Institutional
Introduction
As Ford, Stuart and Vakil (2014) have clearly noted in their article Culturally Responsive Teaching in the 21st Century Inclusive Classroom, the main challenge that faces public schools in the US involves the ever increasing need to meet the exceptional or special needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students. That is, the need to have a socially or culturally inclusive classroom in light of the diverse nature of the US population is becoming more relevant than ever before. This, they note, is informed also by the fact that there exists a strong link between learning and culture. Such a culturally inclusive classroom should at best be one where teachers not only promote but also value and respect their students’ diverse cultural backgrounds and beliefs since it is these that underpin their very existence in the first place. The learning environment has to be one in which the students feel that their culture, disability, language or beliefs are not ignored but instead taken into account in terms of the learning activities, process and content or materials. This is a particularly valuable topic because it helps us to recognize the diverse needs of our students in public and even private schools, the need to create such inclusive learning environment and also explains how teachers can create such a culturally inclusive classroom.
Article Summary
The article discusses how teachers can incorporate culturally responsive pedagogies, educational delivery practices or paradigms into the learning process or environment of CLD students with the aim of increasing learning engagement and positive outcomes for such students. The authors begin by pointing out some of the notable legislative measures in the US that have been put in place to achieve inclusion for people with disabilities in various aspects of life like education. They point out, however, that in spite of these efforts, the process of enhancing the academic curriculum to suit the needs of all learners including the CLD students and those with various disabilities has not been without challenges. These challenges are mainly as a result of the cultural, racial, political and socioeconomic factors that exist in the American society. More importantly, the general shortage or lack thereof of competent multicultural teachers is a big problem for CLD students’ ability to compete favorably with other students. Moreover, the disproportionality that exists in terms of the representation Of CLD students further exacerbates the situation of these students thus affecting education outcomes among them.
Furthermore, the article discusses at length the need for a culturally responsive teaching pedagogy in a way that gives learners the opportunity to learn in an inclusive classroom irrespective of their cultural or racial background. According to them, such a culturally sensitive or inclusive pedagogy helps in enhancing the CLD students’ learning experience as it focuses mainly on their earlier experiences, performance styles, cultural knowledge and frames of reference. The existing problem with the current education system for CLD students, they note, is the cultural disparity or mismatch that exists between the CLD students and their teachers. Further, the background of these students and the schools attended makes a culturally responsive learning paradigm for students with special needs a matter of significance. The cultural differences and the fact the US curriculum as it exists does not recognize or apply culturally references learning materials also make it important to have a culturally sensitive learning environment for CLD students. Further, due to lack of such culturally sensitive learning pedagogy especially for African American students, most of them are at times sent to special education centers, not because they should be, but because their teachers from the dominant White culture misinterpret and misunderstand their behavior due to cultural differences. Thus, the major need for the implementation of a culturally diverse learning environment in classrooms is to support inclusive and equal learning for all students and enhance learning outcomes.
The article also talks about the concept of teacher efficacy or cultural competence as one of the bases for promoting culturally inclusive learning and teacher-student engagement. Teacher efficacy involves the ability of a teacher to achieve the desired student learning outcomes via engagement, motivation and learning despite of the linguistic and cultural diversity between the teacher and the student. To be efficacious, a teacher need to first take recognition of their own cultural organization and that of their students and how their behaviors and attitudes are likely to affect the learning outcome of their students. It is this critical consciousness that helps enhance teacher efficacy and creates an inclusive classroom as it involves understanding the cultural differences between the teacher and students and the incorporation of teaching practices that take into account the student’s learning preferences. Teachers therefore need to design culturally responsive classroom environments through multimedia materials and visual displays that encourage multicultural conversations.
Conclusion
In summary, the information from the article and the reading text gives an important insight into how one can ensure or create a culturally responsive and inclusive classroom. Personally, I would use this piece of information to innovatively engage with my students in ways that not only recognize their individual cultural and linguistic disparities, but also appreciate the value that this makes to their personal development. I would encourage and use teaching methods or techniques that are student centered such as use of visual displays and designs depicting the value of different cultural practices and how each is unique and valuable in its own way. I would also use this information in my classroom by enhancing conversations among students and between me and the students besides using culturally and linguistically sensitive language when referring to the students and their cultural backgrounds. Lastly, according to Edwards and Edick (2013), significant or effective learning can only occur where there is a significant connection or relationship between the learner and the teacher (p. 1). I would therefore help build a significant positive relationship between me and the CLD students and among the students themselves through humor, cultural experience exchanges, respect, comfort and communication in the classroom.
References
Edwards, S., & Edick, N. A. (2013). Culturally responsive teaching for significant relationships. Journal of Praxis in Multicultural Education, 7(1), 1-18.
Ford, B. A., Stuart, D. H., & Vakil, S. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching in the 21 century inclusive classroom. The Journal of International Association of Special Education, 15(2).
