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Crossing over to Canaan: The Journey of New Teachers in Diverse Classrooms

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Abstract

The author of the best-selling book The Dreamkeepers shows how teachers can succeed in diverse classrooms. Educating teachers to work well in multicultural classrooms has become an all-important educational priority in today's schools. In Crossing Over to Canaan, Gloria Ladson-Billings details the real-life stories of eight novice teachers participating in an innovative teacher education program called Teach for Diversity. She details their struggles and triumphs as they confront challenges in the classroom and respond with innovative strategies that turn cultural strengths into academic assets. Through their experiences, Ladson-Billings illustrates how good teachers can meet the challenges of teaching students from highly diverse backgrounds--and find a way to "cross over to Canaan." She offers a model of teaching that focuses on academic achievement, cultural competence, and socio-political consciousness. Drawing from her own experiences as a young African-American teacher working in Philadelphia, she successfully weaves together narrative, observation, and scholarship to create an inspirational and practical book that will help teachers everywhere as they work to transcend labels and categories to support excellence among all students.
... Culturally responsive teachers learn about their students, have a high degree of sociocultural consciousness, hold positive views about students with diverse backgrounds, view themselves as change agents, and embrace constructivist views of teaching and learning (Villegas & Lucas, 2002). However, research suggests that a limited number of teachers are efficacious in implementing CRT (Ladson-Billings, 2001) and carry the characteristics of a culturally responsive teacher (Gay, 2018). ...
... Therefore, CRT and culturally responsive teachers should be indispensable components of Turkish education to ensure the inclusion and achievement of all students and promote social justice. However, research conducted both internationally (Banks & Banks, 2015;Gay, 2018;Ladson-Billings, 2001) and domestically (Çalışkan, 2019;Karatas & Oral, 2015;Zorba, 2020) indicates that a majority of teachers resort to teaching methods lacking sensitivity to cultural values. It is evident from the literature that one of the most pressing needs, both abroad (Banks, 2015b;Gay, 2018;Sleeter, 2012) and in Türkiye (Acar-Çiftçi & Paksoy, 2017;Polat & Kılıç, 2013) is to train teachers capable of offering CRT. ...
... Kültüre duyarlı öğretmenler öğrencilerini tanır, yüksek düzeyde sosyo-kültürel farkındalığa sahiptir, çeşitli arka planlara sahip öğrenciler hakkında olumlu görüşlere sahiptir, değişime ön ayak olabilecek bireyler olarak kendilerini görürler ve öğretme ve öğrenme konularında yapılandırmacı görüşleri benimserler (Villegas ve Lucas, 2002). Ancak, araştırmalar, sınırlı sayıda öğretmenin etkili bir şekilde Kültürlere Duyarlı Öğretim yapabildiğini (Ladson-Billings, 2001) ve kültürlere duyarlı bir öğretmenin özelliklerini taşıdığını göstermektedir (Gay, 2018). Kültürlere duyarlı öğretim yapabilecek öğretmenleri hazırlamak hem bugünün hem de yarının çözüm bekleyen önemli bir sorunudur (Villegas ve Lucas, 2002). ...
Thesis
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Drawing on the need of teaching culturally diverse students, I employ a sequential exploratory mixed methods design to identify novice EFL teachers’ Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) needs and explore the transversal skills for developing a culturally responsive EFL teaching habitus. The quantitative part of the study is related to identifying the level of CRT needs while the qualitative part involves developing the data collection instrument, delving into the needs, and exploring the transversal skills. Through employing cluster random sampling, the study involves 229 novice EFL teachers in Ankara, Türkiye. The data collection includes informal and cognitive interviews to develop the primary data collection tool and its scoring rubric, Culturally Responsive English Teaching Needs Assessment with Vignettes (CRETNAV), an open-ended survey tool to identify teachers’ needs. I also utilise field notes, memos, and focus group interviews with experts. I employ inductive content analysis and descriptive statistics to analyse the data. In addition, a panel of five experts are employed to consult their expertise during the exploration of the transversal skills based on the identified needs. Data collection and analyses procedures occur between 2022 and 2024. Findings reveal a large spectrum of CRT needs of novice EFL teachers. As a result, the study identifies a set of transversal skills necessary for developing a culturally responsive EFL teaching habitus under four major teacher learning zones, namely culturally responsive caring, culturally responsive knowledgebase, culturally responsive instruction, and culturally responsive awareness for developing a culturally responsive EFL teaching habitus within the cultural context of Türkiye.
... Moreover, Ladson-Billings (2002) asserts that CRL is pivotal in facilitating teachers' and students' intellectual, social, and emotional growth, creating a positive school culture and climate. This is achieved through the adept use of cultural references to transmit knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Ladson-Billings, 2002). ...
... Moreover, Ladson-Billings (2002) asserts that CRL is pivotal in facilitating teachers' and students' intellectual, social, and emotional growth, creating a positive school culture and climate. This is achieved through the adept use of cultural references to transmit knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Ladson-Billings, 2002). Influential educational leaders in diverse communities also create organizational structures that foster positive teacher-student relationships, promote students' socioemotional growth, and nurture a conducive school culture (Bower et al., 2015;Jennings & Greenberg, 2009;Leyden & Shale, 2012). ...
Article
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Amaç: Öğrenciler, öğretmenler ve eğitim liderleri arasındaki anlamlı kültürel bağların eksikliği, Siyah/Afrikalı Amerikalı ve Hispanik öğrenci popülasyonlarının akademik başarısızlığına katkıda bulunan önemli bir faktördür. Bu kopukluk, akademik başarı farkını daha da kötüleştirerek öğrencilerin ilerlemesini ve gelecek beklentilerini engeller. Etkili eğitim liderliğinin araştırmaya dayalı en iyi uygulamalarında kültürel olarak duyarlı liderliğin rolüne odaklanan literatürün sistematik bir incelemesi sağlanacaktır. Yöntemler: Bu çalışma, Sistematik İncelemeler ve Meta-Analizler için Tercih Edilen Raporlama Öğeleri'ni (PRISMA) kullanarak sistematik literatürü sunar. Aşağıdaki temel kavramlar için titiz bir arama yürütülmüştür: etkili eğitim liderliği, etkili okul liderliği uygulamaları, çeşitli öğrenci popülasyonları için liderlik ve kültürel olarak duyarlı liderlik. Sonuçlar, araştırma tabanlı liderlik uygulamalarını tanımlamak için kullanılan güncel terminolojinin bir özetini oluşturmak için kullanılmıştır. Sistematik literatür incelemesi için metodoloji titiz ve şeffaftır ve birincil araştırmalarda kullanılan standartlara benzerdir. Bulgular: Sonuçlar, kültürel olarak duyarlı liderliğin etkili eğitim liderliğine ve etkili okul liderliği uygulamalarına katkısının sınırlı olduğunu, her birinden yalnızca bir kez bahsedildiğini göstermektedir. Buna karşılık, çeşitli öğrenci grupları için etkili liderlik incelendiğinde, kavram daha sık ortaya çıkmış ve dört kez görülmüştür. Araştırma ve Uygulama İçin Sonuçlar: Bulgularımız, kültürel olarak duyarlı liderliğin etkili okul liderliği için temel bir beceri seti olarak eğitim araştırmalarına dahil edilmesi gerektiğini önermektedir. Önemi, çeşitliliği ele almanın ötesine uzanır; kapsayıcılığı teşvik etmek ve tüm öğrenci grupları için eğitim sonuçlarını geliştirmek için kapsamlı bir yaklaşımın altını çizer.
