of peer-reviewed journal articles related to race/ethnicity within school psychology, special education, and professional school counseling. Three journals from each of these three disciplines from 2008–2010 were identified and coded using systematic procedures, and data were analyzed descriptively. Of the three professions, school psychology journals devoted the least amount of coverage to race/ethnicity-related issues with professional school counseling journals publishing over twice the amount of articles on race/ethnicity in the same time period. Additional results, interpretations, implications, and limitations are provided.