“PBIS is not fully implemented until it is culturally responsive.”
- Leverson, M., Smith, K., McIntosh, K., Rose, J., & Pinkelman, S. (November 2016)
When implemented with fidelity, Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) creates a school climate where students thrive. Successful PBIS strategies reflect common values that include respect for the dignity of individuals and a focus on increased social belonging. However, students who are not from the dominant culture within a school or district can feel devalued due to systems that have been established without equitable consideration. Building culturally responsive environments, therefore, requires an examination of how well our school systems support students of varying cultures.
Culturally responsive PBIS systems (CR-PBIS) are designed to match the cultural backgrounds of the individuals they serve. They are characterized by:
- A student-centered focus where expected behaviors and learning goals are developed with consideration given to culturally and linguistically diverse students,
- A focus on the strengths of individual students,
- Collaboration with stakeholders from marginalized groups,
- An integration of staff, student, family and community perspectives, and
- Self-reflection as a frequent part of professional practice.
The Technical Assistance Center on PBIS provides a valuable resource to assist building and district teams and coaches in their efforts to embed culturally responsive practices into all core components of school-wide PBIS. The Guide highlights key practices across five domains:
- Voice: The development of authentic family or community engagement by providing opportunities for all stakeholders to voice opinions, serve in leadership roles and express their needs.
- Identity: Encouraging educators to develop self awareness about how their own identities influence expectations for student performance and behavior.
- Supportive Environment: Building systems and practices that are likely to result in all students feeling valued and cared for.
- Situational Appropriateness: Valuing the norms and students’ homes and communities when developing student handbooks, discipline codes and behavior expectations.
- Data for Equity: Disaggregating data for analysis and action planning to discuss trends regarding equity.
The PBIS Cultural Responsiveness Field Guide can be downloaded HERE.
There are a number of other resources that will help you further this work. These are a few of our favorites:
- THIS document is a Tiered Fidelity Inventory with culturally responsive elaborations and examples. We appreciate the efforts of SST3 consultant Stephanie Denham in creating and sharing this document.
- A Practice Brief titled Embedding Cultural Practices in Tier I was developed as a result of a roundtable dialogue that occurred at the 2019 PBIS Leadership Forum in Chicago, IL. This document can be downloaded HERE.
- The Florida PBIS Project has a LiveBinder with resources on culturally relevant implementation. It can be accessed HERE.
The Student Wellness Department can assist with your efforts in this important work. Reach out to Nyeshja Malone at [email protected] and she will connect you with staff members who can help.