Cultural Adaptation of Developmental Relationships in Education (CADRE)
The CADRE project is designed to support educators in the implementation of Developmental Relationships so that they can build strong and deeper relationships with all of their students.
Members of the Search Institute research team include Erica Van Steenis, Ph.D. (project lead) and Katherine Ross, Ph.D. (research lead). The research team gratefully acknowledges the input of educators from a variety of research partners. This project is funded by the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
Search Institute’s Developmental Relationships Framework is a widely recognized and utilized resource for strengthening developmental relationships in schools and youth-and family-serving organizations. While most school-based practitioners agree that student-educator relationships are important and valuable, they also admit that it can be challenging to build strong student-educator relationships, especially across lines of difference.
We believe the success and utility of the Framework going forward hinges on the ability to adapt it to be even more intentional, inclusive, and equitable. We argue that school-based practitioners, including educators, administrators, and those in other positions across the school often lack a process and structure for adapting frameworks like the Developmental Relationships Framework and associated measures and practices.
Thus, CADRE is designed to support their capacity to adapt the Developmental Relationships Framework and associated relationship-building practices to be responsive to their students’ diverse backgrounds and needs. The purpose of this study is to understand, adapt, and implement the Developmental Relationships Framework, measures, and practices to unique student populations and school contexts.