Father Saturnino Urios University

Graduate Studies
Butuan City

Practicing Culturally Responsive Teaching

_______________________________________
An essay
Submitted to
Daylinda J. Tampus, Ph.D
In partial fulfillment
of the requirements for the course
PhD 812A Pedagogy in Higher Education
_______________________________________

Sweet Loueljie R. Antigua

PhD Student
September, 2014

Culturally diverse learners are caught in a cycle of school

failure that contributes to marginal achievement (Schmidt & Ma,
2008).

The

strengths

that

diverse

learners

bring

to

instructional situations usually go untapped.

Children in schools are placed in double jeopardyhaving to
master

the

academic

tasks

while

functioning

under

cultural

conditions unnatural and often unfamiliar to them. Removing the

second burden is a significant contribution to improving their
academic achievement (Gay, 2002).
This can be done by teachers being culturally responsive
to diverse learners. It is using the cultural characteristics,
experiences,

and

perspectives

of

learners

as

conduits

for

teaching them more effectively.

Every individual in school brings his or her own culture.
The

term

culture

represents

complex

and

multidimensional

concept at best. According to Peregoy and Boyle (2008), it is

the

shared

beliefs,

values,

and

rule-governed

patterns

of

behavior that define a group membership. Obvious manifestations

are

religion,

obvious

are

environment

ethnicity,

age,
even

language

mobility,
more

and

education.

colorful.

Thus,

gender
These

while
make

educators

the

the
need

less

school
to

be

adequately prepared to teach diverse learners. As Howard (1999)

so aptly stated, We cant teach what we dont know.
The above statement applies to knowledge of both subject
matters and the kind of learners the teachers have. It is then
imperative for teachers to know what ethnic group their learners
belong, the religious affiliation of a particular child or even
the gender preferences of the learners. In doing so, teachers
could then understand the experiences and backgrounds of the
children, value the differences they bring into the classroom
and

integrate

these

knowledge

of

the

differences

in

the

teaching-learning processes.
Culturally
educators

to

responsive

have

teaching

knowledge

about

does
their

not

only

learners

require
but

also

respecting their heterogeneity. Teachers can take the lead to be

non-judgmental and open-minded about the way of life of every
child. Genuine respect for students must be given and belief in
their capacity be practiced.
Using

wide

variety

of

instructional

strategies

that

are

connected to the different learning styles of school children is

one of the ways to practice culture responsive teaching. Make
children

feel

they

belong

in

the

classroom

by

letting

them

participate actively in the discussions and engaging them in

planning classroom activities.
Moreover, allowing these diverse learners in using their
own language in the class and not forbidding them to express
their thoughts and ideas in their native tongue. In doing so,
cultural scaffolding is usedthat is, using their own cultures
and

experiences

to

expand

their

intellectual

horizons

and

academic achievement. This will make learning easy, undemanding

and at the same time enjoyable.
The

process

of

building

culturally

responsive

school

environment is important for educators to know as well. This

pertains to holistic or integrated learning. Teachers need to
make connections between the content that they teach and the
learners
languages

cultures
and

and

draw

experiences

on
to

the
make

childrens
connections

backgrounds,
with

the

discipline-specific content under study.

For example, children are taught their cultural heritages
and community identity development along with Math, Science, and
Reading. In doing so, learners find that academic experiences
are more meaningful in their lives, and therefore, they become
more interested and focused on content area learning. Children
are preserving their own cultural identity at the same time

learning the subject matter and gaining knowledge on the beliefs

and

culture

of

others.

This

would

also

make

way

for

school

children to learn how to respect cultural diversity and their

schoolmates learning abilities.
As Martin Luther Kings pronouncement, We may have all
come on different ships, but were in the same boat now is
particularly relevant in the classrooms and schools.
Practicing

culturally

responsive

teaching,

amidst

globalization, is not a simple process but one that occurs in

small

increments.

classrooms,

in

Different

schools

or

cultures

even

in

the

are

gifts

society.

in

They

the
bring

different perspectives and vibrant ideas that have potentials to

improve the quality of life of the people and to create a better
world.

References:
Gay, G. (2000) Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research,
and practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Retrieved
on August 24, 2014 at
http://www.culturallyresponsive.org/index.html
Schmidt, P.R. & Wen Ma (2008) Culturally Responsive Teaching in
Diverse Classrooms. Le Moyne College.

Retrieved on August

24, 2014 at http://www.literacyconnections.com

http://www.intime.uni.edu/multiculture/curriculum/culture/T
eaching.htm

http://www.culturallyresponsive.org/index.html Center for

Culturally responsive learning and teaching.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw_9z_m6EFQ Culturally
Sensitive Child Care

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMnCHrRM64&feature=related
Global Kids Show First!

http://www.hol.edu/syllabusuploads/CLKCulturally%20Sensitive%20Classrm.pdf Course on Culturally

Sensitive Classroom

http://www.yourdictionary.com/esl/ESL_Classroom-andCultural_Sensitivity.html ESL Classroom & Multicultural

Sensitivity

http://hungerlandstudios.com/bh_articles/Multicultural_stra
tegies.pdf Strategies for a multicultural classroom

http://www.sccoe.org/depts/ell/elac/0208/WhatsMxEd.pdf What
is Multicultural Education?

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4336
Success for ESL students

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/collection.jsp?id=39 List
of articles on Cultural Sensitivity