Debnam, K. J., Pas, E. T., Bottiani, J., Cash, A. H., & Bradshaw, C. P. (2015). An examination of the association between observed and self‐reported culturally proficient teaching practices. Psychology in the Schools, 52(6), 533-548. doi:10.1002/pits.21845
“[Culturally responsive teaching] teaches to and through the strengths of these students . . . it builds bridges of meaningfulness between home and school experiences as well as between academic abstractions and lived sociocultural realities; it uses a wide variety of instructional strategies that are connected to different learning styles; it incorporates multicultural information, resources, and materials in all the subjects and skills routinely taught in schools.” (Debnam et al., 2015). This study addresses the lack of adequate measurements available to measure the effectiveness of culturally responsive teaching. Self-reporting is a commonly used measure, but it is subject to social desirability bias. The study concludes that more efforts are required to measure how equipped teachers are to work with culturally diverse students.
Ebersole, M., Kanahele-Mossman, H., & Kawakami, A. (2016). Culturally responsive teaching: examining teacher’s understandings and perspectives. Journal of Education and Training Studies, 4(2), 97-104.
“Sometimes people don’t realize that my point is you already teach through a culture: Do you realize that you do already infuse so many values, language, terms, emotions, all kinds of things through a culture or typically many cultures? As teachers we all infuse culture every minute, every second during the day in our classrooms and we are not conscious of it and we don’t use it to the best of our teaching ability” (Ebersole et al., 2016). This study examines 18 teachers enrolled in a course on ethnicity and education as part of a Master’s degree program. The teachers had to develop a teaching plan for the course which they could bring into their own classrooms and incorporated culturally responsive pedagogy. The researchers note that the teachers created their plans either incorporating culturally responsive activities or with a culturally responsive perspective, which is the difference between teaching about something versus teaching through something. Many teachers found culturally responsive teaching challenging, and most attempts at it involved only the mere inclusion of a culture in their curriculum. The authors conclude that teacher perception on what culturally responsive pedagogy constitutes varies widely, and teachers would benefit from having opportunities to critically discuss methods of implementation.
Lewthwaite, B., Doiron, A., Renaud, R., & McMillan, B. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching in yukon first nation settings: What does it look like and what is its influence? Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, (155), 1.
“Culture in all its expression, provides a foundation for learning and growth, and that [Yukon Education] should support individuals, organizations, and communities to promote, preserve, and enhance Indigenous culture” (Yukon First Nation Education Advisory Committee, as cited in Lewthwaite et al., 2014). This study provides a guide for implementing culturally responsive pedagogy in First Nations communities. It also demonstrates the positive impacts that such teaching practices have on students in the areas of effort, self-image, and contribution. The teachers in this study also reflected on their own practices and noted where they needed to adjust their practices in response to student needs, such as allowing students more space and time to think before engaging in discussions.
McIntosh, K., Moniz, C., Craft, C. B., Golby, R., & Steinwand-Deschambeault, T. (2014). Implementing school-wide positive behavioural interventions and supports to better meet the needs of indigenous students. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 29(3), 236-257.
“A commonly noted reason for this discrepancy in educational outcomes, besides structural risk factors such as poverty (Sirin, 2005), is the dissonance between Indigenous cultures and the dominant Western culture.” (McIntosh et al., 2014). In this article, the authors describe approaches to behavioral interventions which are culturally responsive to Indigenous students. Such approaches include the concepts of lifelong learning, which is holistic and experiential. Students are encouraged to connect with Elders and their communities as a way of experiencing communal learning. From this article I have been given a framework from which to develop culturally responsive, supportive measures for my students.
Savage, C., Hindle, R., Meyer, L. H., Hynds, A., Penetito, W., & Sleeter, C. E. (2011). Culturally responsive pedagogies in the classroom: Indigenous student experiences across the curriculum. Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 39(3), 183-198. doi:10.1080 /1359866X.2011.588311
“The classroom is, of course, the daily lived experience of students; thus validation of students’ cultural identities and valuing of the cultural knowledge students bring with them to school have the potential to make a difference” (Savage et al., 2011). Researchers in this article examined 33 schools in New Zealand which had a Te Kotahitanga professional development program, which is culturally responsive to Maori students. They observed classrooms in the schools for evidence of implementation of the program, and subsequently measured the level of implementation. The researchers observed that schools who highly implemented Te Kotahitanga were associated with culturally responsive teaching strategies for Maori students, and concluded that the program is effective in establishing the desired outcomes of culturally responsive pedagogy. Students that were interviewed said that they appreciated the use of Maori language and knowledge in the classroom, and saw the use of Maori phrases to greet or instruct the students as embracing the culture. Students also reported a positive change in the school climate as a result of improved student-teacher relationships. The program will be most successful when all stakeholders are involved in changing schools in order to implement culturally responsive teaching practices.