Cultural Responsiveness, Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports, and the Settler Colonial State

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Cultural Responsiveness, Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports, and the Settler Colonial State
Language: English
Authors: Tim Delany (ORCID 0000-0003-3002-4735), Sophie Rudolph (ORCID 0000-0001-6542-8858), Lisa McKay-Brown (ORCID 0000-0001-6269-7278)
Source: Australian Educational Researcher. 2025 52(3):2183-2200.
Availability: Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, NY 10004. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-460-1700; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 18
Publication Date: 2025
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Evaluative
Descriptors: Cultural Awareness, Positive Behavior Supports, Land Settlement, Colonialism, Foreign Countries, Culturally Relevant Education, Student Diversity, Decolonization, Critical Race Theory, Racism
Geographic Terms: United States, Australia
DOI: 10.1007/s13384-025-00807-7
ISSN: 0311-6999
2210-5328
Abstract: Positive Behaviour Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a whole school change framework and approach to learning and engagement that originated in the United States (US) and is now implemented around the world. Such a framework requires consideration of cultural responsiveness, particularly in settler colonial states such as the US and Australia. This article examines guidance for improving culturally responsive practice in the PBIS Cultural Responsiveness Field Guide: Resources for Trainers and Coaches (the Guide), a key resource for educators working with students from culturally diverse backgrounds. We employ critical policy analysis and Decolonising Race Theory (DRT) to analyse and discuss the possibilities and consequences of the Guide for educators who are working with Indigenous students in settings that inherit and uphold structural racisms endemic to colonisation. We identify possible intended and unintended effects of the Guide in settler colonial contexts, particularly Australia. Our critical analysis using DRT highlighted some silences and erasures within the PBIS cultural responsiveness advice. The tendency towards othering, binary thinking, and maintenance of the cultural status quo was also apparent. Through this analysis we show how DRT offers rich opportunities for unsettling settler colonial hegemonies in PBIS and in education more broadly.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1487947
Database: ERIC
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