Culturally Responsive Approaches  

Approaches to Cultural Responsiveness  

Gads Hill Center Head Start support linguistically and culturally diverse children and families by acknowledging and actively responding to the value and importance of each child’s home language and culture whenever possible in the family’s primary or preferred language. School readiness and success for children who are dual language learners (DLLs) is tied directly to mastery of their home language. GHC recognizes the value of Early childhood education experiences as the first experiences that students encounter outside the home. GHC understands that because of this culturally responsive curriculum is paramount in ensuring that curricula and values empower children’s identities and uphold their rights. Children have the right to a flexible and responsive curriculum in which they can access and engage using the cultural practices of their homes and communities[ Culture refers to the customs, languages, values, beliefs, and achievements of a group of people. Students’ culture and lived experiences that influence how they understand and make sense of the world or themselves are integral to who they are as learners. 

There are three components of culturally relevant pedagogy: 

• student learning—prioritizing students’ intellectual growth, including their ability to problem-solve; 

• cultural competence—creating an environment where students affirm and appreciate their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture; and 

• critical consciousness—teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups.

Key Terms to Consider in Culturally responsive teaching:

• asset-based pedagogies: teaching methods and practices that incorporated students’ cultural identities and lived experiences into the classroom as tools for effective instruction. These types of pedagogies seek to dismantle a deficit approach to educating students of color and instead focus on their strengths, assets, and communities in the classroom. Examples include culturally relevant teaching, culturally responsive teaching, and culturally sustaining teaching, among others.

• critical consciousness: teaching students how to identify, analyze, and solve real-world problems, especially those that result in societal inequities against marginalized groups

• critical race theory: an academic concept with the core idea that race is a social construct, and racism is not merely the product of individual bias or prejudice, but also something embedded in legal systems and policies

• culture: the customs, languages, values, beliefs, and achievements of a group of people

• cultural competence: the ability to understand, appreciate, and interact with people from other cultures. Students should be taught to value and affirm their culture of origin while also developing fluency in at least one other culture.

• cultural identity: how an individual or group identifies themselves according to ties to one or more cultures

• culturally relevant pedagogy: a way of teaching that fosters student achievement while helping students to accept and affirm their cultural identity, as well as develop critical perspectives that challenge societal inequities

• culturally responsive teaching: a pedagogy that uses students’ customs, characteristics, experiences, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction. Students of color see themselves and their communities as belonging in academic spaces.

• culturally sustaining pedagogy: a way of teaching that explores, honors, and nurtures students’ and communities’ cultural ways of being. This approach considers the evolving identities and languages of students.

• pedagogy: teaching methods and practices; more broadly the art and science of the teaching profession

• racial biases: perceptions of, attitudes toward and treatment of a person or group based on their race

Strategies for cultural inclusion in the classroom, home visit or center that should be considered and utilized  

• Learn about and integrate child and family’s culture and language(s) into curriculum development.   Educate all families on the cognitive and social advantages of a child knowing more than one language. 

•  Provide families with strategies to support, maintain and preserve home language learning.  Provide parents and caregivers information that is written in their native language when needed, or requested.   

• Promote opportunities in the classroom and in educational materials and the home environment to celebrate and honor family language, culture and traditions.  

• Encourage home language and literacy development to educate families about how these activities contribute to children’s ability to acquire English language proficiency.  

• Provide children with varied ways to demonstrate what they know and can do. 

Culturally Responsiveness & Curriculum 

• A strong knowledge base about cultural diversity. Teachers should understand different racial and ethnic groups’ cultural values, traditions, and contributions to society, and incorporate that knowledge into their instruction.

• Culturally relevant curricula. Teachers should include multiple perspectives in their instruction and make sure the images displayed in classrooms—such as on bulletin boards—represent a wide range of diversity. Teachers should also contextualize issues within race, class, ethnicity, and gender.

• High expectations for all students. Teachers should help students achieve academic success while still validating their cultural identities.

• An appreciation for different communication styles. Teachers should understand different communication styles and modify classroom interactions accordingly. For example, many communities of color have an active, participatory style of communication. A teacher who doesn’t understand this cultural context might think a student is being rude and tell the student to be quiet. The student may then shut down.  

• The use of multicultural instructional examples. Teachers should connect students’ prior knowledge and cultural experiences with new knowledge.

Culturally Responsiveness & Screening and Assessment

GHC will seek to provide screenings and assessments in the child’s dominant language as interpretation services and qualified screeners and assessors are available.    

Complete Home Language Survey for 3-5 year old's to determine language proficiency in home language and English language acquisition. GHC will work with community partners in order to secure professionals able to assist in these services. This will be provided at no cost to the family. 

A staff person who has identified a child who may need interpretation services for an assessment shall notify the Family Service coordinator to arrange for services. 

Interpretation Services

GHC seeks to access and utilize interpreter and translator services as needed to assure clear communication with families as is possible.  

Services will be provided at no cost to the family upon approval by the Early Childhood Director.  

When a family who speaks a language other than English enrolls the following steps should be followed: 

• Take the family’s information on the intake form to the extent possible.   

• Notify the Family Service Coordinator or Early Childhood Director with the name of the client and the preferred language. 

• The Family Service Coordinator, with the support of the Early Childhood Director, shall seek to engage interpretation services in the family’s home language for the completion of the application.   Any questions around ability to provide interpretation services should be sent to the Education Manager or Family Services Manager .