Culturally Responsive Teaching and Special Education

Conceptualizations of Frameworks

Culturally responsive teaching is a model that values the infusion of different cultures into all aspects of education, including special education. By definition, special education is a necessary component of education that provides services to students with exceptionalities. It includes effective methods of specially designed instruction for students who require specific, controlled, monitored, and intensive content. Additionally, special education provides students with education that achieves meaningful outcomes while helping them experience learning as valued members of general classes and schools. To a large measure, special education involves individualizing instruction that assists students with special needs to gain access to the general curriculum. However, because of the intricate processes intertwined with special education, many culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students experience inappropriate identification, assessment, categorization, placement, and instruction. One major remedy to these problems is to prepare special educators to engage in culturally responsive teaching. The following sections describe how the knowledge of this teaching technique is necessary for the fidelity and integrity of all special education processes.

The Identification Process

Before a student is classified as having a disability, he or she must be identified as having suspected special education needs. In some settings (e.g., urban schools), many CLD students are directly or indirectly designated as “slow learners” or “incapable students” at the beginning of their education careers. They are sorted out of higher-level math, science, and other rigorous subjects because of the expectation that they are incapable of learning at the desired level. In addition, many of their teachers are White, female, and middle-class, which creates a cultural disconnect between the students and their teachers. Research indicates that although some teachers are inexperienced in working with CLD students, others have negative or stereotypical views and perceptions about them. For example, some teachers believe in biological determinism, a belief that fosters the suggestion that CLD students are biologically and genetically inferior to [Page 553]handle challenging academic tasks. Clearly, when CLD students are poorly identified, the stage is set for their cumulative failure in general and special education.

A number of theorists and researchers have noted that some teachers and service providers make idiosyncratic judgments about students' school and life successes and failures, especially when they come from different cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds. In addition, some educators believe poverty is a prime indicator for students being identified in high numbers for special education services. The belief of socioeconomic dissonance assumes that poverty is synonymous with low intelligence, lack of knowledge, and poor academic achievement As a consequence, many low-income students must attend schools where teachers are not prepared or are ill prepared to provide them with quality education that maximizes their potential. When teachers believe that children are less capable because of their culture, race, language, or socioeconomic status, they are at risk for being misidentified for special education services.

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