Creating Culturally Supportive Settings That Foster Literacy Development: Guidance for SLPs

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of our tutorial is to provide a set of fundamental, research-based guidelines for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) who want to begin the process of creating culturally supportive settings that foster adolescent literacy development. Method Pertinent literature related to culturally relevant literacy practices for SLPs is reviewed. SLPs perceived barriers to providing general literacy services in schools and levels of cultural competence are identified, along with articles that support service ideas to meet the literacy-based needs of culturally diverse students on our caseloads. Results Drawing on the literature base and our collective research and clinical experiences, we propose four key guidelines SLPs can adopt to support their initial efforts in building culturally supportive settings: develop a shared vocabulary and accompanying concepts, curate and use culturally relevant texts, establish ongoing dialogue with key groups, and set high expectations. Conclusions SLPs are in a unique position to provide services that enable students from all cultural backgrounds to successfully support literacy development. Clinical applications of the guiding principles are provided.