... As Whiteness is often perceived as the norm, teachers might be unaware that they have privileges (Garner, 2007). The denial or discomfort of White privilege may arise from a lack of critical consciousness where teachers might struggle to recognise the impact of their behaviour on students from ethnic minority groups (Ladson-Billings, 2001;Picower, 2009). As a result, teachers who feel threatened might try and dismiss accusations of ethnic discrimination as being illegitimate (Teixeira et al., 2020). ...
... For example, teacher training should comment on how certain types of responses (learning opportunity, mediator role) might have beneficial outcomes for students and might also help teacher to maintain authority and good class management and avoid conflict while sustaining their teaching activities. Additionally, to foster the critical awareness of teachers, training should involve counterstorytelling, which refers to sharing contrasting stories and experiences that provide alternative perspectives and disrupt traditional educational narratives (Ladson-Billings, 2021). These stories aim to shed light on the experiences of historically oppressed groups. ...
Article
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While most research has focussed on the experiences and consequences of ethnic discrimination for students, little is known about how teachers respond to ethnic discrimination. Teachers’ responses are important as they may affect the outcomes of ethnic discrimination for students. Additionally, many studies have shown that teachers find it difficult to respond or talk about these issues but we know very little about how they act or address these challenges. Using a qualitative sample of 48 teachers, 23 students and four headteachers, this study explores (1) how secondary school teachers respond to ethnic discrimination and (2) what might explain variability in their responses. We found that teachers vary in their responses to incidents of ethnic discrimination between students (or incidents in which the teacher was a third party) in comparison with accusations of ethnic discrimination (or incidents in which the teacher was a main protagonist). When teachers responded to incidents of ethnic discrimination, they generally treat it as a learning opportunity and expect students to be ‘calm’, ‘open‐minded’, ‘reflective’, ‘respectful’ and ‘communicative’. However, when teachers become the centre of the debate and are accused of discriminatory behaviour, they do not apply these criteria but deny or downplay the allegations. Differences in teachers’ responses were related to background characteristics (years of teaching experience, school context, ethnic background, subject of teaching), role perceptions, basic needs for teaching, perceptions of students and a fear of being perceived as a racist.
... The vast majority of current public school teachers in the United States identify racial-ethnically as White (approximately 80%; Taie & Lewis, 2022). As the percentage of non-White students in public schools grows, these teachers increasingly find themselves teaching in cross-race contexts (Ladson-Billings, 2001). Even in schools where most students are from minoritized backgrounds (hereafter, "majority-minoritized schools"), 70% of teachers are White (Yeager et al., 2017). ...
... For example, past research has shown that White teachers give more critical feedback to Black students when they feel supported by administrators (Harber et al., 2010). Additionally, culturally responsive teaching involves becoming familiar with the prior knowledge and experiences of ethnically diverse students and then using that information to enhance teaching and learning (Gay, 2010; see also Ladson-Billings, 2001). Training and supporting teachers in culturally responsive teaching would presumably lower new White teachers' anxiety about teaching in cross-race contexts and improve their wellbeing and instruction. ...
Article
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Within psychology, efforts to address racial-ethnic disparities in students’ academic outcomes have focused primarily on students themselves. But there is another important person in classrooms: the teacher. In the United States, most racial-ethnically minoritized students are taught by White teachers. Drawing on research on cross-race interactions, we argue that for White teachers—especially those new to the profession—this dynamic is likely to elicit psychological threat, which then undermines their relationships with students, their well-being, and their effectiveness as an instructor. We hypothesized that values affirmation, a technique to mitigate threat and stress, could improve these outcomes. We randomly assigned White public school teachers (N = 109) at schools serving predominantly minoritized students to complete a values affirmation exercise or a matched control exercise in the fall of their first year of teaching. Five months later, affirmed teachers reported greater well-being and better teacher–student relationships than their control counterparts, and their classrooms were rated as more rigorous and more supportive of students’ academic growth by trained observers.
... Responding to fast growing diversity in the student population, Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) has become one of the approaches to respond to calls for access, equity, and empowerment for each and every student regardless of their personal background or characteristics (NCTM, 2010;. While a large body of literature concerns culturally relevant or culturally responsive pedagogies in education settings (Gay, 2010;Ladson-Billings, 2001), very little attention was given to culturally responsive mathematics teaching (Thomas & Berry, 2019). Hence, this study examined how a group of preservice teachers (PTs) integrate CRT approaches in their mathematics lesson design. ...
... Teachers have more success when they teach through the lens of the students' cultural framework and provide learning contexts relevant to students' knowledge, interests, and experiences, because student learning is comprised of many factors, including culture, language, and social class (Gay, 2010;Ladson-Billings, 1994, 2001. To be successful with culturally responsive teaching, teachers should understand and respect students' cultural beliefs and values. ...
Article
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The Ohio Journal of Teacher Education (OJTE) Bullying remains a problem as pervasive and complex with fatal and long-lasting impacts. This study investigated the effects of Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (PBIS) on bullying in middle and secondary schools. The qualitative case study used content analysis by reviewing 200 PBIS journal articles. The authors selected and used descriptive coding for ten peer-reviewed articles resulting in six overall themes: PBIS is a comprehensive multitiered framework, sustaining a positive school climate, punitive to proactive discipline approach, building a positive school community, responsive leadership, management, and monitoring, and adhering to a sustained and integrated system. PBIS is not a solution but provides a systemic framework to address bullying through a cohesive and holistic approach through a tiered interventions system.
... Teaching is a varied journey filled with diverse experiences, challenges, and substantial growth opportunities (Ladson-Billings, 2004). It is an individual path for each educator, influenced not just by instructional methods but also by personal narratives that intertwine with the professional domain. ...
Article
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This article employs narrative inquiry to investigate the experiences of an English teacher, referred to as Dede (pseudonym), at a senior high school in West Java, Indonesia. The research question guiding this study is: ‘How does an English teacher in senior high school navigate and adapt his teaching approaches in response to curriculum changes in Indonesia?’ Using a semi-structured interview, this study provides a detailed analysis of Dede’s narratives to uncover the challenges faced by English educators in this setting and to highlight the sources of their motivation and dedication. The research focuses on four main themes: teaching journey; public versus private schools; curriculum stories; and policy and practice. The findings reveal the complex obstacles and dynamic changes in curriculum that English teachers navigate, offering valuable insights into the broader context of senior secondary education in Indonesia. By exploring Dede’s teaching path, this study contributes to the ongoing discussion of effective teaching strategies and the evolving landscape of English language education in West Java.
... Developing such consciousness involves educators supporting students in asking broad questions about how schools and society expose social injustice. For example, Ladson-Billings (2001) recounted elementary students facing an ethical dilemma after learning the chain restaurant from which their district ordered pizza was owned by a corporation with ties to a repressive government in Asia. After discussion, students chose to share what they knew about the pizza chain's ties with the rest of the school and to encourage the district to select a different restaurant. ...
