CENTERING CULTURALLY RELEVANT AND SUSTAINING SPECIAL EDUCATION PREPARATION

Special educators are tasked with meeting the individualized needs of students with disabilities; yet, inequities persist for Black, Indigenous, and Students of Color (BISOC) with disabilities. Special educators trained with culturally responsive and sustaining practices may be able to disrupt many of these inequities by building on cultural differences as strengths and assets. Teacher preparation programs play important roles in supporting special educators to develop culturally responsive/sustaining understandings and practices; yet, literature shows insufficient documentation of how special education, as a field, is supporting pre- and in-service special educators to develop these competencies. Though more empirical work is needed to establish culturally relevant/sustaining practices in special education teacher preparation, there are some promising practices that can be built on for pre- and in-service special educators as well as in doctoral programs.