Culturally Responsive Teaching Research Articles

Designing an Equity-Centered Framework and Crosswalk for Integrated Elementary Computer Science Curriculum and Instruction

As computer science (CS) education becomes more prevalent in K-12 instruction, it is critical for educators, researchers, and curriculum developers to identify culturally responsive and pedagogically inclusive approaches that can increase participation, access, and feelings of belonging for students from historically marginalized communities. In response, we developed an equity-centered curricular framework and illustrative crosswalk that synchronizes three distinct pedagogical approaches: culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP), Universal Design for Learning (UDL), and project-based learning (PBL). We describe the framework’s theoretical underpinnings and explain how this framework informed the development of an integrated elementary science+CS curricular unit and provide examples of its implementation. Next, we describe the relationship between our framework, the integrated curricular unit, and educative materials designed to help teachers use the lessons and transform their practice. Finally, we highlight the framework’s potential for broader implementation in the quest to promote equitable CS instruction grounded in the experiences and perspectives of diverse student populations. The crosswalk is a graphical representation of the framework that communicates relationships amongst the elements in a digestible and practical way. This Equity-Centered Curricular Crosswalk addresses both lesson features and teacher practices, to underscore our belief that the responsibility of equity-based pedagogy should not be solely borne by teachers. As educators, researchers, and curriculum developers consider their interconnected roles and responsibilities in the enactment of CRP and UDL, the crosswalk provides an important link between equity-based instructional theories and the realities of classroom practices.

A Culturally Responsive Disposition: How Professional Learning and Teachers’ Beliefs About and Self-Efficacy for Culturally Responsive Teaching Relate to Instruction

Persistent social inequities in the United States demand attention to culturally responsive (CR) teaching, which requires a specific disposition toward students and teaching. Using survey data of secondary teachers ( N = 417) in seven urban districts across the country engaging in equity-oriented professional learning (PL) initiatives, we examine the relationship between teachers’ beliefs about, self-efficacy for, and engagement in PL around CR teaching and their self-reported CR teaching practices. We find correlational evidence that teacher-reported self-efficacy with CR teaching and engagement in PL focused on CR teaching are associated with higher self-reported frequency of CR teaching. We also find that teachers who have beliefs aligned with CR teaching have a stronger relationship between their CR teaching self-efficacy and self-reported CR teaching practices. Finally, we find evidence that changes in CR teaching self-efficacy are associated with changes in self-reported CR teaching—suggesting that CR teaching self-efficacy may drive changes in CR teaching.

Culturally Relevant Pedagogies (CRP) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in Science Education: Black Success Stories in Ontario

Culturally Relevant Pedagogies (CRP) and Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) in Science Education: Black Success Stories in Ontario

Impacting Culturally Responsive Teaching Strategies by Decreasing Bias Through Simulation Experiences

Simulated teaching environments have been used for more than two decades and are likely to continue to expand to meet the demands of teacher development programs. In this study, the self-reported changes in culturally-responsive teaching perceptions of ten classroom teachers serving more than six hundred students are reported. This paper includes first year findings from a program designed to use artificial-intelligence (AI) based algorithms to reduce implicit bias in teaching. Findings from this study include significant pre-post increases for self-efficacy related to culturally responsive teaching as well as instructional self-efficacy. These findings add credibility to the contention that a key innovation of using simulation programs for teacher professional development is that it provides teachers and teacher trainees many learning trials with simulated students, thereby increasing teacher confidence and competence, and which in turn will improve student learning. Findings set the stage for measuring the impact on student perceptions of learning and cultural engagement intended to support teachers in recognizing and ameliorating their own implicit biases.

It’s Not Easy Being Green: Addressing Overrepresentation in Special Education Through Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

The author explores the overrepresentation of Black and Latino students in special education in the United States and offers critical strategies to begin to address the issue with culturally responsive teaching and minimization of subjectivity.