Article
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Historically, scholars in the fields of culturally responsive-sustaining education and student engagement have operated in separate silos, limiting their abilities to foster meaningful and significant change in education. In this conceptual article, we call for scholars in both fields to integrate their scholarship for the purposes of more fully enhancing students’ experiences and learning in schools. To do so, we provide overviews of key ideas in both fields and outline some limitations and challenges that could be addressed by integrating the fields. We also illustrate the synergy and alignment between these fields by using a recently developed tool from the New York State Education Department, The Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education Framework, to demonstrate how the principles of culturally responsive-sustaining education align closely with the fundamental needs for human engagement outlined in 70 years of psychological research on student engagement. We argue that the integration of these two fields will support implementation of culturally responsive-sustaining education in ways that will positively and meaningfully engage all students in K-12 schools.
... En un alto porcentaje, su destino fue la calle o la cárcel. Estudios denominan este fenómeno como "Tubería de la escuela a la prisión" (Casella, 2003;Ladson, 2001;Morgan, 2021). Esto condujo a una reflexión conjunta de docentes, padres y estudiantes que se enfocó en buscar una alternativa a los métodos tradicionales de disciplina y resolución de conflictos. ...
Article
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En este artículo resaltamos la necesidad de transformación de la escuela en países que transitan por una etapa de posconflicto, como Colombia. Uno de los aspectos esenciales de dicha transformación atraviesa la forma misma en que ejercemos la justicia en el contexto educativo. En ese sentido, proponemos una reflexión sobre dos corrientes de justicia: la justicia retributiva y la justicia restaurativa en el contexto escolar, haciendo énfasis en esta última. Sostenemos que, en un país como el nuestro, donde el conflicto armado ha sido negado por décadas y hasta cierto punto ha permeado nuestra forma de relacionarnos con el otro, es fundamental que la escuela y el docente se impliquen en esta transformación. El paso de un modelo de justicia a otro en el contexto escolar no ha sido fácil en Colombia. Sin embargo, a través del compromiso de los docentes se ha logrado concretar experiencias exitosas de implementación de la justicia escolar restaurativa. Concluimos que la figura del docente es esencial para la construcción de una cultura de paz.
... Je třeba otevírat diskuze, jakým způsobem je toto vylučující pro učitele z řad přistěhovalců, kteří by mohli jinak nabídnout své kompetence žákům v inkluzivním prostředí. Z toho také vyplývá, že jejich znalosti o tom, jak se vyrovnat s jazykovou a kulturní rozmanitostí a jaké problémy jsou spojeny s výukou cizího jazyka v roli přistěhovalců, nemohou být aktivně využity ve výuce (Ladson-Billings, 2001). Existují však i určité snahy, jak tomuto vývoji čelit. ...
Book
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Monografie UČITEL jako spolutvůrce inkluzivní školy: Vzdělávání žáků s potřebou podpory z důvodu odlišných kulturních a životních podmínek otevírá z několika úhlů pohled na problematiku vzdělávání a výchovy dětí z rodin ze sociálně znevýhodněného prostředí, především pak z romských rodin.
... that makes connections to what students know and like (Brown, 2007;Irvine & Armento, 2001;Ladson-Billings, 2001;Villegas & Lucas, 2002). But that just sounds like good teaching, right (Ladson-Billings, 1995)? ...
Chapter
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... Guidance and counseling programs form the bedrock of academic success (Asikhia, 2010) (Kayode & Ayodele, 2015). These programs play a pivotal role in addressing the diverse and complex challenges that students face during their academic journey (Edelson et al., 1999)(Ladson-Billings, 2004. Whether it's academic, personal, emotional, or social issues, the guidance and counseling programs in schools are designed to offer students the support and resources they need to overcome these challenges and succeed in their educational pursuits. ...
Article
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This research evaluation investigates the influence of guidance and counseling programs in school settings, focusing on their effects on student well-being, academic performance, and the overall school environment. A mixed-methods approach was employed, encompassing quantitative data analysis and qualitative insights. The quantitative analysis yielded significant results, demonstrating a marked improvement in academic performance among students who actively engaged with counseling programs. Furthermore, these students exhibited a noteworthy rise in attendance rates, attending school 10% more regularly than their peers who did not participate in counseling. The qualitative analysis offered deeper insights, revealing personal growth as a recurrent theme among students. Participants cited the development of problem-solving skills, increased self-esteem, and enhanced self-confidence as critical outcomes. Additionally, improved interpersonal relationships and a harmonious school environment were reported, indicating a broader impact on the school community. The commitment to inclusivity and equity underscored the need to ensure that all students, regardless of their background or circumstances, have equal access to counseling services. This inclusivity promotes a more equitable educational environment. These findings carry implications for the field of guidance and counseling in schools. They underscore the pivotal role of counselors in fostering student success, both academically and emotionally. The results call for a holistic approach to student development, emphasizing the importance of early intervention, inclusivity, and creating positive school cultures. This research offers a pathway to strengthening guidance and counseling programs, ultimately enhancing the educational experience for students. It serves as a catalyst for the field, driving the evolution of guidance and counseling to create a nurturing and inclusive educational environment where every student can thrive academically and emotionally.
... Racial literacy (Guinier & Torres, 2002) sees race as relevant to all aspects of social life and constantly interrogates the dynamic relationships among race, class, geography, gender, and other explanatory variables that contribute to racialized outcomes. Culturally responsive practices require practitioners to develop a nuanced, reflective and critical social consciousness and cultural competence about race, power, and privilege in society (Ladson-Billings, 2001). Collectively, the two strategies engage with the effects of race and class differences and broader social forces on practice. ...
Thesis
Please cite as: Kramarczuk Voulgarides, C., (2015) DOES COMPLIANCE MATTER? SPECIAL EDUCATION LAW AND RACIAL DISPROPORTIONALITY. New York University. This study attempted to better understand how legal regulations designed to protect all students with disabilities inadvertently furthers educational inequality for culturally and linguistically diverse students, as evidenced by racial disproportionality. I used sociological organizational theory, with a focus on neo-institutional theory and legal endogeneity, to view IDEA as a central organizing force of school district actions, in conjunction with an ethnographic research approach, to expose a space between the intent of law and its interpretation to practice. This is a crucial space to understand because it allows for deeper questioning into why and how a well-intentioned law, IDEA, has failed to abate racial and ethnic disproportionality since its inception. I investigated how practitioners – more specifically Local Education Agency (LEA) leaders – use, interpret, and comply with IDEA when attempting to remedy racial disproportionality in their school district. It explored how legally mandated equity has been interpreted in practice and how legal mandates have related to the entrenched complexities and inequities of the American educational system. The following research questions guided this study: *In what ways does legal compliance to federal and state special education law relate to the occurrence of disproportionality? *Is compliance to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) a remedying or contributing factor to disproportionality? *When districts are cited for being disproportionate, what drives organizational and administrative decisions and responses? *What becomes prioritized by district representatives, administrators and teachers when trying to mediate a citation for being disproportionate and how is this related to the social context of a district? *How do the individual perspectives of administrators, teachers, and school personnel contribute to or sustain a specific interpretation and understanding of disproportionality? The study is organized into seven chapters. The first introduces the issue of disproportionality, outlines common theories and research on disproportionality, and explains how I used sociological theory to explore the social mechanisms and processes that underlie its persistence. The second chapter broadly describes IDEA, its central tenants and mechanisms, how it is translated to practice in the state in which research was conducted, and what federal and state disproportionality monitoring indicators look like. The chapter also provides a context for how IDEA is referred to in the data chapters. The third chapter outlines the rationale and methods of the study, site selection, and the strategies used to analyze the data. Chapters IV, V, and VI are individual case studies that explore what addressing disproportionality looked like in practice. synthesizes the commonalties and differences between the three case studies and makes a broader comparative point on how disproportionality is addressed in varying local contexts. It also theoretically summarizes the data analysis and concludes the dissertation. Interview protocols are also included.Selected dissertation chapters with research questions, theoretical framing, methods, and protocols used.
