September 10, 2024
It would appear that the words “diversity, equity, and inclusion” have been bad words for a long time.
Consider Jesus, who was persecuted for ministering to those deemed unclean or undesirable. The apostle Paul continued to urge the church of Corinth to unite with all believers, regardless of whether they were Jews or Gentiles. These men recognized that though we may be diverse, we are all included in God’s grace and love. To love Jesus is to love all of those around us, which demands inclusivity and equity.
Last fall, at a rather heated Board of Education meeting, our superintendent responded to a concerned parent that “diversity, inclusion, and equity” could no longer be considered “bad words” in our school district. She went on to promise change and outline her plan for affecting it.
About six months later, the same superintendent resigned, choosing early retirement – but also taking over two million dollars in reparations with her.
It would appear that, at least according to some in my current location, those historically “bad” words are still… “bad” words.
This, and other related events in my little slice of the world, prompted me to start looking into how I viewed diversity, equity, and inclusion. I found a pedagogy that was well-know in other states, cities, and districts; it is called culturally reflective pedagogy. I found that I am arriving a little late to the game. I found a plethora of resources that both confirmed what I already believed, and made me incredibly uncomfortable and ashamed of what I already believed.
Most importantly, what I found is that neither my students, nor I, nor my slice of the world could wait for this type of teaching any longer.
What is Culturally Reflective Pedagogy?
While the term “culturally responsive teaching” is largely credited to Gloria Ladson-Billings and Geneva Gay, it has roots in the late 1800’s with psychologists like William James, who studied how children learn (Campbell, 2021). The theory and pedagogical structure of culturally reflective teaching reverses traditional views of education, focusing educators on students’ strengths rather than weaknesses, and claiming those strengths lie in the diverse perspectives and experiences students bring with them into the classroom (Campbell, 2021). By supporting, celebrating, and valuing diversity, educators harness the power of inclusivity, helping students develop multiple skillsets that might otherwise be left neglected.
Because culturally responsive instructional strategies have been misconstrued or demonized, they have also been neglected or outright avoided by some teachers. To say that some teachers “run as fast as they can” from culturally responsive teaching – labeled by some as CRT – might be a truer statement in my current location. I mean, look at what happened to our superintendent who loudly proclaimed she would embrace the growing diversity of our community! Many who like their jobs and prefer to keep them know well enough to steer clear of any type of instruction or resource use that could be construed as “CRT” in my district.
However…
I have to ask…
Is that serving our kids? Is that serving them as God’s precious children, each an invaluable part of the whole that makes up our community?
How Culturally Responsive Teaching is Just Good Teaching
Here’s the thing:
Culturally responsive teaching is just good teaching.
It’s what a good teacher does.
It’s what I’d want for my kids if they were in your class.
Because it means studying each individual student, optimizing strengths and targeting weaknesses. It means knowing kids well enough to let them be themselves and figure themselves out without forcing them to fit into a cookie-cutter version of what you might personally prefer. It means honoring them, lifting them up, trying to understand them and meet them where they are, leading them to the next big “Aha!” moment and the place where they can be proud of themselves.
It means serving them.
And the scholarly literature agrees. In my recent studies of curriculum and instructional design for diversity, I’ve searched for what will give me the biggest bang for my buck. What strategies and structures will help me reach the largest amount of kids at the deepest level in the shortest amount of time? Here’s what my research found:
- Investing time to learn about children and their families is a top strategy to increase student engagement and reduce challenging behaviors (Price & Steed, 2016)
- Explicitly teaching skill-based strategies shows a statistically significant impact on culturally diverse and English Language Learners (Chinpakdee & Gu, 2024)
- Using inclusive literacy practices (e.g. graphic organizers, direct and explicit instruction, read alouds, reciprocal questioning) benefits not only culturally, intellectually, and linguistically diverse learners, but all learners (Tracy-Bronson & Scribner, 2024)
- Multimodal strategies (e.g. gamification, metacognitive strategies, dialogic instruction) not only make instruction more engaging for students, but encourage students to self-govern, a high-priority 21st Century skill (Carter & Cameron, 2023; Little, 2013)
- Coaching teachers on how to be more culturally reflective in their practice results in higher student cooperation and fewer disruptive classroom behaviors (Bradshaw et al., 2018)
- Proactively managing classroom behavior increases student motivation and engagement in classwork (Larson et al., 2018)
And these are just a few things I found in a ten-week course resulting in over 80 pages of single-spaced notes.
