Abstract
Students benefit from culturally responsive teaching (CRT). CRT is central to dual language (DL) education - an additive approach that is effective for educating emergent bilinguals and closing the achievement gap. Students' achievements in DL education models are higher than in any other type of language learning pedagogy – ESL, Bilingual and Monolingual. The purpose of this research was to identify the CRT practices that are employed in DL classrooms; so that teachers in other educational settings (i.e. mainstream, ESL, bilingual) might implement similar practices and improve their effectiveness with diverse students. Using survey responses from Dual Language teachers (N = 151), this study examined the intersection of CRT practices and DL teachers self-reported practice. This empirical study reveals that three out of the eight features of Gay's CRT framework were present in DL teachers' practices: validating, multidimensional, and empowering. DL teachers validate students' experience through speaking affirmations, offering texts that represent and reflect students' culture, differentiating instruction, and providing cooperative learning experiences for students. The CRT practices that are multidimensional involve establishing a welcoming and safe climate and including performance assessment to authentically evaluate students' learning. Finally, DL teachers empower their students by offering instruction that facilitates independence in learning. These study findings provide a unique window into DL teacher practice, which can be leveraged by administrators and mainstream teachers to improve the achievement of diverse learners in every classroom.
Highlights
How might dual language education models—that by design treat students’ linguistic diversity as an asset—provide a rich context for enacting culturally responsive teaching practices? We first begin by exploring the tenets of culturally responsive teaching, followed by the pillars of dual language education
culturally responsive teaching (CRT) builds a cultural tie between students and teachers and empowers them to function in multiple cultural settings, contents and systems; effectively providing equity in education without forcing diverse students to operate in mainstream culture or deny their own culture
We provide a summary of results that are integrated into a discussion that focuses primarily on implications and opportunities for practice for dual language (DL) teachers and other teachers who serve diverse learners in their classrooms
Summary
How might dual language education models—that by design treat students’ linguistic diversity as an asset—provide a rich context for enacting culturally responsive teaching practices? We first begin by exploring the tenets of culturally responsive teaching, followed by the pillars of dual language education. Modern approaches to teaching diverse students call for educators to respond to students’ cultural and linguistic heritages, and sustain them [18]. Such an approach honors that racial, ethnic, and linguistic identities evolve, and are complex and intersectional. We value this perspective, in order for our study to bridge theory, practice, and research, we chose Gay’s [10] contributions to culturally responsive teaching (CRT) to inform our research because her work provides both theoretical pillars and rich examples of practice. CRT helps teachers foster “effective, good, responsive, emancipatory, and relevant instruction” [21, p.57] by drawing upon students’ lived experiences and cultural backgrounds and communicating a high regard for teaching and learning [21]
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