Beyond the Crayon Box

A Scoping Review Protocol for Colorism in Schools

Abstract

Background: Colorism is ingrained in systems like racism. Since, it is a global phenomenon among people of color also of all ages, it is pertinent to inform best practices in education with young people to promote healthy developmental growth. To diminish the racial/ethnic/color disparities experienced by students of color in American schools, it is essential to have substantial literature available that consist of the adverse consequences that colorism have on children and youth in schools. Such information will aid educators to better serve and care for the well-being of those who suffer effects of colorism.

Methods/Design: Scholarly, peer-reviewed journal articles will be searched utilizing 10 of the EBSCOhost databases, JSTOR, Social Service Abstracts, and Google Scholar. The EBSCOhost databases will have an open date along with limiters for geography and age. JSTOR, Social Service Abstracts, and Google Scholar will have a publication date ranch of 2009-2020. Dissertations and Theses grey literature will not be excluded from those databases. The search selections of literature will be inclusive of all methodology designs. Following the PRISMA-P guidelines, the eligibility of literature will be set through raters screening the titles, abstracts, and subsequent full-texts. Data extraction and synthesis will be conducted for both qualitative and quantitative analyses.

Discussion: This scoping review will ascertain barriers to success for young people of color through examining the outcomes linked to colorism. Furthermore, it will disseminate an understanding of cultural competency to meet the needs of diverse groups.