Culturally Relevant Teaching

Culturally relevant teaching is a term associated with multicultural education. Culturally relevant [Page 246]teaching is a pedagogical approach that utilizes students' cultures as an integral part of the instructional process. Proponents of this approach place a high value on affirming the culture of students and on recognizing culture as an important lens through which students perceive, think, and learn. Proponents of culturally relevant teaching also stress that student motivation is heightened when educational content and methodologies are representative of students' cultures. Opponents argue that the traditional curriculum is suitable for everyone and better prepares students for their lives beyond school. Opponents also express concern that the curriculum can become fragmented and divisive when so many different perspectives are represented. Although not all educators endorse culturally relevant teaching, it is nonetheless a prominent issue as educators grapple with ways to provide an engaging, quality education for an increasingly diverse student population. The following discussion provides a context for the use of culturally relevant pedagogy in PreK–12 education.

Culture refers to the shared values, belief systems, traditions, and behaviors of a group of people. This group affiliation may be based upon race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, geographic location, or other criteria. Each of us is a member of multiple cultures, and yet school curricula remain largely Eurocentric.

The rapidly changing demographics of the United States and its schools have been a catalyst for new pedagogies and expanded curricula as the population of African Americans, Latin Americans, Asian Americans, and other minority groups has increased. Demographers predict that within a few decades, no single group will have a 50%-plus-one majority. Receptivity to a more culturally pluralistic curriculum may increase once this demographic milestone is reached, but paradigm shifts generally do not happen rapidly or without deliberate and sustained action.

Identity development is another concern relative to culturally relevant pedagogy. How can one form a healthy identity when the cultures with which one most closely identifies are consistently portrayed from a deficit perspective, if at all? This deficit perspective can lead to low expectations that can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy of underachievement. Students from minority cultures often comprise the majority in schools of poverty. The achievement gap between students in schools of poverty and their peers in middle- to upper-income settings has increased in recent years. The No Child Left Behind Act cites the growing achievement gap as the reason for the extensive accountability measures mandated in the legislation. High-stakes testing is used as leverage for improving learning outcomes in PreK–12 settings. The No Child Left Behind Act also requires that student achievement data be disaggregated by race, class, and so on, so that it can be determined whether specific groups are underachieving. Whereas these data could be interpreted as a reflection of inadequate or ineffective teaching practices, they could also be (mis)-interpreted as a reliable indicator of student abilities. Proponents of culturally relevant pedagogy argue that it is not the capabilities of the students that are lacking but that low achievement is an outcome of the curriculum, with its heavy reliance upon Eurocentric culture and values, to the exclusion of other cultures and experiences. The implicit or explicit message to students is that they must assimilate into the dominant culture in order to be validated as intelligent persons in school and, by extension, in society. Resistance theorists note that whereas some students assimilate by necessity if not by choice, others resist what they perceive as oppressive school practices. This resistance, typically manifested as behavioral issues or disengagement from learning at school, may set into motion an even greater level of marginalization and devaluation. Culturally relevant teaching should not be equated with low expectations or a diminished curriculum. The goal of culturally relevant teaching is to improve access to learning for all students by building upon the familiar.

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