Historical Context
Culturally relevant teaching was made popular by Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings in the early 1990s, the term she created was defined as one "that empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills and attitudes." This has become more widely known and accepted in the education field. For example, the U.S. Department of Education's Equity Assistance Centers, such as the Equity Alliance at ASU help states, school districts and schools to establish the conditions for equitable educational outcomes for all students, using cultural responsiveness as one of the measures of the needed capabilities of teachers, principals and school communities as a whole. The theory surrounding culturally relevant teaching is connected to a larger body of knowledge on multicultural education and helping culturally diverse students excel in education. Researchers argue that there are gaps in academic achievement between mainstream culture and immigrants or ethnic cultural groups. Often, culturally diverse students are unnecessarily placed in special education classes simply because of linguistic and cultural differences. In response to these challenges, some researchers and teachers believe that education should be adapted to "match the cultures students bring with them from home." Many of these researchers and educators support the constructivist theories of education because such perspectives recognize the value of multiple cultural viewpoints. James Scheurich believes that culturally relevant pedagogy has a significant importance on our youth because it benefits students no matter what the ethnic background or culture of the students. In a video James Scheurich explains how the success of our country is in the hand of our children and in a society where students of color will no longer be the minority, he expresses how teachers must teach to their audience in order for students to be successful. (Scheurich James, N/A)
Read more about this topic: Culturally Relevant Teaching
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