Success For All? The Role of the School Counselor in Creating and Sustaining Culturally Responsive Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports Programs

Abstract

In 1957, Horace Mann stated, Education, then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is a great equalizer of conditions of men (p. 87). Public education was designed to bridge the inequalities of society such that experiences in schools could ensure all individuals have the opportunity to excel in school and in life. This tenet has been challenged in recent years as the achievement and opportunity gaps in our schools continue to grow. A disproportionate number of youth from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds are not succeeding and may be excluded from public school (Gregory, Skiba, & Noguera, 2010). In 2012, for example, African American students were 3.5 times more likely than their Caucasian peers to be suspended (U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights, 2014). African American, Latino, and Native American students receive harsher punishments for more subjective reasons such as disrespect, insubordination or excessive noise (Losen & Gillespie, 2012). Further, data from the National Center on Educational Statistics show that while the gap is narrowing slightly, African American youth lag behind their Caucasian peers an average of 23-26 points in math and 21-26 points in reading assessments (Vanneman, Hamilton, Baldwin Anderson, & Rahman, 2009).To close these achievement gaps and disparities in discipline practices, important research has linked schoolwide behavior programs and student achievement and engagement outcomes (Lassen, Steele, & Sailor, 2006; Luiselli, Putnam, Handler, & Feinberg, 2005). A recent focus has included schoolwide behavior programs that are multi-tiered in nature, including Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) programs. PBIS programs integrate research-based practice within a three-tier approach, including those at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of prevention and intervention. This multi-tiered system of supports has been supported by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA; 2014) and cited as evidence-based practices that have potential in closing the achievement gap (Benner, Kutash, Nelson, & Fisher, 2013). Recent research has focused on how to implement PBIS in culturally responsive ways (Bal, Kozleski, Schrader, Rodriguez, & Pelton, 2014; Greflund, McIntosh, Mercer, & May, 2014) to better impact disproportionality in discipline outcomes that exist in schools today.School counselors with extensive training in data-informed student intervention and school-level systemic change can play integral roles in PBIS implementation and can serve as leaders in the process (Cressey, Whitcomb, McGilvray-Rivet, Morrison, & Shander-Reynolds, 2014; Goodman-Scott, 2014). Goodman-Scott, Betters-Bubon, and Donohue (2015) noted that PBIS programs can be integrated with comprehensive school counseling programs to enhance the role of the school counselor and better improve student outcomes. With knowledge of cultural diversity (Schulz, Hurt, & Lindo, 2014) and data-focused interventions to close the achievement gap (Hatch, 2013), school counselors are poised to ensure that these programs are implemented in ways that combat disproportionality. While literature exists on culturally responsive PBIS (Fallon, O'Keeffe, & Sugai, 2012) and the school counselor's role in PBIS (Goodman-Scott, 2014), there does not exist research examining the school counselor's role implementing culturally responsive PBIS programs, despite their role as multiculturally competent advocates for student equity. This article extends existing research on culturally responsive PBIS by examining longitudinal data from one elementary school that intentionally engaged in culturally responsive practices within PBIS implementation, highlighting the leadership role of the school counselor. To better understand these potential relationships, we will first provide an overview of PBIS. Second, we will provide an overview of research linking PBIS to culturally responsive practice, focusing on how PBIS can combat disproportionality. …