... Aspects they considered in their planning included audience, key understandings, vocabulary, and specific activities and interactions before, during, and after reading the text. May, Bingham, and Pendergast (2014) developed a framework for culturally and linguistically relevant read alouds, which involved considering text selection and classroom talk at the intersection of Ladson-Billings (1995, 2001)'s three pillars of culturally relevant teaching: cultural competence, high academic expectations, and taking a critical stance. ...
Chapter
Critical reading and critical literacy are skills that preservice teachers need to cultivate not only in their future students, but also in their own literacy practices. Picturebooks have the unique power to facilitate critical reading and critical literacy with preservice teachers. This chapter analyzes critical reading, critical literacy, and the power of picturebooks and then presents three approaches for using picturebooks to develop critical reading and critical literacy skills with preservice teachers: (1) field-based coursework with multicultural children's literature, (2) analyzing voices and perspectives in read-alouds, and (3) analyzing wordless picturebooks. Through intentional use of picturebooks in educator preparation programs, preservice teachers can gain the expertise necessary to use picturebooks to craft their own critical classrooms.
... Essential to novice teachers' development of their capacity to effect change in the form of, for example, advocating for EBLs' access to advanced coursework and overall opportunities to learn, is the development of knowledge related to why and how EBLs have been excluded from these opportunities in the first place (Ladson-Billings, 2001;López, 2017;Lucas et al., 2015)-that is, learning to read the world to transform it (Freire, 1970). We draw from López' (2017) conception of critical awareness and from Ladson Billings' (2001) concept of sociopolitical consciousness to frame our analysis of teachers' understandings of the structural and institutional conditions that impede EBLs' opportunities to learn science: We view structural awareness as "an understanding of the sociohistorical influences on traditionally marginalized students' trajectories" (López, 2017, p. 193) along with knowledge of "the larger sociopolitical context of the school-community-nation-world" (Ladson-Billings, 2001, p. 120). ...
Article
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In this study, we explore how preservice secondary science teachers articulated their agency and structural awareness within racist–nativist policy and schooling environments that limit emergent bilingual students' opportunities to learn science. Our praxis‐oriented analysis led us to characterize novice teacher participants' discursive positionings within this structure–agency dialectic—that is, what it means to teach science well with emergent bilingual learners in the context of structural exclusions—as deficit, distancing, or discerning. We then discuss how these preservice teacher positionings were a function of tension management for working within the structure–agency dialectic. In our discussion, we refer to this phenomenon as praxis crisis , that is, the disjuncture between theory and practice that occurs as teachers negotiate the real and perceived constraints of their work. We consider how the concept of praxis crisis that emerged from our work can be a critical dialogic tool for transformative learning in science teacher education research and practice, and how a praxis‐oriented methodological approach can support more expansive and nuanced understandings of teacher learning.
... Intercultural competence is composed of five elements: knowledge, attitudes, interpreting and relating skills, discovery and interaction skills, and critical cultural awareness (Byram, 2009). Culturally competent leaders or educators are not only cognizant of their own culture but are also intimately aware of the cultures of the students with whom they interact (Ladson-Billings, 2001). Such educators develop consciousness and 'knowledge of the larger socio-political contexts of the school, community, nation, and world' (p. ...
... In this case, aside from the legal and practical implications for those who are training to work directly with individuals with ASD, this course was developed to embrace multifaceted cultural outreach and diversity. Regarding the most common notion of diversity, most of the university students were placed in settings in which the children came from socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds that differed from their own (Larson-Billings, 2001). Additionally, while it may seem unusual to couch the study of ASD in cultural terms, neurotypical individuals have a worldview, and experience life, in a way that is quite foreign to those with ASD. ...
Article
Purpose This paper discusses the elements of successful university-level, cross-disciplinary course development using best practices to foster richer relational networks and to meet the complex demands of education and treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Design/methodology/approach The three authors created and taught a class on best practices in autism nine times. The authors assessed the knowledge base and attitudinal changes of undergraduates (most in psychology, speech pathology and audiology, and education) for two of the nine cohorts who were being prepared to work with individuals with ASD. Findings Pre- and postmeasures indicated significant improvement in knowledge and a predisposition to working in interdisciplinary teams. Anecdotally, a number of students indicated in course evaluations that this was their best undergraduate course. Practical implications The program development and research have pertinent implications for faculty who are preparing students for professions in which teamwork will be expected, for faculty preparing students to work with individuals with ASD and for any faculty who wish to engage in cross-disciplinary, collaborative teaching. Originality/value This is a unique look at best practices of college course development and best practices of the multiple professional fields for which students were being prepared. It was done across three different colleges within a university.
... Although the acquisition of intercultural competence is one of the main goals of prospective teachers' education, international research (Ladson-Billings, 2001;Villegas & Lucas, 2002, Gay, 2010 highlights that a significant number of teachers continue to discriminate towards students who do not belong to the dominant ethno-cultural group. Many teachers continue to express opinions about the assimilation of 'other' students and/or support perceptions and practices compatible with cultural deficit theories (Banks & McGee Banks, 2004). ...
Article
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The following is a presentation of a conceptual approach to a study addressing the situation of displaced international teachers and their perception of language belonging. The targeted teachers are being trained to be able to (re-)enter into their professions as teachers in German schools in a current project “Lehrkräfte Plus” in North Rhine Westfalia (NRW), Germany.
... Considering potentials of CRP for children (Gay, 2000;Ladson-Billings, 2001;Milner, 2016), I recognized the need for a tool to challenge my pedagogical choices. The following framework (Table 1) contains questions that do this and provoke me to think critically about what I am teaching, the resources I select, and how I might use the materials to embrace students' worldviews and cultural specificity (Leonard et al., 2014). ...
Article
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This article explores the potential of using children's literature in elementary mathematics classrooms as contexts for students to understand more fully the issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion. Informed by culturally responsive pedagogy, opportunities to link children's literature to mathematics education create cultural relevance for students and inspire confidence. An analytic framework for selecting and using children's literature provides a promising tool for teachers to question their resource choices and develop more culturally responsive pedagogy. Suggestions for resources that honor students' cultural identities, backgrounds, and languages offer teachers possibilities for building relationships, thinking mathematically, reading the world, and integrating for learning.
