Town Hall Culture , Disability, & Behavior: Let’s Have Conversation

Town HallCulture, Disability, & Behavior:

Let’s Have ConversationGeorge Sugai, Lindsay Fallon & Breda O’Keefe

University of ConnecticutCenter on Positive Behavioral Interventions & Supports

Center for Behavioral Education & ResearchApril 26 2011

www.pbis.org www.cber.org

“Culture, Disability, & PBIS: Let’s Have Conversation”

Culture is often central in discussions related to diversity, school discipline, academic achievement, & disability. However, education community struggles with conceptualization of culture that enhances our understanding of culture, enables effective communications & expressions of our unique experiences, & leads toward meaningful benefits for all students. In this town hall meeting, reconceptualization of culture will be presented that has evolved from positive behavioral interventions & supports perspective. Participants will have the opportunity to react to & comment on this reconceputalization of culture & voice their thoughts & experiences regarding culture, disability, & improvement of social & educational culture of schools for all students. (15500)

1. What does Cultural Relevance &

Responsiveness look like?

2. How would we measure status

of & change in Cultural

Relevance & Responsiveness?

3. What has been shown to

improve Cultural Relevance &

Responsiveness?

TOWN HALLStimulus Questions

RESPECTFULLY• ASK• ANSWER• DESCRIBE• SUGGEST• OFFER• SHARE• CONVERSE

Consider these statements

• “Our kids are 3 times more likely to dropout of school than any

other demographic in our district.”

• “How can we teach kids when we can’t talk with their parents?”

• “Who’s running this school…students or staff?”

• “How we supposed to maintain a positive school culture when

playgrounds covered with needles, & buildings with graffiti?”

• “It’s not about race; it’s about immigration.”

• “Why are so many kids of color referred to special education?”

• “We can’t teach respect, when there’s no respect at home.”

• “The school is located in center of the community, but it functions

like a different country.”

• School climate & culture• Normative conflicts: us v. them• School & community context

• Reactive responsibility• Etc.

HOW do we improve cultural relevance to reduce/prevent risk of poor

outcomes?

School not culturally relevant,

preventive, prosocial

Students at higher risk

Poor academic &

social-behavior outcomes

Our Starting Point

Develop guidelines for improving cultural relevance

Establish operational/measurable definitions of culture & cultural relevance

Adopt research-evidence based approach

Work from defendable theoretically foundation

SWPBS Theoretical Foundations

Behaviorism

ABA

PBSSWPBS

aka PBIS

Behavioral Perspective on Culture

“No degree of knowledge about the characteristics of groups or cultures can substitute for the analysis of the actions of a given individual in their historical & situational context because no two members of any group are socialized in exactly the same way” Hayes & Toarmino, 1995

“A culture evolves

when practices… contribute

to the success of

the practicing

group in solving its

problems”Skinner, 1981

PBIS (SWPBS) is….. for enhancing adoption & implementation of

of evidence-based interventions to achieve

& behaviorally important outcomes for

students

Framework

Continuum

Academically

All

Early Conclusion…

• Nothing is inherently biased or culturally irrelevant about practices & systems PBIS implementation.

• However, we definitely can improve kid outcomes by making those practices & systems more reflective of norms, expectations, & learning histories of kids, family & community members, & school staff.

• Achieve desired outcome?Effective

• Doable by implementer?Efficient

• Contextual & cultural?Relevant

• Lasting?Durable

• Transportable?Scalable

• Conceptually Sound?Logical

Systems Implementation Logic

All about implementation

Local Context

Gender

Family Structure

Sexual Orientation

Languages

Beliefs

SES

Values

Racial Identity NationalityImmigrant

Status

Religion

GenerationDisability

CULTURE is extent to which group of individuals engage in overt & verbal behavior reflecting shared behavioral learning histories, serving to differentiate the group from other groups, & predicting how individuals within the group act in specific setting conditions.

That is, culture reflects a collection of common verbal & overt behaviors that are learned & maintained by a set of similar social & environmental contingencies (i.e., learning history).

Emphasis is on applied settings with recognition that group membership is (a) flexible & dynamic, & (b) changed & shaped over time, across generations, & from one setting to another.

