CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE AND RELEVANT PEDAGOGY

Embracing culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy (CRRP) means that educators recognize "that all students learn in ways that are connected to background, language, family structure, and social or cultural identity" (Considerations for Program Planning, Ontario Ministry of Education, accessed May 2024). CRRP is not a set of practices; rather, CRRP is an active pedagogical approach informed by the mindset or lens through educators approach teaching and learning.

The Ontario Ministry of Education's Considerations for Program Planning website goes on to say that

"CRRP provides a framework for building positive environments, improving student responsibility and success, encouraging parent-school relationships, and building strong community connections. It also emphasizes that it is important for educators and school leaders to examine their own biases and to analyse how their own identities and experiences affect how they view, understand, and interact with all students. This can help to prevent discrimination, harassment, and the creation of poisoned environments. Educators are responsible for meaningful teaching and learning that recognizes and responds to who is in the classroom and the school." (Considerations for Program Planning, Ontario Ministry of Education, accessed May 2024)

According to Zaretta Hammond in Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain, culturally responsive teaching is 

“An educator’s ability to recognize students’ cultural displays of learning and meaning making and respond positively and constructively with teaching moves that use cultural knowledge as a scaffold to connect what the student knows to new concepts and content in order to promote effective information processing. All the while, the educator understands the importance of being in a relationship and having a social-emotional connection to the student in order to create a safe space for learning” (15).

Students enter schools with a variety of lived experiences and identities. It is imperative that educators cultivate learning spaces that are positive, inclusive, equitable and relational in order to support students' learning needs. Respecting and valuing diversity are important for cultivating this spaces, and identifying and elminating discriminatory biases and non-inclusive practices, systemic barriers, racism are essential for learning to be equitable and inclusive.

"By knowing 'who our students are', educators and leaders can tailor policies, programs, and practices to better meet the needs of their diverse student populations, to provide accommodation of the needs specified by human rights law, and to ensure that every student has the opportunity to succeed. CRRP involves recognizing that “culture” encompasses various aspects of social and personal identity. It also means acknowledging students’ multiple social and personal identities and the social issues that arise where identities intersect. The CRRP approach is designed to spark conversation and support educators and school leaders as they seek to implement effective equity strategies and policies. Educators are encouraged to engage in meaningful inquiry, in collaboration with colleagues, to address equity issues and the particular needs of the students they serve." (Considerations for Program Planning, Ontario Ministry of Education, accessed May 2024)

When embracing CRRP, educators approach their practice and students with these tenets:

• High Expectations: Emphasize academic success for all students

• Cultural Competence: Assist students in the formation of a positive cultural identity

• Critical Consciousness: Guide students in developing a critical consciousness they can use to critique or interrupt current and historical social inequities.

Through a CRRP lens, educators consider the following when planning for instruction and assessment :

• how to cultivate relational cultures of collective care;

• how to offer a variety of resources that are accessible to each learner and reflect their diverse social and personal identities;

• considering the curriculum to be flexible and adaptive to the lived experiences of students so they see themselves and their lives reflected in learning opportunities;

• how to activate and build upon prior knowledge, honouring students' interests, strengths, and lived experiences, and valuing students' questioning as part of a reciprocal approach to knowledge-building;

• how to provide a wide range of methods and opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning, ensuring high expectations, a variety of resources that are accessible to each learner, and appropriate supports; and

• how to work to ensure that the socio-cultural consciousness of students is developed through instructional approaches to inform critical examination and action regarding social justice issues.

(adapted from "Culturally Responsive Pedagogy," Capacity Building Series, Ontario Ministry of Education, November 2013 and Considerations for Program Planning, Ontario Ministry of Education, accessed June 2023)

The WRDSB Indigenous, Equity, and Human Rights Department website features frequently asked questions, educator guides, and a wealth of resources to support staff and student learning in the WRDSB:

• The WRDSB IEHR Website

  • Equity and Inclusion Branch

  • Indigenous Education Branch (WRDSB Indigenous Education Website: Video Tour) 

• WRDSB Educator Guide: Key Considerations for Engaging in Indigenous Education

• WRDSB Educator Guide: Critically Selecting Resources

The following are a selection of resources provided by the Ontario Ministry of Education and other sources:

• Capacity Building Series #35: Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (Ontario Ministry of Education, 2013)

• Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy with Dr. Nicole West-Burns (CRECS, 2019)

• Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain (Zaretta Hammond, 2015)

• ETFO Voice: Culturally Relevant and Responsive Pedagogy (ETFO, 2018)

• Human Rights, Equity and Inclusive Education (Ontario Ministry of Education)

• Making Culturally Responsive Teaching Work: Zaretta Hammond Corrects 3 Big Misconceptions (EdWeek, 2023)

• Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Asking a Different Question (Gloria Ladson-Billings)

• Wayi Wah! Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act For Reconciliation And Anti-Racist Education (read chapter2) (Jo Chrona, 2022)