... Although the acquisition of intercultural competence is one of the main goals of prospective teachers' education, international research (Ladson-Billings, 2001;Villegas & Lucas, 2002, Gay, 2010 highlights that a significant number of teachers continue to discriminate towards students who do not belong to the dominant ethno-cultural group. Many teachers continue to express opinions about the assimilation of 'other' students and/or support perceptions and practices compatible with cultural deficit theories (Banks & McGee Banks, 2004). ...
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... Karşılıklı olarak, çok kültürlü eğitim literatürü de sınıf yönetimi konularını görmezden gelme eğiliminde olmuştur. Alan yazında kültürel değerlere duyarlı pedagoji çerçevesinde daha çok müfredat içeriği ve öğretim stratejilerine odaklanılmış (Gay, 2010;Ladson-Billings, 1994, 2001; sınıf yönetimine ilişkin diğer konular (fiziksel ortamın düzenlenmesi, davranış beklentilerinin tanımlanması ve öğretilmesi, küçük çatışmaların büyük çatışmalara dönüşmesinin engellenmesi ve ailelerle iletişim kurulması) derinlemesine incelenmemiştir. Kültürel değerlere duyarlı pedagojinin birincil hedefinin akademik, yani kültürel olarak farklı öğrencilerin başarılarını artırmak olması alan yazının daha çok bu konu üzerine eğilmesine sebep olmuştur (Banks, 2000). ...
... This equates to 54 percent of students in the U.S. public schools being of color while 79 percent of the teaching population being white, non-Hispanic. Ladson-Billings (2001), culture is a complex concept, and few teachers have an opportunity to explore it as it requires that teachers become aware of their own culture and the role it plays in their lives. ...
Chapter
This chapter begins with a brief outline of the current Japanese educational system as understood by the author and demonstrates a human need for improved general well-being and inter-personal pedagogy particularly since COVID-19. The term social emotional learning (SEL) was simultaneously introduced in the mid-1990s to the West, while the term having a Zest for Life was promoted in Japan. Policies in Japan have attempted to keep in line with current Western trends in education, yet a gap between policy and practice persists. There are three key areas highlighted—high-stakes testing, enhancing inter-cultural communication, and finding voice—where further implementation of SEL resources and practices could improve outdated approaches and ease social tensions in Japan. This chapter concludes with the hope of inter-connectedness through reading, writing, open resources, and adaptation in classroom practices that would lead to greater understanding of what it means to become a global citizen.
... Discutir ação em um ambiente de aprendizagem nas aulas de matemática cria possibilidades para que a matemática contribua para que os estudantes criem estratégias e atuem no mundo em que vivem. A ação como componente essencial da educação tem sido destacada por diversos autores no campo da educação (LADSON-BILLINGS, 2001, FREIRE, 2014MACEDO, 2015) e da educação matemática (GUTSTEIN, 2006;FRANKENSTEIN, 2005;FRANKENSTEIN, 1994;1997). Consideramos que todo ser humano pode contribuir, mesmo que em nível local, para a construção de uma sociedade mais justa e democrática. ...
Article
Uma das preocupações da Educação Matemática Crítica diz respeito a formas de comunicação nos espaços de aprendizagem. Para promover reflexões sobre essa questão, Skovsmose (2000) apresenta seis ambientes de aprendizagem, em que diferencia a abordagem do paradigma do exercício da abordagem de cenários para investigação. Este artigo apresenta reflexões sobre estes ambientes de aprendizagem e propõe a ampliação das possibilidades de desenvolver conceitos relacionados à Educação Matemática Crítica em aulas de matemática. Tal ampliação inclui a ideia de além das referências à matemática pura, semirrealidade e a realidade, que os cenários façam referência às possibilidades, destacando assim situações de aprendizagem que não se referem à realidade de fato, mas que consideram situações que poderiam acontecer. Também faz parte da nossa proposta considerar, além da abordagem do paradigma do exercício e cenários para investigação, a investigação controlada e direcionada pelo professor, e a abordagem dos cenários para ação, em que os estudantes são convidados a transformar a realidade em que vivem. Ao longo do texto apresentamos alguns exemplos de como esses ambientes poderiam ser constituídos. De modo geral, esperamos que este artigo contribua para as discussões acerca da Educação Matemática Crítica no contexto escolar.
... Despite the technological progress in the classrooms, learning outcome of students still can be limited for minority students as racial membership affects the teacher-student interactive engagement (Ladson-Billings 2001;McIntyre 1997). In some cases, black students perceived that they would not be welcomed by white individuals (Tatum, 1992). ...
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The purpose of this quantitative study was to understand how the strength of racial identity moderates the effects of the teacher-student racial similarity and dissimilarity on the engaging behavior of students with their instructors in United States classrooms. This study questioned the prevalent assumption that similarity and dissimilarity predicted the nature of interaction and established the following primary hypothesis: the effect of similarity and dissimilarity in racial identity between teacher and students on the level of classroom engagement will depend on the students’ strength of social identification with race. 114 students participated in an online survey which was administered through Qualtrics. The results showed that the moderating effect was significant, but there was not enough evidence to support the effect at high and low levels of identification.
... From anti-racism training to culturally responsive pedagogies, post-secondary instructor professional development efforts have emerged largely from the same arena as K-12 teacher education: psychology. Yet there is another area of the academy from which professional educators can draw insight: anthropology (Ladson-Billings, 2001). Psychology tackles professional education through an approach based in a teacher's disposition, attempting to change it through focused reflection on behavior; social anthropology offers the idea of movement along a developmental continuum of orientation to differences through focus on relationships and communication. ...
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We report on work to explore instructor intercultural competence and its relationship with the effectiveness of mathematics teaching in post-secondary settings. Results are from quantitative and qualitative inquiry into the mathematical knowledge for teaching and intercultural orientations of 15 instructors and 476 of their undergraduate students. Instructors participated to varying degrees in a professional short-course for faculty learning to teach mathematics for future grade school teachers. The greatest learning gains among undergraduates were in the classes of those instructor-participants who completed short-course activities about interculturally responsive mathematical knowledge for teaching future teachers.
... The diverse literature on asset-based culturally informed pedagogies (e.g., culturally responsive teaching, culturally relevant pedagogy) is helpful in how it foregrounds the influence of cultural background, heritage, and practices on individual learning processes (e.g., Gay, 2018;Ladson-Billings, 1995, 2001Villegas & Lucas, 2002). For example, research in culturally responsive teaching (CRT) reveals how classroom activities that are personally meaningful such as teaching skills or academic knowledge in ways that connect to students' cultural knowledge, frames of reference and lived experiences increase their interest and offer support to culturally diverse learners (e.g., Gay, 2018). ...