Infusing Culturally Responsive Teaching in Higher Education: Insights for Multicultural Education in Indonesia

The present research examines how teachers implement Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) as part of multicultural education in a higher education institution. The urgency of the current research lies in the fact that teachers of the 21st century need to equip students with the necessary skills and knowledge to survive in this interconnected world. However, it was evidenced that one of the challenges in implementing multicultural education is the lack of teachers' skills to be culturally responsive. Accordingly, it is essential to highlight the implementation of Culturally Responsive Teaching in the Indonesian setting. In doing so, a qualitative case study is employed to answer the research questions. The current research involves six multicultural classroom teachers as research participants with different characteristics. To gain a depth understanding of the teachers' attitudes, the researchers employed semi-structured interviews and observation as data collection techniques. Using thematic data analysis, the results indicated nine practices that reflect the implementation of Culturally Responsive Teaching in the higher education context. The nine practices are: giving more freedom to students in selecting the familiar topic, emphasizing preserving local wisdom, celebrating different perspectives in the discussion, allowing gaining and checking students' understanding, talking personally outside the class, focusing more on positive rather than negative, being a role model, being patient, and sharing the experience.

Nurturing student ethnic identity through culturally responsive music teaching in China

A multicultural approach has been advocated in school music education in China to heighten the sense of ethnic identity among students from diverse backgrounds, but research has shown that inadequate teaching approaches have been a major challenge in implementing multiculturalism. To facilitate students’ development of their sense of ethnic and cultural identity, international educators have advocated the use of culturally responsive teaching (CRT), which can provide Chinese teachers with pedagogical guidance to put multiculturalism into practice. A mixed methods intervention approach was adopted to explore the impact of CRT on the ethnic identities of Yi, Han, Mongolian and Tibetan students in a multi-ethnic school in Sichuan Province, China. The quantitative results revealed that after participating in the CRT music course, the students demonstrated statistically significant improvement across the four dimensions of ethnic identity. The qualitative findings attributed the improvement in the students’ ethnic identities to the use of ethnic music and native languages, multiple roles of the local music teacher and collective musical engagement. This study contributes to research on pedagogical strategies that help facilitate cultural diversity in school music education in China, and it serves as a reference for the use of CRT worldwide.

Assessing Practice Teachers’ Culturally Responsive Teaching: The Role of Gender and Degree Programs in Competence Development

Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) weaves together rigor and relevance while it improves student achievement and engagement. The Philippine Department of Education implemented Indigenous People’s education to respond to the demands for culturally responsive teaching. Teacher education graduates are expected to articulate the rootedness of education in sociocultural contexts in creating a learning environment that recognizes respect, connectedness, choice, personal relevance, challenges, engagement, authenticity, and effectiveness. Practice teachers need relevant exposure and immersion to fully develop their competence in CRT. This scenario necessitates attention to assessing the competence of 191 practice teachers in CRT, correlating their competence across dimensions, and verifying the role of gender and degree programs in competence development. This investigation provides evidence on the role of gender in competence development toward culturally responsive teaching. Such competence is vital in practice teachers, especially because they are exposed to learners with diverse backgrounds during their teaching internship. This evidence informs supervising instructors in molding practice teachers.

English as a foreign language teacher engagement with culturally responsive teaching in rural schools: Insights from China.

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) has been found to promote student engagement and enhance learning in the classroom. As an effective pedagogy, the past decade has witnessed a soaring interest in exploring teachers’ competence, self-efficacy, and influencing factors in implementing CRT across school subjects. However, scant attention has been directed to language teachers’ engagement with CRT. Given the increasing diversity in students’ socio-economic status, cultural backgrounds, learning needs and preferences in English language classrooms, CRT has also become a prominent concern in China. This study sets out to explore English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teacher engagement with CRT in rural schools in China. With a multi-case study of eight EFL teachers, the researchers collected data through individual interviews and classroom observations. Four types of teacher engagement based on the foci (i.e., knowledge and practice) were identified and were further characterized by cognitive, emotional, and social aspects. This study also taps into the internal and external factors influencing the teachers’ engagement with CRT. Implications and suggestions were provided to tackle the problems of English Language Education in rural China and contexts alike worldwide.

