The Developmental Dynamics of Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties of Youth of Color: Systemic Oppression, Correlated Constraints, and the Need for Targeted Universalism

Abstract

In this introduction to the special series, we examine the emotional and behavioral difficulties of youth of color from a dynamic developmental ecological systems perspective. Building on the concepts of the child-in-context, correlated constraints, systemic oppression, and the malleability of maladaptive patterns, we argue that current research approaches and intervention frameworks (e.g., Multitiered Systems of Support, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support) are centered on the experiences and circumstances of youth from majority backgrounds. This creates a context in which the emotional and behavioral difficulties of youth of color reflect a continuum of services casualty in which routine daily supports, interventions, and services are not aligned with their developmental needs and their corresponding pathways to success. There is a need to establish a targeted-universalism approach in which interventions and supports are centered on the daily functioning and adaptation of underrepresented groups. We discuss how a tiered system of adaptive supports may be designed and implemented to address this need.

There’s No Place Like Us: Beyond Fidelity of Implementation in Rural Contexts

“…Rural schools and school systems cannot simply adopt EBPs or other practices that are often developed after studies that include a small (or nonexistent) rural sample in large, randomized trials (Farmer, Serpell, et al, 2022). Instead, Farmer, Serpell, and colleagues suggest developing classwide social climates and open learning environments within an ecosystem that promotes positive engagement, developmental pathways, and desired outcomes for the students in rural schools.…”

“…A developmental systems perspective requires an alignment of rural classroom characteristics, resources, and practices with the learners’ characteristics, resources, and practices. An ecological systems perspective considers the student’s development in regard to the relationships that form their environment (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Farmer, Serpell, et al, 2022). Combining these systems leads to an approach where the context of instruction, including community, school, and student variables, is considered in determining the what and how of instruction.…”

“…Students’ needs and adaptation in the classroom have the propensity to change at any moment. Furthermore, problem behavior can be indicative of the fact that there is a mismatch between the characteristics and needs of the child and the circumstances of the environment (Farmer, Serpell, et al, 2022). This means intervention must be responsive to the ongoing and changing characteristics of each student and the circumstances that contribute to their specific behavior and school functioning.…”

“…By extracting common practice elements of evidence-based interventions (e.g., Sutherland et al, 2019), linking them to developmental process variables that have been shown in longitudinal research to be related to patterns of students’ functioning, adaptation, and outcomes, we can develop scientifically rigorous models of intervention adaptation that are responsive to the “moving targets” of changing children in changing contexts (Farmer, Serpell, et al, 2022; Farmer, Talbott, et al, 2022). Person- and process-oriented analytic approaches that focus on clarifying developmental patterns and the effectiveness of intervention for subtypes of youth can help to facilitate such research (Chen et al, 2022).…”

Special Education Teachers of Color Burnout, Working Conditions, and Recommendations for EBD Research

“…Teachers of color are critically important for creating ecological systems that promote strengths among students of color, which can lead to better social/emotional, behavioral, and academic outcomes (K. H. Collins et al, 2022; Farmer et al, 2022; Milner et al, 2022; Riley & Serpell, 2022). For example, research consistently demonstrates the positive effect that teachers of color have on classroom and school ecology for students of color (Dee, 2004; Egalite et al, 2015; Mahatmya et al, 2016; Redding, 2019).…”