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Research shows that culturally diverse students are often disengaged in multicultural classrooms. To address this challenge, literatures on self-regulated learning (SRL) and culturally responsive teaching (CRT) both document practices that foster engagement, although from different perspectives. This study examined how classroom teachers at schools that enrol students from diverse cultural communities on the West Coast of Canada built on a Culturally Responsive Self-Regulated Learning Framework to design complex tasks that integrated SRL pedagogical practices (SLPPs) and culturally-responsive pedagogical practices (CRPPs) to support student engagement. Two elementary school teachers and their 43 students (i.e., grades 4 and 5) participated in this study. We used a multiple, parallel case study design that embedded mixed methods approaches to examine how the teachers integrated SRLPPs and CRPPs into complex tasks; how culturally diverse students engaged in each teacher’s task; and how students’ experiences of engagement were related to their teachers' practices. We generated evidence through video-taped classroom observations, records of classroom practices, students’ work samples, a student self-report, and teacher interviews. Overall findings showed: (1) that teachers were able to build on the CR-SRL framework to guide their design of an CR-SRL complex task; (2) benefits to students’ engagement when those practices were present; and (3) dynamic learner-context interactions in that student engagement was situated in features of the complex task that were present on a given day. We close by highlighting implications of these findings, limitations, and future directions.
... McAfee astutely observed that successful facilitation of student learning necessitates the engagement of many skills. However, McAfee's work, like those of her peers (Ladson-Billings, 1995a, 1995b, 2001, 2009Oakes, 2005), has yet to influence the scholarship that informs classroom management significantly. ...
Article
The strict classroom control philosophy often adopted within public schools can have counterproductive effects on students, especially African Diaspora and Latinx students. Public schools should ideally provide quality instruction for all students. Unfortunately, teacher-centered practices reinforce stereotypes that African Diaspora and Latinx students are unruly and need institutionally imposed discipline and management, thereby undermining the mission of equitable educational achievement. Students, especially diverse urban students, would benefit from a shift in classroom management from strict control and discipline to student-centered inclusion and cooperative inquiry. We recommend distributive classroom management and examine the practice in the context of its enactment by stakeholders in one social studies classroom in the East New York Alternative Learning Center. Under this model, students demonstrated distributed classroom management actions that fostered improved classroom behaviors and expressions of group solidarity. Students maintained a fertile learning environment by proposing a distributive management practice during the research period. Additionally, students enacted the same approach in the classroom. The study’s findings suggest that teachers and students can integrate standard classroom management rules with transformative stakeholder-directed practices to benefit all participants.
... Besides, vocabulary choice must be close to children's context, like the environment in which they live and their objects. Therefore mastery in English linguistics is the main asset for an EFL teacher (Ladson, 1999;Timmerman, 20009;Feiman & Buchmann,1986;Ladson, 2004;Pinter, 2017). It is in line with Popper's view. ...
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Karl Popper's falsification epistemology theory that all science develops through conjectures and refutations have enormous implications for education, especially in teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL). TEFL to young learners is a challenge for pre-service teachers in non-home English countries. They should prepare to teach English while they also use English as a foreign language. Pre-service teachers focused on mastering language skills, whereas many preparatory processes they have to ensure before they take into the English teaching profession. Therefore, in this article, the authors assert that pre-service teachers should master linguistics proficiency, pedagogy knowledge, and literature as the means used in teaching English. Some theories and research findings have been discussed in teaching English to EFL children. However, the scope of discussion on pre-service teachers' preparation is fragmented among the uses of language skill and teaching discipline. Even they rarely explain how to teach language in a fun way through literary works. With a comprehensive literature review method, this article focuses more on conveying the author's ideas and thoughts discussing EFL pre-service teachers' preparation in teaching English to young learners with the Popperian approach. The popperian approach is considered to be more dynamic and open to ideas and opinions on policies in various fields, one of which is education.
... Kohli's emphasis on the impact of racism in the lives of teachers of Color during their K-12 education, teacher education programs, and classrooms calls us to start a new historical movement to normalize conversations around the mental health of American teachers of Color. Scholars (see Gay, 2018;Ladson-Billings, 1994, 1995a, 1995b, 2001 argue the need for culturally responsive teachers in urban schools, and I agree. We cannot improve our educational system by diversifying the teaching workforce and producing more culturally responsive teachers if we do not recognize that teachers of Color find themselves on a battlefield. ...
... Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a foundational understanding to how race, ability, gender, gender identity, and sexual orientation can be a primary lens through which to view data (Ladson-Billings, 2004;Tate, 1997;Wolfe, 2011). This is why CRT serves as the groundwork for other critical research lenses: LatCrit (Latinx critical race theory), DisCrit (Dissability Studies and Critical Race Theory), QueerCrit (queer critical perspective), and the like. ...
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This article highlights the ways justice-oriented activist teachers of Color nurture themselves professionally through their involvement in critical professional development through activist teacher networks. This study conducted narrative inquiries of 26 activist teachers of Color across the United States. The counter-stories told by the teachers in this study reflect critical intellectual engagement and highlight specific ways in which these organizations further teacher sustainability, nurturance, and social change. This unified portrait shows a unique interplay between support of moral purpose, intellectual inquiry, and democratic change.
... 125, 1997) is yet to be reviewed in the light of promoting inclusion or how this precludes immigrant pre-service teachers from offering their competence to students in an inclusive setting. This implies that their knowledge of coping with linguistic and cultural diversity, and the challenges of learning a foreign language as immigrants cannot be used actively in the learning environment (Ladson-Billings, 2001). This situation is similar in Iceland, although steps have been taken to discuss how teacher students with immigrant background, not fully proficient in Icelandic, can acquire teacher education credentials. ...
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The aim of this chapter is to examine whether policies on integration and education in The Faroe Islands are fit-for-purpose when viewed from dual lenses: the acknowledgement of the importance of ethnic cultural identity and heritage language (first language/mother tongue) of immigrant children and their inclusion through education towards integration in The Faroe Islands. The focus is on whether existing policies consider the pivotal relationship between language and identity in education for second generation immigrant children and immigrant children in compulsory schools, i.e., grades 1 to 9 to ensure that they have agency in Faroese society.
... 125, 1997) is yet to be reviewed in the light of promoting inclusion or how this precludes immigrant pre-service teachers from offering their competence to students in an inclusive setting. This implies that their knowledge of coping with linguistic and cultural diversity, and the challenges of learning a foreign language as immigrants cannot be used actively in the learning environment (Ladson-Billings, 2001). This situation is similar in Iceland, although steps have been taken to discuss how teacher students with immigrant background, not fully proficient in Icelandic, can acquire teacher education credentials. ...
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This chapter outlines an action research project conducted in a Social Studies classroom in a Senior Secondary School in South Sápmi, Sweden. The teacher researcher had noted that despite some of the students identifying as Sami, there was a lack of awareness about Sami history and culture, and that when Sami peoples were referred to it was often in discriminatory and derogatory terms. The unit of lessons aimed to increase the students’ knowledge of Sami life both historically and presently, and awareness of how prejudice and stereotyping are used to ‘other’ certain groups to justify exploitation and oppression. Using the ‘Educating yourself in Empowerment for Sustainability’ tool and designing leaner centred and collaborative activities this research found that when students’ knowledge of Sami life increases, their prejudicial ideas about Sami peoples decrease.