Liberating Voices for Equity – Exploring Cultural Minority Students’ Experiences in an Integrated Classroom

This study foregrounds cultural minority learners’ voices in the exploration of accomplishment of socio-cultural redress in basic education. The resonating global call within the socio-cultural movement is for the inclusion of marginalised voices and epistemes in curricula reformation and transformation overtures. Heeding the latter, this study within the context of decolonisation, ethical professional practice and equity sought to establish experiences of cultural minority learners’ experiences in an integrated South African school. Conceptually framed within Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) as strategy for pedagogical equity and pursued through a naturalistic methodology scaffolded by observation and interviewing the study elevates cultural minority learners’ voices about the pedagogic setting. The study found that minority students regarded the architecture of teaching and learning context as structured by their teachers as: marginalising; alienating, disenchanting; emasculating; constraining, not attendant to their intrinsic motivation needs nor their socio-political identities. Findings revealed that though the legislated architecture for equity through cultural inclusivity exists vestigial classroom practices not attuned to these aspirations for equity still persist. Such findings highlighted the need for an escalation of deliberate interventions to overturn these historically nuanced inhibitions to create equitable pedagogic settings.

The 4-C’s Model: Care Theory for Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Classroom teachers strive to create environments in which all students have the possibility of success. As schools become increasingly more diversified, research shows that even experienced teachers struggle with the challenges presented by classroom diversity. In this article we propose the 4-C’s Model, a theoretical framework that provides guidance to teachers for implementing Care Theory in their classrooms. The design of the 4-C’s Model functions as an efficacious, pedagogical, conceptual structure through which the critical components of school C urriculum, professional C ompetence and C ulture are bridged by C are Theory. The 4-C’s Model, as a socio-constructivist framework, supports efforts to create culturally responsive classrooms. The Model operationalizes the notion of a “caring environment” to include cultural and linguistic diversity, as well as effective pedagogy and authentic learning experiences as pathways toward a classroom environment that is inclusive and empowering for all students. This article offers significant pedagogical directions to support educators as they scaffold learners from diverse backgrounds. Keywords: Care Theory, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Curriculum Design, Diversity, Socio-Cultural Theory DOI: 10.7176/JEP/13-21-10 Publication date: June 30 th 2022

Culturally responsive self-efficacy of mathematics teachers: Input for self-efficacy building enhancement

The Philippines is a multicultural society with diverse cultures and beliefs for each indigenous community. This study was designed to determine the level of culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (CRTSE) of mathematics teachers and to propose a training design. The study utilized an explanatory sequential research design using a survey and focus-grouped discussion and was participated by 65 in-service mathematics teachers. Based on the result, the mathematics teachers' overall level of teaching efficacy in using culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) is very high. It was also found that teachers’ implementation of CRP that influences teaching self-efficacy includes the use of native language and the use of contextualized and localized examples. It is recommended that mathematics teachers may adopt the use of culturally responsive pedagogies in their respective classes and consider the use of native language and use of contextualized and localized examples to provide a meaningful teaching-learning experience. Keywords: Culturally responsive teaching; culturally responsive pedagogy; mother tongue instruction; self-efficacy.

Culturally Responsive Teaching: A Bridge over the Diversity Divide in Historically White Multicultural Schools of South Africa

The purpose of this paper is to report on white teacher perceptions of the characteristics associated with multicultural education and the related classroom practices in promoting Cultural Responsive Teaching (CRT) in historically white schools (HWS) in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. The pre-democratic South African education system was characterised by inequality based mainly on race. There were enormous inequalities between the education provided for blacks and whites. The advent of a democratic South Africa in 1994 made it possible for black learners to enroll at HWS. The majority of schools reacted by assuming an assimilation approach. This resulted in a number of challenges for HWS's. The authors argue that the promotion of CRT in HWS's could serve as a bridge to address the diversity divide experienced in most HWS's. The researchers are elected to employ the quantitative research method, to ascertain white teachers' perceptions of the characteristics of multicultural education and their perceptions of multicultural classroom practices in promoting CRT in HWS's in South Africa. Some of the findings of the study indicate that white teachers regard the eradication of fear and suspicion as an important multicultural characteristic to promote CRT.