But it doesn’t start in the classroom.
It starts with the teacher.
Asking the Hard Questions
This is where things seem to get sticky. Hang with me for a second here.
We all have bias that we don’t realize we have. It’s just who we are as humans. Most likely, you don’t mean any harm, and you may not see anything wrong with your current beliefs. Being asked to reflect on a belief you have held since you were a child can feel like an attack. Please know that isn’t what this is about.
Remember, this is about serving God’s children.
This isn’t about you.
So, take a step back, if you can, and ask yourself the hard question: Why do some people say some beliefs are racist when they seem fair to me, a white person?
If it makes you feel more comfortable, I’ll go first.
I used to believe that “not seeing color” made me not racist. For example, if I said all students were just students to me – I didn’t see that some were Black, some were white, some were Brown – I was saying that we’re all the same and equal.
The thing is, we’re not all the same.
And perpetuating a belief that we are the same deprives those who are less fortunate the opportunity to overcome certain social and structural inequalities.
Because whether you want to believe it or not, life in America is not fair to Black or Brown kids.
Consider the school-to-prison pipeline that includes a disproportionate amount of Black and Brown boys, or how school discipline and expulsion rates mirror the school-to-prison rates (Bradshaw et al., 2018). If we’re all the same, why are discipline rates not normally distributed across races?
Also, while I personally might choose to not see “color,” I can guarantee that the three Black kids sitting in a class of 25 white kids see that they are the only ones that look like them in that room.
And this might make them feel alone.
And this might make them react to situations in ways the white kids in my class don’t even consider.
And this means that I need to think long and hard about how the way I’ve always viewed the world is shaping my reactions to my kids.
I’ve been doing this reflection. It’s not easy, and I often mess up and put my big foot in my mouth. But… I’m learning. I’m inviting you to be vulnerable and learn with me.
So How Do We Do Culturally Responsive Instruction?
According to Price and Steed (2016), the first step to being culturally responsive is to empathize with others. We can only do this through critical and iterative self-reflection to discover implicit bias and address it. This is important at every level – even as kindergarten teachers observe how culturally diverse children engage in play (Alaca & Pyle, 2018). In fact, engaging in critical self-reflection is a key strategy for developing any kind of skill or self-awareness (Sharmin, 2023), not just for rooting out bias. Teachers, in particular, are in a highly influential position to model this practice; it is my assertion that truly serving students involves humbling yourself in this way.
In recent interviews with veteran teachers, one in particular discussed reflecting on the texts he uses to honor diversity. He realized his repertoire of classroom texts mainly consisted of “dead white guys,” so he openly admitted relying on younger, more culturally-aware teachers for diverse text recommendations. We also discussed the power of learning about diverse cultures with students – rather than assuming the position of “Ultimate Knowledge-Giver” in the classroom. When students see us modeling growth and appreciative reflection, they are more likely to engage in those behaviors themselves. This shows students that we must learn to be – examining ourselves to find the best within – before we can learn to live together.
What comes after self-reflection?
Next, what veteran teachers know from experience, the literature confirms.
In 1996, UNESCO published a treatise on the state of education at the time, proposing four pillars on which we should build our future educational endeavors. Those pillars are:
- Learning to be
- Learning to live together
- Learning to learn
- Learning to know
When compared with the themes uncovered in action research I’ve conducted in the past two months, those four pillars remain constant. (See Figure 1 below.)
Figure 1
A Hierarchy of Effective Instructional Strategies According to UNESCO’s 1996 Four Pillars of Learning
Once teachers have begun reflecting on how their beliefs might relate to racial biases, they are better equipped to create positive relationships between themselves and students, and foster positive student-to-student relationships. This relationship-building is the second-most important piece of culturally reflective teaching (Delors, 1996). In fact, “children who begin life in safe relationships that are continuously responsive to their evolving needs are most likely to reach out, explore, and learn” (Bowman et al., 2018, p. 16). Teachers can do this simply by greeting students each day as they enter class, remembering and using their names, and engaging students in sincere conversations. While these things may seem small, one veteran teacher described in an interview how a student told him that his daily greeting was her favorite thing about his class. All in all, the power of relationship-building cannot be overstated.
