Addressing the mismatch through culturally responsive literacy instruction

Abstract

The American demographic is drastically changing from a largely white, European-American population to one that is extremely diverse. This shift in demographics has impacted on state schools. Students often experience a cultural shock due to a mismatched monocultural, monlinguistic curriculum in schools. This qualitative study explored the way four Reading Recovery teachers attempted to make their Reading Recovery instruction culturally responsive for their culturally and linguistically diverse students. Through constant comparative analysis of data collected through pre- and post-interviews, bi-weekly professional development sessions and debriefings, reflective journals, and artefacts, it was found that the teachers' practices shifted in three main ways: observation, conversation and instruction. Participating teachers found ways to utilize students' social, cultural and linguistic knowledge to establish links between the familiar and new to make learning to read and write easier for their students. Thinking intentionally about the tenets of culturally responsive teaching as well as students' linguistic, social and cultural knowledge, participating teachers found ways to enact culturally responsive teaching in their Reading Recovery instruction.