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Five principles of culturally relevant pedagogy and how they apply to adapted physical education

This is an excerpt from Principles and Methods of Adapted Physical Education 13th Edition With HKPropel Access by Kristi Roth,Melissa D Bittner,Elizabeth Foster,Jean Pyfer,Laurie Zittel.

Culturally Responsive Learning Environments

If UDL and inclusive practice is done well, there are innumerable benefits for all students. The principles of UDL do not just apply to the inclusion of students with disabilities but rather can foster a culturally inclusive and socially just learning community. UDL provides educators with structural constructs in the design of accessible learning environments. However, accessibility is not just necessary for individuals with disabilities. Inclusive education engages and accommodates the needs of all learners. Marginalized students are faced with inequities in education that present barriers to learning. These barriers can be overcome by applying the same strategies in the UDL framework as are applied for students with disabilities.

The interconnection between racism and ableism has been explored and established (e.g., Annamma et al., 2013; Sullivan and Thorius, 2010; Thorius and Tan, 2015). There are many benefits of the cross-pollination of racism and ableism and subsequent intertwining of UDL and culturally sustaining practices (Waitoller and Thorius, 2016). Both frameworks seek to overcome oppression through systematic methods devised holistically with an emphasis on equity for all, not just those who are marginalized. This cross-pollination includes strategies for addressing inclusivity for all, including those representing the LGBTQIA+ community, those of a lower socioeconomic status, and those from Indigenous communities. There is a need to create strategic alliances against exclusion (Alim et al., 2017). These alliances are strongest when all members of the learning community, including students, are not just affected by but considered active leaders in the work required for inclusivity and equity. Culturally relevant pedagogy “empowers students to maintain cultural integrity, while succeeding academically” (Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 476). Culturally relevant pedagogy, also called culturally responsive teaching, includes several key principles (Brown-Jeffy and Cooper, 2011). These are visualized in figure 5.8. These principles, along with examples of how they apply to APE are identified here:

  1. Identity and achievement. Adapted physical educators learn about, affirm, and celebrate their students’ backgrounds, cultural practices, and disabilities by talking to their students and families and connecting with them. The teacher should not just affirm the student’s disability but embrace the disability as an asset. The APE teacher may invite the student to teach the class about the student’s identity and favorite things about themself as well as something that people may assume about them that may be incorrect.
  2. Equity and excellence. APE teachers ensure that disability is represented in posters, in videos, in newsletters sent home, on websites, and on bulletin boards. They also should work to include multicultural as well as disability-relevant units in the curriculum (e.g., adding to the curriculum units on goalball, beep baseball, and sitting volleyball). These units should be standard parts of the general physical education curriculum, not just taught in classes that include students with disabilities. In addition, APE teachers should have high standards for their students and, for each step of achievement, should help students set a goal that goes beyond their current level of performance.
  3. Developmental appropriateness. APE teachers should be aware that students with disabilities may have consistently been made to feel that their ability to achieve like their peers without disabilities is limited. They should be the student’s advocate for a challenging curriculum and the reversal of potentially defeatist attitudes. They should carefully evaluate the student’s current level of functioning and carefully scaffold the curriculum and provide support to help them progress to the next stage of performance.
  4. Teaching the whole child. When students struggle either behaviorally or through their skill performance, APE teachers should consider sociocultural causes of those struggles. They should consider how included socially the student may feel or what may be occurring in the home environment that may be affecting the student’s success or state of being. They also should align their IEP goals and curriculum with the skills and activities the student will experience in the cultural context of their current and future communities.
  5. Student–teacher relationships. APE teachers should seek out moments to ensure students know they care. This care should be reciprocal and extend beyond the classroom. APE teachers can highlight student individuality through a slideshow in the teacher lounge or submit student names for Student of the Week. APE teachers can let their students know from time to time what the students have taught them and how they influence their lives, which can be a bonding experience. Finally, APE teachers should be advocates for their students with disabilities, ensuring that their placement is the LRE and communicating that there are always high expectations for their students.
Figure 5.8 The principles of culturally relevant pedagogy.
Figure 5.8 The principles of culturally relevant pedagogy.

In addition to these principles, New America (2020) identified eight competencies for culturally responsive teaching (figure 5.9). These competencies are action steps for adapted physical educators to take to facilitate equitable and socially just learning environments.

Figure 5.9 Eight competencies for culturally responsive teaching. Reprinted by permission from “Teacher Competencies that Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching,” New America, last modified July 23, 2020. Distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Figure 5.9 Eight competencies for culturally responsive teaching.
Reprinted by permission from “Teacher Competencies that Promote Culturally Responsive Teaching,” New America, last modified July 23, 2020. Distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Inclusive education provides opportunities for all marginalized groups to engage in the decision-making process and in the resolution of barriers to their learning (Waitoller and Kozleski, 2013). Not only do students need a voice of self-advocacy, but they also need an environment that allows them to speak up, with, and for others. Crowdsourcing UDL or sharing the responsibility of developing multiple means of engagement, representation, and action and expression between students and teachers empowers learners to develop the inherent skills necessary for an equitable community. Asking students from a young age to recognize those peers who may not be equally included—whether it is because of a special learning need, cultural background, socioeconomic status, or identity—and to come up with ways these peers can participate, connect with them, and show their learning, creates a system of inclusivity and equity that is sustainable beyond the school walls.

More Excerpts From Principles and Methods of Adapted Physical Education 13th Edition With HKPropel Access