Culturally Responsive Pedagogy

Jesse Masterson
EDU 604- Diversity Issues in 21st-Century Education
Dr. Metaxas
 Over the past 20 years, there has been an increase in people migrating from their home

countries. Technological availability and advancement have also helped spread cultures across

the world. Society must continue to grow with these changes. Classrooms, neighborhoods, and

communities as a whole are filled with cultural diversity. These changes create great

opportunities and challenges for learning. Teachers, students, and other members of society need

to help build better global citizens and broaden their global competency. To meet the needs of an

ever-changing diverse world, teachers must be trained to incorporate culturally responsive

teaching to meet the needs of all their children and create well-rounded global citizens.

Through readings, projects, and group discussions in this Diversity in 21st Century

Educations course many elements of these needs have been analyzed. Culture has a positive and

negative effect on learning and achievement. Students who speak other languages or have a

different cultural background are typically at a disadvantage academically. Building culturally

responsive teaching helps bring opportunities for those students to succeed, and other students to

learn from those who have had different life experiences. Through this course, demographic

trends and social structure were analyzed. The conclusion to help bridge the achievement gap

that many culturally diverse students are facing is the implementation of multicultural education

through culturally responsive teaching. To bridge such achievement gaps, high expectations are

required despite students’ abilities. As the teacher, support must be given to the students to meet

the obstacles they may face at a structure or individual level.

Culturally responsive teaching creates an environment where everyone feels welcome

and respected. This does not mean that students must agree with others’ opinions. “14 out of 15

suburban schools that were studied had a positive impact of little to medium over several years

of multicultural education. The report showed students’ racial attitudes improved at these
schools” (Okoye-Johnson, 1999, p. 116). Culturally responsive teaching fosters respect for one

another through assignments that incorporate culturally relevant topics, or social issues. The

demographics of schools are changing, the socioeconomic gap is widening, and political tensions

are growing. “The percentage of White United States residents over the past 17 has decreased by

11%. The decrease is attributed to a 9% increase in Hispanic United States residents” (NCES,

February 2019, para. 2). The future of society must be informed and build empathy for all

people, despite their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, or socioeconomic standing.

This can all be achieved through culturally responsive teaching, but there are some pros

and cons to this pedagogy. Unfortunately, in the news and media, the cons of culturally

responsive teaching are always brought to the front of the line. Biases that are learned behaviors

are ultimately not going to change, but that does not mean the learning environment needs to.

Along with that fear for the unfamiliar is far overdone. Many feel that if they learn about it, they

will become what they learn. Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law takes away learning opportunities,

such as books and resources, for those who want to better understand what they are going

through or want to better understand what friends or family are experiencing. These fears

minimize learning opportunities for those who have different sexual orientations but limit global

competency for those with racial fears. Backlash can happen with families that feel like their

children are being brainwashed, but if properly trained and supported this should not interfere

with the success of culturally responsive teaching. “Indeed, different aspects of CRT have been

found to be related to positive student outcomes, such as increased student engagement, better

achievement, and more positive peer relationships” (Abacioglu et al., 2020, pg. 737). These

benefits of student success outweigh the conversation an educator may have to have with

students or parents who do not agree with their views. “In a survey of 2,100 U.S. employers, 93
 percent of respondents said they value employees who can work effectively with customers,

clients, and businesses from a range of different countries and cultures” (U.S. Department of

Education, n.d., para. 4). By exposing students to other cultures, they are becoming more well-

rounded citizens and more desirable for the workforce.

The last two cons deal with the teacher’s ability to implement this style of teaching

successfully. Without professional strategies, the teacher may lose the intent of implementing this

in the classroom, and not meet the needs of their students. Along with this, teachers, like students,

sometimes lack cultural awareness. Due to experiences in their education or life, they may not be

aware of their students' cultural beliefs. This is why the emphasis on proper training is needed.

Making teachers aware of issues that they overlook, as it does not apply to their culture can be

harmful to the student's learning and sense of belonging.

In a popular news magazine for teachers, Techniques, Bullock and Pack share their

beliefs on culturally responsive teaching. When sharing the effects of culturally responsive

teaching, they shared, “Ensuring that classroom interactions (teacher–students, and students–

students) show respect and appreciation for diverse backgrounds, opposing perspectives, varied

life experiences and values help to establish classroom relationships where students feel valued”

(Bullock et al., 2020, pg. 11). What seem like a basic task, must be explicitly taught. Once

students feel respected and wanted, the teacher can begin connecting and learning about their

students. “Barriers to students’ ability to process information are complex, multifaceted, and

often compounded by educational inequities” (Takemae et al., 2022, pg.11). Using culturally

responsive teaching allows the teacher connect, relate, and make lessons meaningful to all of

their students. Much of this work requires the teacher to step back and focus on student-centered

activities.
 Additionally, to better understand your students' cultural norms and experiences, it is

important to build a bond between home and school. “Teachers can learn about families’

interests, talents, roles, languages, and literacies in their homes and communities by talking with

parents” (Byrne, 2023, pg. 31). This can help minimize misconceptions teachers and students

have of other students that they are not familiar with. Creating lessons that students feel

represent their lives allows those students to make meaning of the concept and it becomes more

applicable. This can be extended to any subject, from health to mathematics, curriculum can be

made relevant and relatable for students. “Teachers should locate mathematicians of students’

background to prove that people of their race/ethnicity do math and do it well”(Ukpokodu, 2011,

pg. 51). The value of the lesson and importance of learning the concept is much more meaningful

when viewing people of similar race or ethnicity succeed with it.

