ILASCD February 2022 Journal

Whole Child Implications of Student Culture on Learning and Educator Ability to Support the Whole Child Jenna Nelson, Ed.D. Students bring diverse experiences, cultural identity(ies), and understandings that influence their interaction with the classroom curriculum and instructional practices.

Educators must attend to students’ individual identity to effectively foster student learning. A central means for doing so is by attending to the needs of the Whole Child. In this article, I discuss the Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) Whole Child tenets and consider one of these tenets in relation to supporting culturally diverse learners. I also discuss implications for teachers and administrators to contemplate to best support the Whole Child.

ASCD Whole Child Approach The ASCD Whole Child approach to education strives to “prepare students for the challenges and opportunities of today and tomorrow by addressing students’ comprehensive needs through shared responsibility of students, families, schools, and communities” (ASCD, 2013, para. 1). To address this call, ASCD (2013) developed five Whole Child Tenets for promoting long-term student success—healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged. This article will focus on one 14