... 125, 1997) is yet to be reviewed in the light of promoting inclusion or how this precludes immigrant pre-service teachers from offering their competence to students in an inclusive setting. This implies that their knowledge of coping with linguistic and cultural diversity, and the challenges of learning a foreign language as immigrants cannot be used actively in the learning environment (Ladson-Billings, 2001). This situation is similar in Iceland, although steps have been taken to discuss how teacher students with immigrant background, not fully proficient in Icelandic, can acquire teacher education credentials. ...
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Sámi teacher education programs are core programs at the Sámi University of Applied Sciences, and have been since the establishment of the institution. Sámi teacher education programmes involve flexible teaching methods including online teaching, teaching at gatherings and through practicum periods at early childhood centres and primary schools. The aim of this chapter is to discuss Sámi teacher education as Indigenous higher education, in order to explore the cornerstones of Sámi teacher education. The method used in the present study combines content analyses and a narrative approach. Content analysis is a research tool used to analyse the official documents for teacher education programmes and programme syllabi at Sámi University of Applied Sciences. The narrative approach was selected in order to use personal experiences from Sámi teacher education. As an analytical tool the model of Madden’s (2015) pedagogical pathways in Indigenous teacher education were used. The pathways are learning from traditional Indigenous modes of teaching, pedagogy for decolonizing, Indigenous and antiracist education, and Indigenous and placed-based education. Traditions, traditional knowledge and traditional models of teaching, together with language, are central in Sámi teacher education. Sámi teacher education could also be viewed in connection to placed-based education. Decolonizing is part of the educators’ work to transform and implement traditional knowledge and culture-based teaching perspectives, and in educators’ work to deconstruct culture, history and Indigenous identity. The term “colonial” is not used explicitly. However even if the term is not present, colonialism is indirectly visible. The antiracist education is less visible. All the pathways are visible in Sámi teacher education, but to visualise in Sámi teacher education the cornerstones, the metaphor of the lávvu and three caggi , or poles, is used and the caggit are, in the Sámi language, árbediehtu , and girjás searvelatnja.
... 125, 1997) is yet to be reviewed in the light of promoting inclusion or how this precludes immigrant pre-service teachers from offering their competence to students in an inclusive setting. This implies that their knowledge of coping with linguistic and cultural diversity, and the challenges of learning a foreign language as immigrants cannot be used actively in the learning environment (Ladson-Billings, 2001). This situation is similar in Iceland, although steps have been taken to discuss how teacher students with immigrant background, not fully proficient in Icelandic, can acquire teacher education credentials. ...
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This chapter discusses collaborative action research carried out by the authors while preparing and teaching a professional development course to develop inclusive school practices. The purpose was to understand how a professional development course on inclusive education can be developed through a distance learning module for diverse participants. The authors discuss how they explored how they were able to be inclusive throughout the course as well as the insights they gained into how course participants developed their own inclusive practice and pedagogy.
... 125, 1997) is yet to be reviewed in the light of promoting inclusion or how this precludes immigrant pre-service teachers from offering their competence to students in an inclusive setting. This implies that their knowledge of coping with linguistic and cultural diversity, and the challenges of learning a foreign language as immigrants cannot be used actively in the learning environment (Ladson-Billings, 2001). This situation is similar in Iceland, although steps have been taken to discuss how teacher students with immigrant background, not fully proficient in Icelandic, can acquire teacher education credentials. ...
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Research on and knowledge about the Greenlandic school system is primarily based on quantitative, evaluative measures, such as grade point statistics. Though the aforementioned research is centred around schooling there is a lack of pedagogical research on schooling based on the voices of students and knowledge about what happens inside classrooms. This chapter describes the findings from a survey study of students’ experience of public schooling in Greenland. The goal of the study is to identify students’ perceptions of schooling and lessons and to broaden available knowledge on what schooling is in Greenland.
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Faculty professional development in international higher education institutions differs from such programs in secondary schools in that college faculty normally are required to add to the body of knowledge through published research. Depending on the distance from major higher education hubs in the US and UK, as well as the limited resources available, such faculty face more obstacles in trying to engage face-to-face with their colleagues from around the world. Generally, faculty development can take formal and often informal characteristics. The types of programs include theoretical programming, applied, and institutional. However, specific topics on college faculty development in addition to pedagogical, technological, and discipline-specific workshops, often include diversity training and adjunct faculty training. Increasingly international schools are adopting the model of Teaching and Learning Centers which are responsible for faculty development programs. Finally, international colleges often take advantage of regional consortia in order to share the costs of faculty professional development. The chapter outlines one international college’s PD program as an example.
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Article information Cap Go Meh is an Indonesian picture book with interreligious and multiethnic themes and has been translated to English and been awarded for promoting multiculturalism. Studies that focus on reader response to interreligious theme of children's literature are scarce. This study examines a reading engagement of a group of Muslim preservice to Cap Go Meh read aloud. Using a framework of reader response theory that pays attention to cultural influences including religions, this qualitative study posed a question: How do Indonesian Muslim preservice teachers respond to the multicultural story in Cap Go Meh. The respondents' writing responses generated two major themes. One was concerned with how the preservice teachers relate to Cap Go Meh and how its narrative leads to their reflections about diversity. The other one focused on how the participants might extend the story of Cap Go Meh and highlighted the preservice teachers' concerns with the role of adults (parents) in the story. Additional data from one participant could potentially show a case for furthering literary experiences using multicultural children's literature. The researchers note that responses to sensitive issues such as religious diversity occur mostly in a context where there is encouragement from teachers. In this case, it is crucial to highlight the importance of bringing multicultural children's literature like Cap Go Meh as a medium to discuss the lives and perspective of others.
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Critical consciousness is one of the hallmarks for the sustenance of the identity of a people. It is indispensable in developing epistemic rationality which is instrumental in fighting against ethnocentric tendencies of the people of the dominant culture who employ technical rationality to justify their supremacy. During the colonial era the societies guided by Unhu/Ubuntu philosophy engaged in critical consciousness about cultural transformations in order to maintain their cultural identity. The societies had an informal, insidious curriculum that was aimed at making their youngsters enrolled in the formal education institutions become conscious of the fact that the creators of texts and interpreters of the texts used in colonial institutions had ulterior motives that needed to be exposed by one who had been developed to become a critical thinker who could be engaged in critical literacy. A study was carried out about how critical consciousness was fostered in societies guided by Unhu/Ubuntu. A sample of ten elderly people of ages between sixty-five and ninety-five was purposively selected from Masvingo District in Zimbabwe and the informants were interviewed. The research findings are that critical consciousness in these societies was emphasized in their informal education system through philosophical sagacity and introspection on interactions with others in the socio-cultural, political and political spheres. Contemporary hybridized societies can have some insights from Unhu/Ubuntu nurturance of critical consciousness in learners. Keywords: critical consciousness; critical thinking; critical literacy; epistemic rationality; technical rationality; Unhu/Ubuntu curriculum
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This article emphasizes the benefits of effective diversity management in schools, highlighting how it contributes to positive intergroup relations, reduced incidents of bullying and discrimination, and improved student engagement and achievement. By creating inclusive learning environments, schools prepare students for the diverse and globalized world they will encounter beyond the classroom. To achieve effective diversity management, the article suggests several strategies. First, it emphasizes the importance of engaging families and communities from diverse backgrounds by collaborating with parents and guardians and partnering with community organizations and resources. These collaborative efforts build strong home-school partnerships, facilitate cultural understanding, and provide valuable support to meet diverse needs. The article also emphasizes the significance of hosting diversity events and celebrations that showcase different cultures and identities. These events offer opportunities for learning, appreciation, and intercultural dialogue. Additionally, workshops and seminars on diversity-related topics promote understanding and inclusive practices among students, families, and community members.
