Too many students’ of racially and culturally diverse backgrounds have not been academically successful in comparison to their counterparts for far too long. Many schools are not effective at educating “minority” students. Thus, “on many achievement measures, students of color perform significantly less well than White students, and in some communities the achievement gap is growing rather than shrinking.” In her research on “Literacy and Identity in the Canadian Classroom” Cynthia Medford-Williams asserted that:
“This diversity, arising from massive population shifts, is a reality not only in the Canadian classroom but in many other Western countries. Such rapid alterations in student demographics have been accompanied by a cycle of continuing …show more content…
This includes students who “struggle to make the same connections for learning that may come easier to their peers who belong to the more dominant culture group.” Such barriers to learning impede positive learning outcomes. As such, culturally responsive pedagogy has been identified as a method to remove such barriers.
In this report, culturally responsive pedagogy will be defined as a teaching practice that uses cultural knowledge, experiences, and understandings of RCELD students to make learning encounters more relevant and meaningful for all learners. This term was introduced by Gloria Ladson-Billings to “describe teaching that integrates a student’s background knowledge and prior home and community experiences into the curriculum and the teaching and learning experiences that take place in the classroom.” According to Ladson-Billing, there are three principles underpinning this pedagogy: (1) holding high expectations for all students; (2) assisting students in the development of cultural competence; and (3) guiding students to develop a critical cultural …show more content…
These studies consider the disconnect between culture and education serving as the fundamental cause of the achievement gap. For example, “Canadian research continues to affirm that membership in the white middle-class group afford individual within this group certain privileges in society, while those outside of this group experience challenges…” Therefore, according to Die, “many researchers, in Canada and internationally, have found that unequally structured material and social conditions contribute to the success of middle-class white students over that of "other" students.” As a result, numerous Canadian studies attest to “the challenges faced by the school system in meeting the needs of students who are culturally diverse. The high drop-out rate among Black students in Ontario is one example.” Altogether, disregarding the culture and race of students creates a space of disconnect from the school, and ultimately to disengagement resulting in lower academic and social achievement of RCELD
“This diversity, arising from massive population shifts, is a reality not only in the Canadian classroom but in many other Western countries. Such rapid alterations in student demographics have been accompanied by a cycle of continuing …show more content…
This includes students who “struggle to make the same connections for learning that may come easier to their peers who belong to the more dominant culture group.” Such barriers to learning impede positive learning outcomes. As such, culturally responsive pedagogy has been identified as a method to remove such barriers.
In this report, culturally responsive pedagogy will be defined as a teaching practice that uses cultural knowledge, experiences, and understandings of RCELD students to make learning encounters more relevant and meaningful for all learners. This term was introduced by Gloria Ladson-Billings to “describe teaching that integrates a student’s background knowledge and prior home and community experiences into the curriculum and the teaching and learning experiences that take place in the classroom.” According to Ladson-Billing, there are three principles underpinning this pedagogy: (1) holding high expectations for all students; (2) assisting students in the development of cultural competence; and (3) guiding students to develop a critical cultural …show more content…
These studies consider the disconnect between culture and education serving as the fundamental cause of the achievement gap. For example, “Canadian research continues to affirm that membership in the white middle-class group afford individual within this group certain privileges in society, while those outside of this group experience challenges…” Therefore, according to Die, “many researchers, in Canada and internationally, have found that unequally structured material and social conditions contribute to the success of middle-class white students over that of "other" students.” As a result, numerous Canadian studies attest to “the challenges faced by the school system in meeting the needs of students who are culturally diverse. The high drop-out rate among Black students in Ontario is one example.” Altogether, disregarding the culture and race of students creates a space of disconnect from the school, and ultimately to disengagement resulting in lower academic and social achievement of RCELD