Stepping out of the norm: an examination of praxis for a culturally‐relevant pedagogy for African‐American children

2006 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Hastie ◽  
Ellen Martin ◽  
Alice M. Buchanan
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
African American Children ◽  
American Children ◽  
Relevant Pedagogy

Investigating the Effects of Culturally Relevant Texts on African American Struggling Readers’ Progress

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-30
Author(s):  
Kathleen F. Clark
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Reading Program ◽  
Matched Pair ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
African American Children ◽  
Achievement Gains ◽  
Instructional Texts ◽  
American Children

Background/Context In a recent review of culturally relevant instruction and reading comprehension, Fairbanks, Cooper, Masterson, and Webb (2009) highlighted the paucity of research available to support the widespread claim in the literacy field that “students’ social and cultural practices are deeply intertwined with literacy learning” (p. 600). They noted that few studies have examined comprehension as an outcome variable and that most studies have been qualitative and focused upon participation structures and interactional patterns. The research reported here addresses these deficiencies in the knowledge base. In two related studies, it quantitatively investigated the achievement gains of African American children enrolled in a 10-week after-school reading program given three text conditions—exclusive use of culturally relevant texts, exclusive use of non-culturally relevant texts, and intermittent use of culturally relevant texts. Purpose The purpose was to examine the influence of culturally relevant instructional texts on African American students’ reading gains. The first of the two studies investigated whether children who read culturally relevant texts exclusively for instruction would show a different pattern of reading gain than those who read texts that were not culturally relevant. The second investigated whether those who read culturally relevant texts exclusively would show a different pattern of gain than those who read them intermittently. Research Design The first study employed a quasi-experimental, control group design to evaluate reading progress given two conditions, exclusive use of culturally relevant instructional texts and exclusive use of texts that were not culturally relevant, while the second drew upon archival data and used a matched pair design to compare the reading gain of children in the first study's exclusively culturally relevant condition to that of children who attended the program in semesters not associated with the first study and who read culturally relevant instructional texts only intermittently in the program. Findings Across the studies, the analyses revealed that (a) the comprehension growth of children who read culturally relevant texts exclusively significantly outpaced that of peers who did not read them as well as those who read them intermittently, (b) the contextual word recognition growth of children who read culturally relevant texts exclusively significantly outpaced that of peers who did not read them and nearly significantly outpaced that of peers who read them intermittently, and (c) children's word recognition in isolation growth did not differ significantly. Conclusions The findings provide empirical support for perspectives that view students’ so-cio-cultural subjectivities as integral to learning. They demonstrate that instruction grounded in culturally relevant texts can produce superior achievement gains for African American children. The amount of instruction associated with the children who made superior gains in this research would be fairly easy to accommodate within schools. The results of this research indicate that it may be worth the effort.

Teaching through culture

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 203-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toni Denese Sturdivant ◽  
Iliana Alanís
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
African American ◽  
Classroom Environment ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
African American Children ◽  
Content Type ◽  
American Students ◽  
American Children

Purpose Oftentimes, attempts at culturally relevant early childhood practices are limited to diverse materials in the physical environment. The purpose of this study is to document the culturally relevant teaching practices, specifically for African American children, within a culturally diverse preschool classroom with a Black teacher. Design/methodology/approach The researchers used qualitative methodology to answer the following question: How does a Black preschool teacher enact culturally relevant practices for her African American students in a culturally diverse classroom? Data sources included field notes from classroom observations, transcripts from both formal and informal semi-structured interviews with a Master Teacher and photographs. Findings The authors found that the participant fostered an inclusive classroom community and a classroom environment that reflected the range of human diversity. She was intentional in her integration of culturally representative read alouds and lessons designed to incorporate students’ interests. Finally, she engaged families by facilitating their involvement in her curriculum. However, social justice aspects were absent during the time of the study. Originality/value This paper contributes to the literature in that it documents a high-quality early childhood classroom with a teacher, that is, actively trying to incorporate the cultures of her African American students. Many extant studies provide examples of superficial culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) being enacting in early childhood classrooms or the focus is not specifically on African American children.

Culturally Relevant and Meeting Academic Standards at the Same Time

2020 ◽  
pp. 17-28
Author(s):  
Ronald W. Whitaker II ◽  
Angela N. Campbell ◽  
Zakia Y. Gates ◽  
Lateefah Ellison-Metcalfe
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy ◽  
African American Students ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Academic Standards ◽  
Language Deficits ◽  
Teaching Math ◽  
American Students ◽  
Relevant Pedagogy

Over the last two decades, American students have been scoring higher on national math assessments. With that said, still problematic is the belief that African American students cannot excel in math do to various issues, including language deficits. Thus, in this chapter, through an on-going study, the authors argue for the utilization of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) and its significance in teaching math to African American students.

Where's the Race in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy?

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
H. Richard Milner Iv
Keyword(s):  
Language Arts ◽  
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy ◽  
English Language Arts ◽  
English Language ◽  
Culturally Relevant ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Pedagogical Practices ◽  
Successful Teachers ◽  
American Children ◽  
Relevant Pedagogy

Background/Context When Ladson-Billings described the pedagogical practices of successful teachers of African American children and consequently conceptualized culturally relevant pedagogy as an analytic resource to describe and make sense of pedagogical practices of teachers, her discussion was situated in a frame that examined instructional moves of teachers, especially with Black students. Since the introduction of this pedagogy, researchers and theorists have broadened Ladson-Billings's conceptualization to include various other factors. However, race is no longer as central as it was when the framework was introduced. Purpose/Objective I examine published literature on culturally relevant pedagogy in mathematics and English language arts that has considered race in some form. The purpose of this synthesis is to highlight patterns across the literature and to consider potential future areas of study to strengthen and encourage focused research on race and CRP. Setting I reviewed established literature to examine the intersections of race, culturally relevant pedagogy, and mathematics or English language arts. Research Design I analyzed research articles in the areas of mathematics and English language arts that examined race in some form between 2004–2014 to determine how race is situated and connected to the core of culturally relevant pedagogy. Conclusions/Recommendations Although race was a critical component of Ladson-Billings's conceptualization of culturally relevant pedagogy, research studies in the area demonstrate a marginal, at best, emphasis on race. Studies in the areas of mathematics and English language arts that do include race tend to focus on superficial aspects of race. Future studies should return to the root of the theory and include race as an essential component of empirical studies that draw from culturally relevant pedagogy as an analytic tool to describe pedagogical practices of teachers.

Final Consonant Deletion in African American Children Speaking Black English

1993 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Moran
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Black English ◽  
African American Children ◽  
Vowel Length ◽  
Minimal Pairs ◽  
Speech Evaluation ◽  
American Children

The purpose of this study was to determine whether African American children who delete final consonants mark the presence of those consonants in a manner that might be overlooked in a typical speech evaluation. Using elicited sentences from 10 African American children from 4 to 9 years of age, two studies were conducted. First, vowel length was determined for minimal pairs in which final consonants were deleted. Second, listeners who identified final consonant deletions in the speech of the children were provided training in narrow transcription and reviewed the elicited sentences a second time. Results indicated that the children produced longer vowels preceding "deleted" voiced final consonants, and listeners perceived fewer deletions following training in narrow transcription. The results suggest that these children had knowledge of the final consonants perceived to be deleted. Implications for assessment and intervention are discussed.

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