Culturally Relevant Pedagogy and Culturally Responsive Teaching and Their Impact on Student Engagement?

by Yvette Dayan

Students spend a significant amount of time in the classroom with their teachers, taking in information, and interacting with their peers. Students are also developing cognitively and physically during this time as they grow into themselves and their identities. For these reasons, the classroom should serve as a place where students feel comfortable, supported, and recognized. In the early 1990s, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings coined the term culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) to describe a classroom environment that recognizes the importance of incorporating students’ cultural identities and experiences throughout all learning. Similarly, Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) emphasizes including students' cultures in teaching and focuses on the methods of implementation. These approaches encourage teachers to adapt their teaching to meet the needs of their students while also promoting academic success, student engagement, and cultural competence. In today’s day and age, especially in New York City, classrooms are growing more diverse, thus it is vital for teachers to engage in culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching to best serve their students. Introducing CRP and CRT will have a positive impact on student engagement by making students feel represented and included, strengthening the relationship between the teacher and students, and making learning more relevant and meaningful for students.

The first way introducing culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching will impact student engagement is through making students feel represented and included in their classroom environments. Traditionally, education involves following curriculums that are created with no regard to the diverse populations that are found in classrooms. This leads to students feeling bored and unengaged with what they are learning. However, through incorporating CRP and CRT, students will feel represented in their learning, leading to higher engagement and participation. In the article, “The Impact of Culturally Responsive Teaching on Student Engagement in Class 12 Classrooms,” author Najijur Rahaman studied twelfth grade classrooms using teacher and student interviews, and classroom observations to discover the effect of CRT on student engagement. She writes, “Many students expressed that when teachers integrated their cultures into lessons, they felt validated and proud. This sense of recognition contributed to a positive self-image" (Rahaman 144). Creating an inclusive environment leads students to feel represented, as it shows students that their teachers care about their experiences and identities and that they matter in the classroom. These feelings will lead to higher levels of student engagement as students will have more positive feelings in the classroom and with what they are learning. Similarly, in the article “But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy”, author Gloria Ladson-Billings details an example of a teacher who recognized her African American male students and the social power they held as they made up the majority of the classroom. Ladson-Billings writes, “...Lewis challenged the boys to demonstrate academic power by drawing on issues and ideas they found meaningful. As the boys began to take on academic leadership, other students saw this as a positive trait and developed similar behaviors” (160). In this example, through the teacher recognizing her students and practicing culturally relevant pedagogy, rather than trying to control them, the teacher was able to make her students feel comfortable taking on leadership positions. This feeling also spread throughout the classroom, leading to higher levels of student engagement. Therefore, as detailed in both articles, practicing CRP and CRT in the classroom will lead to higher levels of student engagement as students will feel represented and included in their learning.

Another way that introducing CRP and CRT into the classroom will lead to higher levels of student engagement is by building strong relationships between teachers and students. Teachers are typically the adults that students interact with the most, besides their parents. For this reason, it is important that teachers build positive relationships with their students, which they can do by implementing culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching in their classrooms. This implementation will build strong relationships as it demonstrates that teachers value their students, and it will make students feel safe and supported in the classroom. Through her study, Rahaman found that one of the strategies for CRT that leads to high levels of engagement was building relationships. She writes, “Many teachers highlighted the significance of establishing personal connections with students. They engaged in conversations about students’ cultures, interests, and experiences, fostering a sense of trust and community” (Rahaman 144). Building these relationships develops a sense of trust amongst students and teachers as the teacher demonstrates that they understand and are interested in their students’ lives and identities. This leads to students feeling more comfortable expressing themselves in the classroom and engaging with classroom material. If a teacher does not practice CRP and CRT or build relationships with their students, especially those from marginalized backgrounds, they may feel isolated and ignored, leading to low levels of engagement. All in all, culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching, which involve building strong relationships with students, lead to high levels of engagement as students feel safe and valued by their teachers.

The last way culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching will positively impact student engagement is through making learning more relevant and meaningful for students. When learning is relevant to students’ lives, cultures, and lived experiences, theywill be more likely to engage in the classroom as they feel a sense of connection to their education. This also transforms the learning curriculum from a passive flow of information from teacher to students into an active environment where learning flows in all directions. In her article, Rahaman found that, “Several students articulated a sense of empowerment when their cultural backgrounds were acknowledged, leading to increased self-efficacy in their academic abilities” (144). This sense of empowerment when a student’s cultural background is incorporated into their education, leads to a sense of motivation in students to participate and engage in the classroom. Students who have never experienced a classroom environment where the learning is relevant and meaningful will especially benefit from CRP and CRT, as they will see themselves represented in their education and become active, engaged learners. Furthermore, Ladson-Billings details an example of a teacher who used students’ love of rap music to teach students about figurative language and poetry. She writes, “Thus, while the students were comfortable using their music, the teacher used it as a bridge to school learning. Their understanding of poetry far exceeded what either the state department of education of the local school district required” (Ladson-Billings 161). In this example, the teacher, who was practicing CRP, was able to make the learning of poetry relevant to her students, which sparked students' interests and further engaged them. In contrast, just teaching students about poetry may be boring, as most students have not been exposed to poetry. However, by connecting the content to students’ cultures and interests, the learning is made meaningful and engagement is increased. Thus, the practice of culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching increases student engagement as learning is more relevant and meaningful to students’ lived experiences, making them feel valued and appreciated.

As a future educator in an elementary school classroom, this research has informed and shaped my view of the classroom environment I would like to create. The classroom environment I will create for my future students is one where every student feels comfortable, valued, and recognized both in sharing their cultural identities and engaging in the learning process. By implementing both CRP and CRT in my classroom, I will make students feel included and represented, which will in turn build their confidence and self-image. I will build strong relationships with my students by establishing connections and incorporating their experiences and interests into my teaching. Lastly, I will make my teaching relevant and meaningful to my students’ lives and cultures by always acknowledging their backgrounds and making sure knowledge flows in all directions. Through these methods of teaching within CRP and CRT, I will increase student engagement while also building a community of shared learners in the classroom that includes myself as the teacher. These practices will also make students feel valued in the classroom and make them into active learners who feel a sense of autonomy over their education. The world outside the classroom is full of different cultures and identities, and the classroom should reflect that to make learning engaging for students. Culturally relevant pedagogy and culturally responsive teaching are vital practices for educators who want to promote a supportive and engaging environment for their students.

References

• Ladson-Billings, Gloria. “But That’s Just Good Teaching! The Case for Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.” Theory Into Practice, vol. 32, no. 3, 1995, pp. 159-165.
• Rahaman, Nafijur. “The Impact of Culturally Responsive Teaching on Student Engagement in Class 12 Classrooms.” International Journal of Literature and Education, vol. 4, no. 2, 2024, pp. 142-145.