Chapter
The intent of this chapter is to explore culturally responsive pedagogical approaches that teachers can master in order to enhance the learning of every student in the classroom. Culturally responsive pedagogy is a gateway for educators to meet the South Africa National Department of Basic Education's goal of “equipping learners, irrespective of their socio-economic background, race, gender, physical ability or intellectual ability, with the knowledge, skills and values necessary for self-fulfillment, and meaningful participation in society.” The chapter explores research and best practices that undergird this concept, followed by a discussion of the process educators can take to inculcate these tenets into their everyday portfolio. Next, the reader is introduced to the five major tenets of culturally responsive pedagogy: level of trust, locus of control, asset thinking, expectations for students, and learning styles.
Article
Herein, we consider how we might support teacher candidates to meet the learning needs of an increasingly diverse student population, in part by encouraging candidates to draw from their own experiences to inform their developing teacher knowledge about multicultural education. We conducted a school-based, long-term narrative inquiry to explore complexities of multicultural teacher knowledge. We document ways in which two practicing teachers, William and Janine, drew from their experiences of diversity in their teaching, and schooling, to build their body of multicultural teacher knowledge that, in turn, informed their work with their students. We recognize the importance of acknowledging teacher candidates’ experiences in shaping their developing teacher knowledge, and argue for including it deliberately as essential to teacher education curriculum. Considering the potential of a professional knowledge community developed early in a teaching career—beginning in preservice programs—is a logical implication. We argue that a pragmatic intellectual space may provide such a framework for teacher preparation programs for exploring developing multicultural teacher knowledge. In this way, teacher candidates’ experiences are constructed and reconstructed through inquiry with theoretical foundations that may offer explanations for complex, interconnected influences shaping school systems.
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This chapter will explore a prospective alignment of out-of-school time (OST) and in-school SEL programming to afford students of color the opportunity to develop holistically within in-school and out-of-school settings where they may be disproportionally challenged by conditions of poverty, racial/ethnic stereotyping, history of failure, educator turnover, and a culture where there has been significant pessimism about their ability to be successful in an educational environment of rigorous standards and continuous standardized assessments. A research-based dual capacity building framework will be introduced that will allow for culturally-responsive SEL efforts to be coordinated and linked to in-school academics and in OST programming. The framework will allow for culturally responsive social emotional learning development to be learned, supported, and valued in dual contexts.
Article
Pervasive disparities in educational outcomes suggest the need to train teachers to better support minoritized students by leading inclusive, equitable, and multicultural classrooms. Given the potential benefits of teacher training in antiracist and culturally responsive instructional practices, we synthesized the available research on diversity training for both pre- and in-service teachers by conducting a scoping review of the literature. The results revealed a reliance on preservice teacher samples, qualitative designs, and self-report, immediately collected, attitudinal measures. The narrow scope of the available evidence base limits our ability to evaluate the extent to which diversity training for educators is reaching its diversity, equity, and inclusion goals. In advancing recommendations for future research, we advocate for the potential of school psychologists to use school-wide data to inform the development of diversity-related programming, implement evidence-based practices via ongoing consultation, and evaluate the effectiveness of these trainings in reference to meaningful student outcomes. Impact Statement The current review evaluated the extent to which diversity training among educators is effective in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion among students. Given the limitations of the available literature base, we advocate for school psychologists to leverage their expertise to better support the research and practice of diversity-related programming in school settings. Such work is instrumental toward promoting social justice and aligned with school psychologists’ ethical obligation to better support minoritized students (García-Vázquez et al., 2020 García-Vázquez, E., Reddy, L., Arora, P., Crepeau-Hobson, F., Fenning, P., Hatt, C., Hughes, T., Jimerson, S., Malone, C., Minke, K., Radliff, K., Raines, T., Song, S., & Strobach, K. V. (2020). School psychology unified antiracism statement and call to action. School Psychology Review, 49(3), 209–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/2372966X.2020.1809941[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). To facilitate these efforts, we end with a roadmap for the field to guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of effective school-based diversity training.
Article
Within the equity-centered teacher preparation literature, the learning of teacher candidates is often at the center of the conversation. Less prevalent are conversations about the equity-centered teacher educators who will be responsible for equity-centered teacher candidate preparation. The purpose of the study was to understand the development of the next generation of equity-centered teacher educators through doctoral preparation using a teacher knowledge framework coupled with a lens of critical consciousness and praxis. Interviews were utilized to understand the experiences of six doctoral student participants learning about equity-centered teacher education through their participation in various learning contexts within their doctoral program. Findings included the need for equity-centered teacher educators to 1) develop a theoretical basis for working with teacher candidates, 2) engage in consciousness-raising about past experiences and beliefs, and 3) have opportunities for praxis. These findings led to assertions that the next generation of equity-centered teacher educators need opportunities to construct multiple types of knowledge and opportunities to engage in praxis within their preparation. The findings have implications for essential components for preparing the next generation of equity-centered teacher educators.
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Student learning processes, including motivation and engagement, have been identified as malleable and situated in context. We have limited understanding about how to enhance motivation and engagement processes for culturally diverse learners in today’s multicultural classrooms. To support thinking about that challenge, this work built on research on both culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and self-regulated learning (SRL), each of which identifies pedagogical practices that enhance student engagement and motivation. This study examined how students at a culturally diverse independent elementary school in the West Coast of Canada participated in classroom context that integrated CRT and SRL-promoting practices. Specifically, this study examined culturally diverse learners’ engagement and motivation during a complex learning task. Data collected included classroom observations, practice records and documents, students’ work samples, and student interviews and student surveys. The results demonstrated: (1) above medium levels of engagement and motivation, among participants, that varied across specific contexts; and (2) associations between culturally diverse learners’ engagement and motivation; and complex learning context such as CRT and SRL-promoting practices. Implications for future research on culturally diverse students’ engagement as well as designing a complex task that integrated a culturally responsive teaching and self-regulated learning pedagogical practices to support engagement and motivation are discussed.
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This paper explores the experiences and perspectives of parents from minority-ethnic backgrounds concerning their children's education in primary and post-primary schools in Ireland. Five focus groups were conducted with 20 parents of non-White African and Asian backgrounds. Our findings demonstrate complex interactions and tensions between home and host cultures, parenting approaches and schooling experiences for both students and their families. Participating parents' accounts illustrate their strong interest in their children's education, their critical cultural consciousness and their desire to engage in dialogue with teachers. Positive teacher attitudes, teacher professional development, acceptance of/learning about differences and a more diverse teaching population emerged as key recommendations in parents' discussions regarding culturally inclusive learning environments. We argue that parents from minority-ethnic backgrounds are uniquely positioned to support the development of teachers' intercultural competencies and of inclusive education practices in schools. ARTICLE HISTORY
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