Cultural responsivity and common conceptualizations of “good” teaching in culturally and linguistically diverse elementary classrooms in the U.S. and the Netherlands

Alyson L. Lavigne*, Lotte Henrichs, Jorge Americo Acosta Feliz, Shiquan Shao

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

Schools are becoming increasingly diverse. While observing teaching is critical for improving and evaluating teacher practice, few studies have explored how culturally responsive instruction (CRI) might expand dominant understandings of good teaching. Using classroom observations of teachers (U.S.: n = 10, Netherlands: n = 8), we compare an observational measure of CRI with a more common measure of good teaching. Findings indicate that instruments measuring good teaching and CRI provide unique information about teaching practices. High-CRI teachers are particularly strong in providing emotional support, however, good teachers are not always culturally responsive teachers and vice versa. Implications are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number103812
Pages (from-to)1-19
Number of pages19
JournalTeaching and Teacher Education
Volume118
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This research was funded by the Jacobs Foundation as part of their Young Scholars program.

Funding Information:
In some classrooms serving CLMs, deficit models are what is observed in classroom practice (Guerra & Wubbena, 2017) resulting in CLM students experiencing: fewer opportunities to participate in classroom activities (DaSilva Iddings, 2005), limited language support in the classroom (Piker & Rex, 2008), limited support when engaging in peer interactions (Girolametto et al., 2005), and less positive teacher-child relationships (Sullivan et al., 2015). Culturally responsive instruction is a means of directly disrupting these patterns of instruction.The CLASS K-3—the specific CLASS instrument utilized in this study—was scored during an observation cycle (20-min period); the coder watched the classroom while taking notes followed by a 10-min recording and scoring period. In this study, the CLASS K-3 was coded during the first 20-min of the observation. The CLASS K-3 consists of ten indicators organized in three different domains: Emotional Support (4 indicators), Classroom Organization (3 indicators), and Instructional Support (3 indicators). See Fig. 1.This research was funded by the Jacobs Foundation as part of their Young Scholars program.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd

Funding

This research was funded by the Jacobs Foundation as part of their Young Scholars program. In some classrooms serving CLMs, deficit models are what is observed in classroom practice (Guerra & Wubbena, 2017) resulting in CLM students experiencing: fewer opportunities to participate in classroom activities (DaSilva Iddings, 2005), limited language support in the classroom (Piker & Rex, 2008), limited support when engaging in peer interactions (Girolametto et al., 2005), and less positive teacher-child relationships (Sullivan et al., 2015). Culturally responsive instruction is a means of directly disrupting these patterns of instruction.The CLASS K-3—the specific CLASS instrument utilized in this study—was scored during an observation cycle (20-min period); the coder watched the classroom while taking notes followed by a 10-min recording and scoring period. In this study, the CLASS K-3 was coded during the first 20-min of the observation. The CLASS K-3 consists of ten indicators organized in three different domains: Emotional Support (4 indicators), Classroom Organization (3 indicators), and Instructional Support (3 indicators). See Fig. 1.This research was funded by the Jacobs Foundation as part of their Young Scholars program.

Keywords

  • Classroom observation
  • Cultural diversity
  • Culturally responsive teaching
  • Effective instruction

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