What does the evidence say? The landscapes of professional development of teachers in elementary and junior high schools

<p>教師專業發展是提升教師素質與教學專業的關鍵。國際組織和世界各國陸續提出有關教師專業發展的政策、方案或措施，期能確保教學專業，增進學生學習成就。本研究運用經濟合作暨發展組織進行的《國際教學與學習調查》資料，以TALIS 2018數據為基礎，進行次級資料的解讀與分析，探討臺灣國民中小學教師專業發展的樣貌。研究發現：（一）國民中小學教師普遍參與專業發展活動，其參與類型是以專題研討、參與教師社群、教育議題介紹等活動居多，而較少進行與證照取得有關的專業學習活動。（二）國民中小學教師專業發展的內容是以學科知識、學科教學知識、課程知識為主，而對於跨文化溝通、文化回應教學議題則較少參與。（三）國民中小學教師專業發展的效應展現在建立專業知識、促進專業協作、教學實踐應用等方面，但卻未能促進教學專業的永續發展。（四）國民中小學教師專業發展的阻礙主要是來自於工作忙碌、時間不足、缺乏誘因、沒有適切的專業發展活動等等。整體來看，臺灣國民中小學教師專業發展並不亞於TALIS調查的平均水準。不過，教師專業發展在臺灣的實踐，仍有其薄弱環節與問題尚待克服。據此，臺灣國民中小學教師專業發展政策之推展，必須持續創造教師協作及網絡連結的文化氛圍，加強教師跨文化溝通素養與文化回應教學能力，重視教師專業發展成效評估與永續發展，以及建構完善的教師專業發展支持系統。</p> <p> </p><p>Teacher professional development is the key to improving teacher quality and teaching profession. International organizations and countries around the world have proposed policies, programs, or strategies related to the professional development of teachers. This study employed data from the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Based on TALIS 2018 evidence, it analyzed the landscapes of professional development of teachers in elementary and junior high schools in Taiwan. The research results are as follows. (1) The types of professional development of teachers include thematic seminars, participation in teacher communities, and introduction of educational issues, but less professional learning activities are related to obtaining licenses. (2) The contents of professional development of teachers are subject knowledge, subject teaching knowledge, and curriculum knowledge, and they have less participation in cross-cultural communication and culturally responsive teaching issues. (3) The effects of professional development of teachers are shown in the establishment of professional knowledge, promotion of professional collaboration, and application of teaching practice, but these have failed to promote the sustainable development of the teaching profession. (4) The obstacles to the professional development of teachers mainly come from busy work, insufficient time, lack of incentive, and no appropriate professional development activities. Overall, the professional development of teachers in Taiwan is no less than that in the countries participating in the TALIS survey, but there are still weak points and problems to be overcome. Based on these results, the policy and practice of teacher professional development in Taiwan should help create a cultural climate of teacher collaboration and network connection, and strengthen the cultivation of cross-cultural communication literacy and cultural response teaching competency of teachers. Furthermore, effectiveness evaluation and sustainable development should be emphasized, and support systems for teacher professional development should be built.</p> <p> </p>

Preparing culturally responsive teachers through multicultural field experiences: a case study in China

ABSTRACT This study introduces a multicultural field experience for pre-service teachers in China. Allowing pre-service teachers to work directly with multicultural students in multicultural contexts, the multicultural field experience was found to impact positively on pre-service teachers’ culturally responsive teaching (CRT) beliefs and practices. Implications for initial teacher education are included.

Cultural Responsive Teaching of Language Teachers in Indigenous Classrooms: A Phenomenological Inquiry

This phenomenological inquiry aimed to investigate the experiences of language teachers in indigenous classrooms of Pong-Pong Elementary School, New Bataan, Davao de Oro, Philippines. This also investigated the different coping mechanism of these challenges encountered in providing a cultural responsive teaching. The study utilized the purposive sampling technique which included seven (7) teachers for focus group discussion and for in-depth-interview; thematic analysis is used and themes were identified in this inquiry. In providing cultural responsive teaching experiences, themes revealed that teachers: use code-switching, linguistic contrast of teachers’ and students’ native language, challenges in the implementation of the curriculum, lowering the filter of anxiety level, and availability of language exercises in the target language. On the coping mechanism of teachers, themes are: use of student-centered strategies, immersion to students’ diverse cultural backgrounds, making the classroom into a class-home, translation as a strategy and mastery of basic literacy skills.