“George Sugai?” Learning History

Sansei

1951 Santa Cruz, CA. Parents born

Watsonville

Buddhism v. “Elks” little

league baseball

Mom interned, Dad moved to UT

No Japanese, fork v. hashi, soy sauce v.

shoyu

Only 2 JA, 1 AA @ LGHS, Stones

BF: Dale, Jim, Lansing, “Molly,” Roger

UCSB, hippies, BoA

Nature director in ESC

CA, WA, CO, KY, NH, OR, CT

Bi-racial: Fernandez

Hapa: Sugai-Fernandez

Shaped into “damn behaviorist!”

CA Sansei JA

PBIS, SpEd & Kids w/ BD

Sugai-Fernandez

“Damn behaviorist”

CULTURE is extent to which group of individuals engage in overt & verbal behavior reflecting shared behavioral learning histories, serving to differentiate the group from other groups, & predicting how individuals within the group act in specific setting conditions.

Culturally & contextually relevance is used to describe &

consider unique variables,

characteristics, & learning histories of

students, educators, & family & community members involved in

the implementation of SWPBS.

A major assumption is that effective

instructional practices & behavior &

classroom management

strategies exist (Horner, Sugai, &

Anderson, 2010), & consideration must be

given to culture & context

Literature Review Research Questions

How is culture defined in research focused on

behavior management, discipline, & improving

problem behavior in schools?

What culturally & contextually relevant

strategies are documented in research

focused on behavior management, discipline,

& improving problem behavior in schools?

Selection Criteria (3/4)

Definition of culture

Focus on problem

behavior(s)

Focus on behavior

management &/or

discipline

Suggestions for culturally, contextually

relevant behavior

management strategies

Findings

QualitativeTotal Intervention

DescriptionReviews/ Current Issues

Case Studies

Other

21 9 8 2 2

QuantitativeTotal Records Reviews Case Studies Experimental

7 4 2 1

Literature Review Summary

SWPBS can be adapted easily to diverse schools & cultural norms

SWPBS promotes the most frequently recommended strategies from descriptive literature

More experimental research needed

General Guidelines

Consider educational & social validity of decisions & priorities from perspective of student, family, teacher, school, & community

Teach, model, & acknowledge local expectations

Establish familiar, predictable, & consistent local expectations

Monitor progress continuously

Assess local behavior patterns, values, expectations, & norms

Adopt RtI perspective

Classroom Educator Guidelines

Use effective instructional practices & curricula

Learn, include, & use students’ culture & language in instruction & interactions

Teach social skills

Set explicit, realistic, high, & challenging expectations

Engage in equitable interactions

Decrease negative interactions

Increase positive interactions

Define from contextual perspective

Professional Development Guidelines

Use data to evaluate outcomes

View & involve parents as resources

Assess & consider their students’ cultures.

Self-assess or self-reflect cultural & contextual features & implications of their instructional & behavioral decisions

Adopt perspective that student behavior is culturally & contextually learned & influenced

Effective Social & AcademicSchool Culture

Common Vision/Values

Common Language

Common Experience

PBIS

GOAL to create safe, respectful, effective, & relevant social culture where successful teaching & learning are

possible & problem behaviors are prevented

EXPECTATIONS

• 1 minute comment

• Appropriate person-first language

• Respectful of speaker

• Constructive statements

1. What does Cultural Relevance &

Responsiveness look like?

2. How would we measure status

of & change in Cultural

Relevance & Responsiveness?

3. What has been shown to

improve Cultural Relevance &

Responsiveness?

Stimulus Questions

Culture is the extent to which a group of individuals engage in overt & verbal behavior reflecting shared behavioral learning histories, serving to differentiate the group from other groups, & predicting how individuals within the group act in specific setting conditions.

That is, culture reflects a collection of common verbal & overt behaviors that are learned & maintained by a set of similar social & environmental contingencies (i.e., learning history).

Emphasis is on applied settings with recognition that group membership is (a) flexible & dynamic, & (b) changed & shaped over time, across generations, & from one setting to another.