Reflections on culturally responsive teaching: Embedding theory into practices of instructional and behavioral support

Abstract

This paper offers reflections on the embedding of culturally responsive teaching practices into Response-to-Intervention (RtI) and School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) models. These types of systemic change models are increasingly being adopted by schools to address academic achievement and to foster a positive school climate. Moreover, they hold promise for addressing the disproportionality that many students who are culturally and linguistically diverse students experience in our schools. Following a review of the existing literature on systemic change, three guiding principles are offered that demonstrate how culturally responsive teaching can be embedded into models of instructional and behavioral support.Thousands of schools across the United States have adopted Response to Intervention (RtI) and School-wide Positive Behavior Support (SW-PBS) programs over the past decade. These models hold promise in helping educators implement research-based instructional and behavioral support strategies that are intended to meet the academic and social/behavioral needs of all learners. While more similar than different, each model has the potential for creating systemic change in schools that can result in improved academic and social outcomes. Proponents believe that this is especially true for students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds who have experienced marginalization, including disproportionately higher rates of academic failure, placement in special education, suspensions, expulsions, and school dropout (Skiba et al., 2008). Scholars have cautioned that "if we do not engage in dialogue about how culture mediates learning, RTI models will simply be like old wine in a new bottle, in other words, another deficit-based approach to sorting children, particularly children from marginalized communities" (NCCRESt, 2005, p. 1).The purpose of this paper is share reflections on the need for embedding culturally responsive teaching (CRT) into RtI and SW-PBS implementation efforts. The first section of this paper will provide a brief overview of RtI and SW-PBS highlighting similarities and providing examples from work being done in Colorado. Terms such as "Instructional Support" and "Behavioral Support" will be introduced and a new definition of Culturally Responsive Teaching that is more closely aligned to systemic change models is offered. The second part of the paper will highlight three guiding principles, gleaned from the extant literature, that can assist classroom teachers,

Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Supports: Considerations for Practice

“…Pry and Cheesman (2010) discussed the guiding principles of SW-PBIS in relation to CRT, which allowed for the integration of behavioral and instructional supports. The principles include:…”

“…SW-PBIS and Response to Intervention (RtI) both use scientifically validated behavioral and instructional support practices that are data driven. Pry and Cheesman (2010) reflected on the need for implementation of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) into SW-PBIS and RtI models. The authors argued that teachers are the primary agents of change, as teacher behavior contributes to the behavioral and academic challenges in the classroom.…”