Understanding key terms help build clarification reguarding concepts. The following is a list of key terms that aid in the comprehension of culturally responsive teaching and pedagogy. Terminology plays an important role in understanding the context and specialized text, thus having a developed understanding of the terms throughout a text leads readers to feel more confident when reading along with their greater comprehension of the material.
Cultural Competence is the notion of creating an environment where students affirm and appreciate their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture.
Critical Consciousness is teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups.
Culturally Responsive Teaching is a conceptual framework that recognizes the importance of including students’ cultural backgrounds, interests, and lived experiences in all aspects of teaching and learning within the classroom and across the school
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is a philosophical outlook towards one’s approach to teaching that informs the what, the how, and the why. CRP focuses on the academic and personal success of students as individuals and as a collective. It ensures students engage in academically rigorous curriculum and learning, feel affirmed in their identities and experiences, and develop the knowledge and skills to engage the world and others critically.
Culture describes how we live on a daily basis in terms of our language, ancestry, religion, food, dress, musical tastes, traditions, values, political and social affiliations, recreation, and so on.
Equality is the state of alikeness in quantity, degree, and/or value. Applied to education, this means providing the same educational resources to everyone.
Equity is the quality of being fair or impartial. Applied to education, this means accommodating and meeting specific needs to ensure equal educational opportunity. Students of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and other diversity factors have equal educational opportunities .
Ethnicity refers to a characterization of a group of people who see themselves and are seen by others as having a common ancestry, shared history, shared traditions, and shared cultural traits such as language, beliefs, values, music, dress, and food.
Identity in education is defined as a commitment that embodies beliefs and values concerning the aims and the process of education against the background of basic convictions about what is right and good for the individual and the society.
Multicultural education is a lifelong learning process designed to empower all students to become knowledgeable, caring, and active participants in their communities. Education that is multicultural is inclusive and respectful of all ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds and engages staff, families, students, and community.
Inclusive Education refers to a way of structuring educational services so that all students, regardless of labels or putative disabilities, are educated together in a shared community. Inclusive education is not only an administrative arrangement but also an ideological and philosophical commitment to a vision of schools and societies that are diverse and non-exclusionary.
Race is a social construct based on visible physical features, as well as historical and political characteristics. In the United States the general public tends to recognize five primary racial groups Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, White, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaskan Native.
Racial identity attitudes are complex in that they can be reflected in an individual’s strong involvement in racially related activities and positive feelings of self-worth, or seen in another individual’s self-loathing behaviors and intense feelings of inferiority. Individuals from the same racial group can exhibit a great deal of variance with respect to their racial identity.
Universal Design refers to the design of products and environments that are made to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for physical adaptation or specialized design. The objective of universal design is to simplify life for everyone through the creation of products, communications, and built environments that are made more usable for as many people as possible.
Will, M., & Najarro, I. (2022, May 10). What is culturally responsive teaching? Education Week. Retrieved December 3, 2022, from https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/culturally-responsive-teaching-culturally-responsive-pedagogy/2022/04