Culturally Responsive Teaching in Urban Secondary Schools

Abstract

Demographic data show an increasingly diverse student population in all urban settings. On the other hand, there continues to be a discrepancy about the student population and the teacher force, as the majority of the US teachers are predominately middle class, female, monolingual, and of European ancestry. This discrepancy adds complexity to an already complex profession. To bridge this cultural gap, researchers advocate for a change in the teaching paradigm, in which teachers understand the relationship between students’ culture and learning. This paradigm is called Culturally Responsive Teaching. This study followed 22 secondary mathematics and science teachers. The goal was to analyze some of the strategies used in urban schools, while at the same time determining whether these strategies were culturally responsive. Results show that teachers incorporated their students’ interests into the curriculum, making connections with real-life and allowing students to make many choices.