Toward Culturally Competent School Counseling Environments: Hip-Hop Studio Construction

Editorial: Freedom dreaming futures for Black youth: exploring meanings of liberation in education and psychology research

“…Relatedly, Mayes et al provide a comprehensive overview of how school counselors can merge healing-centered engagement (Ginwright, 2018) with freedom dreaming to address the lack of culturally responsive and antiracist practices in school counseling programming. They discuss healing-centered and Indigenous educational practices (Gee et al, 2014), critical hip-hop approaches (Levy and Adjapong, 2020), and Youth Participatory Action Research (Langhout and Thomas, 2010) as tools that can support Black youths' ability to experience joy, embrace creativity, resist systems of oppression, and lean into their power.…”

From Our Cell to Your Block: Hip Hop and Podcasting as a Youth Participatory Action Research Intervention

“…Prior literature suggests that hip hop podcasts are “process texts” that allow artists to illustrate how their stories transcend entertainment and are intimately connected to their culture, identity, and community (Griffith, 2021; Griffith et al, 2022). Relatedly, various studies have explored the use of hip hop cultural processes like lyric writing, mixtape making, dancing, and studio construction as group work processes for students to explore their stories (Levy, 2019; Levy & Adjapong, 2020; Levy & Wong, 2022). Youth were able to be creative via this hip hop podcasting intervention, which is aligned with how Black and brown youth have historically leveraged hip hop as a tool to build resilience and combat racial inequities (Anyiwo et al, 2022).…”

“…Further, the use of these strategies bolsters social/emotional outcomes like increased confidence, a strong sense of community and collaboration, and experiencing joy and stepping out of their comfort zones (Travis et al, 2022). Other hip hop elements or artistic expressions, such as dancing (Levy et al, 2021), graffiti/ visual art (Adjapong & Levy, 2021), and recording studio construction (Levy & Adjapong, 2020), can be integrated into group counseling processes to support youth's expression and combating of societal ills. Akin to digital storytelling (Parikh-Foxx et al, 2020), hip hop has long been a pathway for youth to share untold narratives and create new possibilities (Chang & D'Cook, 2021).…”

Liberatory school counseling practices to promote freedom dreaming for Black youth

“…For example, a school counselor and BIPOC students, with support from the administration, co-created a recording studio to create a space that students can visit throughout the day to process emotions through song and/or hip-hop beats creation. The students reported feeling belonging, connectedness, and wanting to share with others how useful the space is to their overall wellness (Levy and Adjapong, 2020). In doing so, they saw themselves for what they created, continue to create, and how this practice helps fulfill their spiritual sense and increases motivation to continue to learn.…”