Thank you for everything you have done for me and everything you have sacrificed for this family. Thank you for your resilience and leading by example, which allows me to be strong, independent and always finish what I start. I would like to thank my dissertation committee for your continued support, feedback, and encouragement over the years.
Andrea Burch, thank you for your comments and always taking the time to talk with me, especially about statistical measures. Thank you for helping me feel calm and safe during the most stressful times. Thank you for your interest in my research, for providing feedback, for lending your expertise, and.
Thank you for always listening to me, for encouraging me and for being there for me when I had difficult days. Aunt Milly and Aunt Yvonne, thank you for everything you have done for me throughout my life, but especially during the most difficult goal I have achieved so far.
Introduction
One way to negate the impact of cultural mismatch is for teachers to develop greater cultural competence. Cultural competence and awareness can help teachers evaluate their beliefs about their diverse students (Lambeth & Smith, 2016). Research has also highlighted the importance of teacher cultural competence in student behavior practices.
Cultural Competence and Multilayered Support System (MTSS) Referrals Teacher cultural competency may influence the number of disciplinary referrals for behavioral violations, as well as referrals to special education for learning and/or behavioral needs. As a result, the MTSS process may involve interwoven factors of lack of cultural competence and bias, inadequate referrals, and contributing to disproportionality. The relationship between cultural competency training for teachers and referral to special education has been empirically supported in a limited number of studies (Reyes, 2009).
Teachers who have a greater amount of cultural competency training will make fewer MTSS referrals for racial/ethnic minority students than teachers with less cultural competency training. Cultural competency training can provide teachers with skills to best support the academic and behavioral functioning of students of color in the school environment.
Literature Review
In fact, in-service teachers are likely to continue to develop cultural competence in the field by attending internal professional development, or through workshops or seminars outside of their districts. In May 2015, Connecticut published professional learning standards for cultural competence that describe educators' development of cultural competence as a. Cultural competence can serve as another way for teachers to positively influence students' learning experiences in school.
Although this study examined the relationship between preschool teachers and their decision to refer students for special education, additional empirical data involving teachers' cultural competence and MTSS referrals are needed. Research continues to support the importance of pre-service courses in multiculturalism in developing cultural competence (Alismail, 2016). Cultural competence is widely regarded as a foundational skill set for teachers who engage with and instruct students from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds.
Although teachers' cultural competence has been shown to be beneficial to students' academic outcomes and environments, the skill set has been difficult to assess. However, studies have employed the use of different types of measurement for cultural competence, including self-report scales, self-reflection, and the type of cultural competence training. In another study, Mahatmya and colleagues (2016) measured a principle commonly associated with cultural competence—cultural awareness.
Landa and Stephens (2017) conducted a case study examining pre-service teachers' cultural competence using children's literature. In both cases, teachers' cultural competence was influenced by exposure to cultural content or experiences and examined through self-reflection. Overall, the study, which was designed to collect preliminary data on the REST-KIT, found that pre-service teachers' cultural competence improved.
Therefore, it is likely that current teachers – especially newer teachers – have received some form of cultural competency training during their tenure. Teachers' cultural competence can positively impact students' academic performance and learning environments (Bustamante et al., 2016; Gay, 2002). Although cultural competency has received increasing attention due to its utility in educational settings, substantial research still needs to be conducted on the relationship between teachers' cultural competency training and their MTSS referrals.
Theoretically, teachers who have had greater amounts of cultural competency training, as indicated by graduate coursework, training experiences, and/or professional experiences, may be better prepared to work with ethnic minority students. Research has supported that teachers who develop skills in cultural competence and cultural awareness can serve as valuable tools in supporting and working with children of color (Bustamante et al., 2016; Lambeth & Smith, 2016).
Methodology
However, if a teacher (e.g., a DSAP or substitute teacher) did not have current certification but had served in a teaching position and was involved in the school's pre-referral process, he/she was still included as part of the data collection. Two of the teachers taught kindergarten, two taught second grade, three taught third grade, one taught fourth grade, three taught fifth grade, and seven taught multiple grades. Question No. 8 asks participants to write down the number of multicultural courses they have taken.
Additionally, participants had the option to write in any other unique experiences not listed in the question. For the purposes of the present study, teachers' responses to the Likert scale items were averaged for a cultural competence score. In the present study, the total scale score was used for analyses, as teachers' responses were scored across the scale, as opposed to questions related to the skill or knowledge scale.
The pre-referral form is used to refer a student for academic, social/emotional, and/or behavioral concerns that appear to be impacting the student's functioning and academic success in the school environment. The student may experience difficulties in the aforementioned areas that appear to affect functioning and academic progress in the school environment. These students may require more specific programming, such as an academic or behavioral intervention, to promote success in the identified problem area.
However, for the purposes of this study, the only information obtained from the referral was the name of the teacher who referred the child, the child's race/ethnicity, date of referral, and type of referral. Information about the study was initially emailed by the researcher to school principals, who in turn forwarded it to teachers via the school's email Listserv group. In a video and email, the teachers were told that this researcher was seeking volunteers for a study to help better understand the relationship between teachers and students in a multicultural context essential to their roles in the school.
Teachers were informed that participation was voluntary but highly encouraged due to the anticipated utility of the study in the district; improving the climate and culture in the district, especially in the light of current social issues in the world; and on and on. They were also told that data from teachers as a group could determine their roles in the educational environment when working with groups of diverse students, although the responses of individual teachers would not be reported. To encourage participation in the study, participants were entered into a drawing for a chance to win one of two $50 Visa gift cards available for use at various participating locations.
Results
Teachers who have more cultural competence training will make
Teachers who are more culturally competent will make fewer MTSS
Teachers who are more culturally competent will make MTSS
Discussion
The current study examined the relationship between teachers' cultural competence and their MTSS referrals for academic and behavioral concerns among ethnic minority students. The first hypothesis was that teachers with greater cultural competence would be less likely to refer MTSS. The third hypothesis was that teachers with greater cultural competence would refer to MTSS later in the school year.
All hypotheses were tested using multiple regression analyzes to examine the relationship between teachers' cultural competence measured via. However, research does support the importance of teacher cultural competency for student achievement and school experiences (Bustamante et al., 2016). Similarly, cultural competence has been found to be an important factor in evaluating behavioral problems (Vincent et al., 2012).
This ultimately resulted in missing data, particularly in the number of completed cultural competence courses. Other racial/ethnic groups were unable to be included in the current study, such as White/Caucasian. Reyes (2009), Lopes-Murphy and Murphy (2016), and Mahatmya and colleagues (2016) all used self-report measures of cultural competence among teachers.
The majority of teachers in the current study indicated that they had no experience with cultural competency training. To provide field training, the district can provide a cultural competency training experience (e.g., using the REST-KIT in Rogers-Sirin & Sirin, 2009), and examine teachers' MTSS referrals before and after this experience. The data can be used to make a presentation to the district about the usefulness of cultural competency in the field.
In the reflection of this study, cultural competence experiences as well as the number and timing of MTSS referrals were addressed as key points. It is possible that the lack of consistent curriculum(s) has caused the gaps in cultural competency training that teachers continue to experience. Overall, little research currently exists on teachers' cultural competency training experience and school-based MTSS referrals.
Future research can be conducted to further explore the relationship between teachers' cultural competence and their MTSS referrals, as well as preservice teachers' educational experiences, the MTSS process in schools, and continuing professional development for teachers in the field. A review and analysis of the history of special education and disability advocacy in the United States.
