No abstract

Converging evidence has identified phonemic awareness (PA) as one of five essential components of beginning reading instruction. Evidence suggests that many teachers do not have the recommended knowledge or skills sufficient to provide effective PA instruction within the context of scientifically validated reading education. This study examines the knowledge of PA instruction of 223 first-year teachers initially certified in special education, early childhood education, and elementary education. Results indicate that significant numbers of beginning special and general education teachers in this sample appear to be inadequately prepared with respect to PA instruction. They have limited knowledge of PA, confuse PA with phonics, are generally unable to select task-appropriate materials or activities, and lack skill in analyzing written words into phonemes. Special educators did not have significantly more knowledge or skills than their general education counterparts. These findings suggest that university teacher education programs may not be providing future teachers with sufficient content or practice with respect to PA instruction.

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,

Eliminating the racial and ethnic achievement gap in reading and writing is a national priority. Providing literacy instruction that is both culturally responsive and evidence-based requires an understanding of culture, effective instructional practices, and how the two intersect. Although many suggestions for implementing culturally responsive reading instruction are intuitively appealing, more research evidence is needed to determine if these practices increase student engagement, motivation, and academic achievement of students who are culturally and linguistically diverse. The goal of reading instruction is to help children acquire the skills necessary to comprehend printed material at a level consistent with their general language comprehension (Torgesen, 2000). The ultimate goal is to produce fully literate, successful, and self-assured adults who are empowered to live as they wish, not as they must with limited skills. Helping all children become fully literate requires skillful instruction from knowledgeable teachers (

No abstract