Closing the Achievement Gap in the Classroom Through Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

It has been shown that Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is beneficial in schools with a wide range of populations because of its emphasis on academic achievement for all students, cultural competency, and social justice issues. This study focused on teachers’ perceptions about how to use a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy model in the classroom. Interviews with 20 in-service teachers across eight states revealed the following themes: (a) teachers’ ideas about Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and the classroom environment, and (b) school and district support on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and social community, resources, and teachers’ training to understand Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. This paper explores themes to reveal how in-service teachers perceived their preparedness to teach using CRP strategies in the classroom. In order to close the achievement gap, a paradigm change is required. It is necessary to employ CRP strategies to create this change and integrate students’ everyday life with classroom learning objectives so that achievement disparity in classrooms may be reduced. English Language Learners (ELLs), students with low socio-economic status, and racial/ethnic minorities were the focus of this study.

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy – A Diffusion Model for District-Wide Change to Address Systemic Racism

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) has been implemented in classrooms and schools across Canada and the United States to address the inequity that has caused an academic achievement gap between Black and Indigenous students and those students who self-identify as White. The purpose of this paper, which draws upon a larger instrumental case study that investigated CRP as a district-wide change, is to demonstrate an effective model for sustainable, deep-level educational change to address systemic racism through CRP. The primary research question from the larger study was: How do people with different roles throughout the hierarchy of the school district make sense of CRP? In this paper, I highlight two of the key findings from the larger study. First, in order for CRP as a district-wide reform mandate to be implemented effectively, the steps of the reform must be diffused throughout the district rather than decreed from the top of the hierarchal chain of a typical public school system. Second, in order for change that impacts an entire school system to occur, there must be a mechanism for deep learning prior to and during the implementation stage for members of the district. Keywords: culturally relevant pedagogy, second-order change, decolonizing, sensemaking, university-school partnerships

Identifying the Impact of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Evidence of Academic Risk-Taking in Culturally and Economically Diverse Nova Scotia Classrooms

This article reports on findings from a qualitative research study investigating ways to support learners from populations who have been historically underserved by the Nova Scotia education system, particularly African Nova Scotian and Mi’kmaq learners, and learners who experience poverty. Working with middle school teachers located in rural schools with a proven track record of enabling students to succeed and thrive, we spent two years in their classrooms observing and documenting pedagogical practices in the teaching of science and social studies. The results of this research not only complement what is known about how to support vulnerable learners in diverse school contexts, but also provide insights into how these teachers created conditions in which students felt able to take risks academically. The findings of this study show how the idea of academic risk-taking can complement, and expand, scholarship on culturally relevant pedagogy.

Does Inquiry-Based Learning Provide an Approach for Employing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in a Primary School Classroom?

<p>Inquiry-based learning could be viewed as a form of culturally relevant pedagogy as they both promote student success regardless of student culture. The aim of this research is to explore whether inquiry-based learning is an approach for employing culturally relevant pedagogy in a New Zealand primary classroom setting. This is a qualitative exploratory case study examining students’ perceptions of learning through an inquiry-based approach. Focus group discussions were conducted to collect data from a group of students’ aged 9, 10 and 11 years from one New Zealand primary school. Data was analysed using a thematic approach that identified findings to be linked to four themes. Four themes of culture, authentic learning, relationships and teaching strategies were used throughout the study as they are deemed important components of inquiry-based learning and culturally relevant pedagogy. On analysis of the findings it is evident that there are links between inquiry-based learning and culturally relevant pedagogy. The results highlighted students’ perception of the importance of having a sense of belonging with a culture, the impact of authenticity of learning, the quality of relationships between teacher and student and the positive impact of providing a range of effective teaching strategies.</p>

Does Inquiry-Based Learning Provide an Approach for Employing Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in a Primary School Classroom?

