Promoting Inclusivity Through a Culturally Responsive Approach to Classroom Assessment Practices

Culturally responsive pedagogy is an approach to teaching that attempts to address the learning needs of students from marginalized or non-majority populations. While the concept of culturally responsive pedagogy has been practiced in various forms in educational institutions around the world, there is still a gap in how the principles of cultural responsiveness are authentically embedded in assessment practices, particularly in a way that encourages all students to actively engage in the learning process. The purpose of this chapter is to argue the necessity for culturally responsive teaching and to articulate specific ways in which teachers can integrate practices that promote anti-racism, encourage student voice, facilitate community discourse, eliminate inherent bias in grading practices, and mitigate barriers to accessibility.

Teachers as Agents of Change

Public school teachers in Switzerland often feel bound by decisions made by ministries of education as to materials used in the classroom. In teacher training, teachers are often taught superficially about reflective practices, equity, and equality, but in their training to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL), the focus is too often on the mechanical aspects of foreign language teaching and the examples provided are often not provocative enough to allow for an anti-bias stance to education. Yet this stance is a tenet of most national curricula and is to precede subject-specific curricular aims. Therefore, neither teachers nor materials should shy away from or banalize topics around civil rights and social change. This chapter provides examples of how the dispositions for culturally responsive pedagogy scale and teaching tolerance social justice scales can be used in teacher training for analyzing and planning out lessons. Examples from lessons on the Black Lives Matter movement and general suggestions act as springboards for rethinking and unpacking EFL teaching.

Teacher embodiment of culturally responsive pedagogies in a fifth grade classroom

Schools need better roadmaps for accomplishing culturally responsive pedagogy and intercultural education. In this article, I feature the culturally responsive practices of a Black teacher situated in an elementary classroom in the U.S. Her practices contribute to a roadmap for enacting culturally responsive pedagogy that incorporates small group instruction and cooperative learning. I also contend that queries investigating pedagogies affirming minoritized students must consider the primary actors charged to implement such work. In addition to her pedagogical practices, I include data that elucidate how the teacher’s racial biography is explicitly tied to the culturally responsive work she engages in the classroom. I conclude with considerations for how this case study might offer educators, researchers, and policymakers’ ideas for deep integration of intercultural education.

Weaving Diversity into LIS Instruction: Equity Behaviors to Create the Tapestry of Inclusive Library Practice

Libraries should be inclusive spaces for all patrons. It is imperative today’s librarians are equipped to infuse diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) theory with best practice when establishing policy and procedure. Library preparation programs must prepare the next generation of librarians to meet the needs of a diverse population, however, there are no established protocols in LIS education for training pre-service librarians in DEI. This exploratory study examines how one class used a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) framework to study issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion in library services. Findings suggest LIS students who interrogate their own bias and integrate thoughtful equity behaviors adopt greater empathy and DEI strategies

Innovating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy With the Craft Fun Kit (CFK)

This study presents findings on the implementation of a teaching learning tool to enhance culturally responsive learning to enhance awareness of and knowledge about Malaysian traditional crafts in Visual Art classes. Most research in the Malaysian context exploring culturally responsive pedagogical methods has investigated theoretical and general properties, but few have attempted to investigate innovating tools to improve teaching and learning in schools and higher education. New methods with interesting features to teach certain cultural elements will not only trigger learning but can also instil the targeted values in students especially those living in multi racial countries. Using the Design and Development Method for one such tool, this study presents an evaluation of the Craft Fun Kit utilised by an experienced Visual Arts Education teacher in his class to study the students’ responses to and acceptance of the tool both to enhance learning and multicultural awareness. The overall results found that the Craft Fun Kit is relevant and appropriate as a learning tool which can enable students to attain Visual Art education learning outcomes at the secondary school level in Malaysia.

STEM doctoral mentoring: a call for a conscious, culturally responsive journey

PurposeThe purpose of this research study was to explore U.S. STEM faculty’s perceptions of culturally responsive mentoring underrepresented doctoral students in STEM programs. The research question that guided this study was “How do STEM doctoral faculty mentors engage in culturally responsive mentoring?Design/methodology/approachA case study research design was used and included findings from an embedded case drawn from a larger ongoing study. Six STEM faculty participants provided in-depth insights into the dynamic nature of the culturally responsive mentoring journey through semi-structured interviews that were analyzed using thematic analysis. The theoretical framework for this research study was grounded in the ideas posited by culturally responsive pedagogy.FindingsThe findings revealed three themes related to the mentoring journeys experienced by the faculty fellows: an academic journey, an intentional journey, and a subliminal journey.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings of this research provide significant contribution to the current literature on mentoring and point to the importance of continuous, structured research efforts to increase the quality of mentoring for URM students in doctoral STEM programs.Practical implicationsSTEM faculty could benefit from participating in mentor training framed by culturally responsive pedagogy. Future research is needed to explore the mentor training needs of STEM faculty in other environments, including contexts outside the United States.Originality/valueThis study extends understanding of STEM faculty's knowledge, dispositions, and abilities of culturally responsive mentoring and emphasizes the need for ongoing professional development training in this area.