From there, students need structure and instruction. Mutually creating clear classroom norms empowers students (Drew, 2020), and teaching students to engage in self-reflection before engaging in any kind of dialogue helps students logically organize and analyze their ideas before blurting them out. Studies indicate that students’ behavior and engagement improves when norms are consistently enforced and both positive and negative reinforcements are used (Demir et al., 2023).
From there, teachers should carefully choose texts and resources that reflect the population of students and prepare students for critical conversations with guides and norms. Overall, students must learn how to be and live together before they can learn to learn or know.
Conclusion
From his jail cell in Ephesus, the apostle Paul wrote to the Christian church in Corinth, urging them to embrace all God’s people, no matter their race, nationality, or religion. He compared God’s church to the body, which has many parts, but is still one body. Each part is valuable and the body is less if just one is lost. Paul was urging Corinthians to live together, so they could learn and know.
When it comes to creating a classroom community or nurturing today’s learners, neglecting the idea that every person is a valuable part of a whole is not only harmful, but also counterproductive to an educator’s entire reason for coming to work each day.
Each student has a part to play, a gem to give, a light to shine. We are less whole when we erase one part; the world dims when we cover just one of those lights.
Take Paul’s advice to the Corinthians. Value, celebrate, and include each part for the beauty and strength it brings, for we are – as we have always been – one in Christ, as God has intended.
References:
Alaca, B., & Pyle, A. (2018). Kindergarten teachers’ perspectives on culturally responsive education. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne de l’Éducation, 41(3), 753–782.
Bowman, B. T., Comer, J. P., & Johns, D. J. (2018). Addressing the African American achievement gap. YC: Young Children, 73(2), 14–23.
Bradshaw, C. P., Pas, E. T., Bottiani, J. H., Debnam, K. J., Reinke, W. M., Herman, K. C., Rosenberg, M. S., & Gregory, A. (2018). Promoting cultural responsivity and student engagement through Double Check coaching of classroom teachers: An efficacy study. School Psychology Review, 47(2), 118–134. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0119.V47-2
Campbell, J. (2021). Culturally responsive teaching. Salem Press Encyclopedia.
Cartner, H., & Cameron, D. (2023). Investigating metacognitive strategy awareness for multimodal listening. E-Learning and Digital Media, 20(5), 424–441.
Chinpakdee, M., & Gu, P. Y. (2024). The impact of explicit strategy instruction on EFL secondary school learners’ reading. Language Teaching Research, 28(1), 296-319. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168821994157
Delors, J. (1996). Education: The necessary utopia. The treasure within: Report to UNESCO of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century (highlights). UNESCO (p. 13-35). https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000109590/PDF/109590engo.pdf.multi
Demir, I., Sener, E., Karaboga, H. A., & Basal, A. (2023). Expectations of students from classroom rules: A scenario based Bayesian network analysis. Participatory Educational Research, 10(1), 424–442.
Drew, C. (2020). To follow a rule: The construction of student subjectivities on classroom rules charts. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 21(1), 46–57.
Larson, K. E., Pas, E. T., Bradshaw, C. P., Rosenberg, M. S., Day-Vines, N. L., & Gregory, A. (2018). Examining how proactive management and culturally responsive teaching relate to student behavior: Implications for measurement and practice. School Psychology Review, 47(2), 153–166. https://doi.org/10.17105/SPR-2017-0070.V47-2
Little, T. (2013). 21st Century learning and progressive education: An intersection. International Journal of Progressive Education, 9(1), 84–96.
Price, C. L., & Steed, E. A. (2016). Culturally responsive strategies to support young children with challenging behavior. YC: Young Children, 71(5), 36–43.
Sharmin, M. (2023). Debriefing teaching strategies and multimodal narratives in ESL: Pedagogical tools for developing agency, making meaning, and confronting racism. Language Teaching Research Quarterly, 38, 92–110. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1412242.pdf
Tracy-Bronson, C. P. & Scribner, S. (2024). Inclusive literacy access for students with autism. International Journal of Whole Schooling, 20(1) 24-54. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1419690.pdf