<p>Inquiry-based learning could be viewed as a form of culturally relevant pedagogy as they both promote student success regardless of student culture. The aim of this research is to explore whether inquiry-based learning is an approach for employing culturally relevant pedagogy in a New Zealand primary classroom setting. This is a qualitative exploratory case study examining students’ perceptions of learning through an inquiry-based approach. Focus group discussions were conducted to collect data from a group of students’ aged 9, 10 and 11 years from one New Zealand primary school. Data was analysed using a thematic approach that identified findings to be linked to four themes. Four themes of culture, authentic learning, relationships and teaching strategies were used throughout the study as they are deemed important components of inquiry-based learning and culturally relevant pedagogy. On analysis of the findings it is evident that there are links between inquiry-based learning and culturally relevant pedagogy. The results highlighted students’ perception of the importance of having a sense of belonging with a culture, the impact of authenticity of learning, the quality of relationships between teacher and student and the positive impact of providing a range of effective teaching strategies.</p>

EdTech Culturation: Integrating A Culturally Relevant Pedagogy into Educational Technology

In recent years, the use of technology in educational contexts including e-learning has become increasing ubiquitous. While it is commonly believed that technology use can facilitate the process of teaching and learning, it is of paramount importance to adopt a Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP) to address the needs of students who might experience difficulty because of cultural, linguistic and technological obstacles that might be inherent in the use of educational technology. With this consideration in mind, the present paper reports on the findings of a qualitative research involving three case studies based on structured interviews with three university professors who are experts in developing digital tools and applications for educational purposes. The participants recorded their responses to interview questions on Google Docs over a period of one month, and the data was analysed for significant themes. The data revealed that all participants believe that cultural, methodological and pedagogical barriers can significantly affect the use of educational technology in face-to-face and online classes and can consequently impact student learning. The emergent themes in the data indicate that a solid understanding of the local context in which the process of teaching and learning takes place, flexibility in terms of one’s methodological approaches to teaching and embracing differences in students’ knowledge and abilities can help ensure students succeed in their academic endeavours, they are uncritically accepted and treated in an equitable manner regardless of their competency level. All three participants in the study believe that while there are some cultural and linguistic barriers in e-learning contexts and in developing and using technological applications for students, through adopting the core principles of a culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), they have been successful in achieving the course learning outcomes for their students. They argue that by adapting the language used in applications to the linguistic level of students, using familiar and culturally relevant themes, and adopting a blended approach in which technology complements face-to-face instruction, a better dialogue is established between the teacher and the students, and learning is thus facilitated. The findings of this study reveal that becoming familiar with the local culture, the relevant prescriptions and proscriptions can furnish the education technology developers with the requisite knowledge for creating applications that are relevant to students’ lives and are thus more effectual. Similarly, the results show that educational applications should provide a suitable platform to create and maintain an ongoing intrapersonal and interpersonal dialogue for the students to help them engage in the process of learning in a regular and consistent manner. Implications for pedagogy and research will be discussed.

Grounded Framework for Culturally Relevant and Responsive Music Teaching

Building upon the work of Ladson–Billings, Lind and McKoy, and Shaw, our proposed framework takes into consideration the depth and breadth of musical experiences and contexts, musical content, and the diversity of musical cultures. The proposed framework includes four quadrants: (a) teacher competencies, (b) informed choices, (c) authenticity, and (d) holistic and comparative lessons. The framework provides K–16 teachers with tangible, accessible, and actionable methods for implementing a teaching pedagogy that has often been misunderstood or implemented without fidelity, and therefore ineffective. Each quadrant’s description and detail provide educators with guidance, supporting their individual musical growth, facilitating authentic relationships with students, authentic performances, and careful idea development for lesson planning that is inclusive of multiple musical perspectives and origins. Muñiz and Richards et al. acknowledged that community support and teacher capacity are essential for culturally relevant pedagogy to be implemented effectively, thus increasing students’ academic growth.

Do Cognitive Dispositions and Gender Matter in Applications of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy? A Pilot Study at an Iraqi University

The present pilot study examines the extent to which particular individual differences (i.e., general self-efficacy, goal orientation, and decision-making styles) may shape academic success in courses conforming to the principles of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy (CRP). End-of-semester course grades were used as a coarse, institutionally mandated measure of academic success. Gender differences were observed. For female students, a learning orientation was related to academic success. However, female students’ academic success was also related to their reliance on specific decision-making styles (i.e., vigilance and hyper-vigilance). Male students’ academic success was not significantly related to any of the individual difference measures. These findings suggest that applications of CRP may benefit from the recognition of students’ preexisting dispositions and that such dispositions may differ between sexes. A discussion follows regarding how information regarding students’ preexisting differences may benefit CRP instruction.