General Education Teachers’ Use of Evidence-Based Practices: Examining the Role of Student Race and Risk Status

Abstract

This exploratory study occurred in Title 1 schools located within a large urban area. The sample included 23 general educators and 551 students in second through fifth grade, with 57 students identified as at risk for an emotional or behavioral disorder. The purpose of this study was to determine (a) to what extent general education teachers used evidence-based practices—specifically, opportunities to respond, positive specific feedback, and precorrections—during classroom instruction, and (b) if those practices occurred at different rates across demographic groups (i.e., race and disability risk). The results indicated that teachers used higher rates of opportunities to respond and positive specific feedback with students not at risk compared with at-risk students. We did not find main effects of race or race-by-disability risk interaction effects. These findings support the need to continue examining teachers’ differing uses of evidence-based practices.