Examining Culturally Responsive Practices With Students on the Autism Spectrum in Mainstream Secondary Language Arts

• In Event: Equity and Diversity in Literacy Learning and Teaching

Abstract

As conceptualizations of culture and culturally responsive practices (CRP) expand, so can populations to which CRP is applied. Applying CRP to students on the autism spectrum is a rarity. As such, a narrative multiple case study of five new language arts teachers examined their perspectives of teaching literacy to students on the autism spectrum in mainstream language arts. Teachers shared their perspectives about teaching literacy to students on spectrum, and their narratives were examined through a CRP lens. Research revealed a continuum of culturally responsive practices along which teachers move as they adopt or abandon CRP with their students on the spectrum. Three of the five teachers advanced CRP with their students over time; one remained stagnant, and one regressed

Author

• Laura D. Sabella, University of South Florida