Culturally responsive teaching is not just something that can occur without intent and

training. “The persistent discrepancy between the high demand for teachers qualified for

culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and the lack of readiness of the current teachers regarding

CRT has made a strong case for more effective training for future teachers” (Hu et al., 2021, pg.

283). This issue can be addressed, but needs to be looked at an undergraduate level. While

investigating ways to be culturally responsive in teaching, a question-and-answer journal with

Zaretta Hammond, a teacher and author in the field, shared two key elements that all teachers

must be trained to understand. The first was to “acknowledge the sociopolitical context around

race and language ”(Hammond, 2018, pg.41). The other centered around understanding how

your brain is triggered when discussing race and culture. These two elements make teachers

more reflective about what they say, what they plan, and how they react to behaviors in the

room. She later explains that if educators are not getting proper training in this field, to go back
to the basics of culturally responsive teaching and “Connect new content to culturally relevant

examples and metaphors from students’ community and everyday lives” (Hammond, 2018,

pg.41).

The world we live in has an opportunity to become more connected. Technology allows

people to connect and learn more about others than ever before. Combating the fear and biases

that exist in the world cannot be overcome without respecting individuals who are different than

you. It is up to education to bring attention to the diverse world we live in. Students and teachers

can learn a lot about someone by listening to their stories, beliefs, or values. To overcome the

shortcomings in education, teachers need training. Many teachers have the proper intention, but

the belief in culturally responsive teaching needs to be deliberately investigated at the

undergraduate level and remain a primary focus for teachers. Until that training is adequately

completed, it is incumbent on educators to make learning relatable to students from all cultures,

regions, and languages. Pairing that with learning about your students, caring for them, and most

importantly being aware of their values and practices will create a welcoming environment to

learn in a meaningful way. The demographic of classrooms is becoming more diverse, and it is

required that teachers meet these changes with culturally responsive teaching so that we meet the

needs of all students and create informed global citizens.

 References

Abacioglu, C. S., Volman, M., & Fischer, A. H. (2020). Teachers’ multicultural attitudes and
perspective taking abilities as factors in culturally responsive teaching. The British
Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(3), 736–752.
https://doi-org.postu.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/bjep.12328

Bullock, D. K., & Pack, J. A. (2020). The Untapped Potential of Culturally Responsive Teaching
in Cte. Techniques: Connecting Education & Careers, 95(7), 10–11.

Byrne, M. (2023). An Authentic Setting for Building Culturally Responsive Teachers.

Multicultural Education, 30(1/2), 31–34.

Department of Education. (n.d.). Increase Global and Cultural Competencies of All U.S.
Students. https://sites.ed.gov/international/objective-1-increase-global-and-cultural-
competencies-of-all-u-s-students/

Hammond, Z. (2018). Culturally Responsive Teaching Puts Rigor at the Center: Q&A with
Zaretta Hammond. Learning Professional, 39(5), 40–43.
https://learningforward.org/journal/october-2018-vol-39-no-5/culturally-responsive-
teaching-puts-rigor-at-the-center/

Hu, X., Xu, Z., Neshyba, M., Geng, Z., & Turner, R. (2021). A multi-dimensional model:
implications for preparing pre-service teachers for culturally responsive teaching. Asia-
Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 49(3), 282–299.
https://doiorg.postu.idm.oclc.org/10.1080/1359866X.2020.1753169

NCES. (February 2019). Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2018.
https://ies.ed.gov/blogs/nces/post/new-report-shows-increased-diversity-in-u-s- schools-
disparities-in-outcomes
Okoye-Johnson, O.N.N (1999). A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Multicultural Education on the
Racial Attitudes of Pre-K Through Grade 12 Students: A Comparison of Curricular
Intervention and Reinforcement Dimensions in Suburban and Urban Educational
Settings. p .99-126.
Takemae, N., Nicoll-Senft, J., & Tyler, R. M. (2022). Addressing Issues of Equity Using the
Cross-Pollination of Universal Design for Learning and Culturally Responsive
Teaching. PDS Partners: Bridging Research to Practice, 17(1), 9–15.

Ukpokodu, O. N. (2011). How Do I Teach Mathematics in a Culturally Responsive Way?

Identifying Empowering Teaching Practices. Multicultural Education, 18(3), 47–56.