Cultural Sensitivity in the Application of Behavior Principles to Education

Cultural sensitivity is recommended in education, but to our knowledge it has not been defined operationally. We found no research suggesting that behavioral interventions work differently with students differing in ethnicity, gender, or religion, although socialization may play a role in shaping be...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Education & treatment of children 2008-05, Vol.31 (2), p.239-262
Main Authors: Kauffman, James M., Conroy, Maureen, Gardner, Ralph, Oswald, Donald
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academic Achievement
Academic failure
Behavior
Behavioral Objectives
Behaviorism
Children
Classroom environment
Critical Thinking
Cultural Differences
Cultural education
Cultural identity
Cultural values
Direct instruction
Education
Educational aspects
Ethnicity
Exceptional children
Facilitated communication
FORUM ARTICLE
Gender Differences
Gender roles
Individual Differences
Intervention
Intervention (Psychology)
Methods
Multicultural Education
Multiculturalism
Parents
Pedagogy
Reading instruction
Reinforcement
Religion
Sex Role
Social aspects
Special education
Students
Teaching Methods
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Summary:Cultural sensitivity is recommended in education, but to our knowledge it has not been defined operationally. We found no research suggesting that behavioral interventions work differently with students differing in ethnicity, gender, or religion, although socialization may play a role in shaping behavior, selecting or responding to particular reinforcers, and judging the acceptability of interventions. Differences in response to behavioral interventions based on cultural identification may exist, but we found no evidence suggesting that behavioral practices are more likely to be effective if they are based on the cultural markers we examined. For behavioral educators, cultural sensitivity requires respect for the individual student based on scientific evidence—measuring the effects of scientific interventions in achieving socially valid behavioral objectives for individual students and their parents.
ISSN:0748-8491
1934-8924
1934-8924
DOI:10.1353/etc.0.0019