Now, We Understand: The Perceptions of Elementary Dyslexia Interventionists on the Intersectionality of Dyslexia and Culturally Responsive Teaching

Dyslexia intervention, which is needed for one in five children worldwide, and culturally responsive teaching practices (CRT) require explicit instruction for implementation with elementary students with dyslexia characteristics. Culturally responsive teaching practices recognize the importance of including the cultural backgrounds and identities of students when planning and implementing instruction. This is a qualitative study aimed to examine the perceptions of elementary dyslexia interventionists towards the use of incorporating culturally responsive teaching into their practice. Data were collected by engaging five elementary dyslexia interventionists in a focus group interview to gain information used to plan and to implement culturally responsive professional development that was followed by individual interviews and classroom observations. To ensure reliability, the authors of this article first independently coded data to identify initial themes and then discussed our coding findings until we reached 100% interscorer agreement. Next, the initial themes were organized by their significance and developing categories. Again, the authors independently coded and determined the five themes reported in this study. The results of this study reveal the perceptions of dyslexia interventionists to be at a high degree of confidence and fidelity in integrating CRT practices into their instruction. Ladson-Billings’ influence regarding CRT assisted the authors in identifying ways to provide a more impactful conversation about dyslexia instructions that incorporates using CRT practices with students with dyslexia characteristics.