Equity and Social Justice: Culturally Relevant Practices

Culturally responsive (or relevant) teaching is “a pedagogy that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes” (Ladson-Billings, 1994, p. 382). Teachers, within a CRP framework, make standards-based content and curricula accessible to students and teach in a way that students can understand and relate to. To do this, teachers must incorporate relatable aspects of students’ daily/cultural lives into the curriculum, while keeping the curriculum standards-based and rigorous. Such familiar aspects include language (which may include jargon or slang), prior knowledge, and extracurricular interests such as music and sports. One aspect of CRP focuses on student comfort with how a teacher talks and discusses academic material, which will allow students to focus and try to learn the content. Our work with teachers, leaders, schools, networks, and districts includes development and coaching within the following areas related to a CRP framework:

1. Establishing inclusion—creating a learning atmosphere in which students and teachers feel respected by and connected to one another.
2. Developing attitude—creating a favorable disposition toward the learning experience through personal relevance and choice.
3. Enhancing meaning—creating challenging, thoughtful learning experiences that include student perspectives and values.
4. Engendering competence—creating an understanding that students are effective in learning something they value.

CRP development services are tailored to meet the needs and context of individual schools, networks, and/or districts.