Facilitating Culturally Responsive Teaching Through Online Courses and Coaching

Teacher professional development and education programs are enhancing job-embedded experiences to address the disparity between theory and implementation. Simultaneously, higher education is now offering online courses to attract geographically distant educators, especially in high-needs fields such as teaching English Learners and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse students. There is a need to investigate what online teacher professional development and education programs can do to promote teachers’ application of what they learn. This pilot study utilized the Inventory of Situationally and Culturally Responsive Teaching (ISCRT) to investigate 23 in-service teachers’ culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices before and after receiving online coursework and coaching. When compared to the control group, treatment teachers’ scores on four of the five ISCRT standards—Joint Productive Activity, Language and Literacy Development, Challenging Activities, and Instructional Conversations—as well as the composite were statistically significant. Findings suggest online CRT coursework with complementary instructional coaching supports teachers’ implementation of new knowledge and pedagogy.

Beyond standards: College and career readiness and culturally responsive curriculum in teacher preparation

This study looks at the intersection of College and Career Readiness, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, and teacher preparation. We sought to uncover preservice teachers' perceptions of college and career readiness as they concluded their teacher preparation coursework. Findings demonstrate how future teachers wrestled with college readiness, and the shift in perspective from a skills-based definition to an understanding of it as a partnership between student and teacher. Our findings suggest the need for teacher preparation curriculum 1) focused on College and Career Readiness as more than a set of standards, and 2) framed within Culturally Responsive Pedagogies. Our study highlights both as vital to our preservice teachers’ development in content specific teaching methods as well as in their ability to thrive in an era of high-stakes testing and accountability.

Preparing Educators for Culturally Responsive Teaching Through Technical Cultural Representations

This paper describes a professional development program that is designed to prepare in-service educators for culturally responsive teaching (CRT) through practice with the development of technical representations of cultural themes in an international context. Six categories of technical cultural representation are introduced with examples from both CRT literature and our program: cultural mapping, inquiring, writing, augmenting, documenting, and making. Our program features Saturday classes in spring, a two-week study abroad immersion in summer with portfolio development, and follow-up classes in fall with project sharing and lesson planning. The program has run seven times in four countries between 2011 and 2019, introducing 128 educators to CRT strategies enabled by technology while developing identities as culturally responsive educators with expanded cultural perspectives. Findings from an impact study are shared, suggesting the program has been successful in helping most educators learn new technologies and strategies for cultural representation with writing frames and global projects, in particular, being reapplied in classrooms. Some educators also noted they had increased in their understanding of culture-focused activities and themes that were more meaningful and tied into social justice issues, while others had learned to better recognize diverse cultures in their own classrooms and were modifying teaching practices to honor those perspectives and traditions. The paper concludes with design recommendations for others seeking to offer professional development in CRT.

Engaging Ethnic-Diverse Students: A Research Based on Culturally Responsive Teaching for Roma-Gypsy Students

Intercultural Education is a key feature in the development of inclusion strategies aimed at ethnically diverse students. Transformative approaches towards learning such as Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) are essential in order to answer the educative needs that arise due to the coexistence between ethnic minorities and mainstream society. Therefore, cultural and historical representation of these communities play an important role as gatekeepers in order to achieve positive results as far as inclusive education is concerned. This article explores research based on a case study carried out in a high school located in the North-West of Spain developing successful learning stories after implementing the CRT methodology within the teaching of English as a foreign language. For its development, this article examines the trajectory of education with Roma-Gypsy students and moves forward with previous studies that endorse the success of using this approach among ethnically diverse students for their inclusion within the educative system. Intercultural and Plurilingual Education is a key feature in the development of inclusion strategies aimed at ethnically diverse students. This article includes research based on a case study carried out in a high school located in the North-West of Spain. It is aimed at: 1. Engaging ethnically diverse students to become part of the mainstream classroom through the inclusion of their culture; 2. Improving their language skills and competencies in the learning of a foreign language; 3. Raising the attendance at schools of ethnically diverse students. To achieve these targets the Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) Methodology has been implemented. CRT is considered essential to answer the educative needs that arise due to the coexistence between ethnic minorities and conventional communities. After gathering and analyzing data, results show that: ethnically diverse students’ motivation has been increased; it also expanded their social skills among peers; they gained more visibility; and finally, both diverse and non-diverse learners improved their proficiency in the English language. The discussion section states that the use of CRT Methodology traditionally used with Afro-American and Native-American students is also relevant for the Roma-Gypsy students that took part in this study.