Running head: CULTURALLY RELEVANT PEDAGOGY

Article Review: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

Julie S. Delaney
University of Utah

CULTURALLY RELEVANT PEDAGOGY

Article Review: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

While investigating the topic of culturally relevant pedagogy, I was particularly
driven to explore how to effectively teach and serve the African American population.
My interest not only stems from the repeatedly emphasized achievement gap of this given
population, but also my motivation for providing equitable access to the curriculum for
one such individual in my current classroom. In addition, I explored research articles
using a mathematical lens as a way of looking for specific instructional practices
pertaining to content. The article that I have chosen to review, titled, Operationalizing
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: A Synthesis of Classroom-Based Research, has served
as a sound foundation from which I have begun to seek out additional specific research.
As stated in the article itself, its contents provide effective practices from which a
teacher can gain a foundational grasp of culturally relevant pedagogy. The authors,
Morrison, Robbins, and Rose, highlight research findings of effective practices from 45
different peer-reviewed studies in hopes to embolden educators to work toward social
justice and equitable access in their classrooms. The findings include familiar and widely
excepted statements, including: have high expectations for all students, build
relationships between home and school, and connect student backgrounds to the
curriculum. The strength of the article, however, is wholly found in the details of
translating the stated theoretical ideas into concrete classroom practices. The given
examples can be duplicated with thoughtful integration into each classroom,
appropriately adjusted to its unique students. When discussing the need to connect prior
learning to the curriculum, for example, the authors give the suggestion of using counting
methods from the students home cultures for mathematics. In addition, the authors

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suggest using a common practice from the students families, such as growing a garden,
as a foundation for understanding various mathematical processes. The article provides
many strategies and suggestions which can be intentionally incorporated into the
classroom.
As mentioned, this article is valuable for its foundational and concrete ideas. It is
a well-written overview of researched insights which deserve careful examination. As an
extent of the information, additional research is necessary. This research includes: a
better understanding of teaching specific populations (such as the African American
population), and how to interact with a classroom which is truly multicultural (most of
the research reviewed in the article is based on homogeneous classrooms such as all
Latino students, rather than in heterogeneous classrooms which are more and more
prevalent). Furthermore, additional ideas about how to teach certain subjects in a
culturally relevant way would be useful for teachers; there were some ideas presented for
mathematics and language arts, but more ideas relating to each content area would help
the teacher to generate additional strategies. The article does include the authors
insightful conclusion that the culturally relevant classroom tends to clash with the
traditionally accepted methods of the Eurocentric classroom. I found this conclusion
interesting, as I have come to a similar conclusion in relation to the newer ways of
teaching mathematics versus traditional methods.
I felt that the authors of the article were sensitive to the realities of teaching as
well as the political environment of education, providing well-written direction from
which educators can ultimately consider the purposes for cultural relevance for
themselves. I recognize, as stated in the article, that it takes time and conscious effort to

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truly provide an equitable classroom in which students can identify. I appreciate the
reality of time and effort recognized by the authors, as evidenced by their inclusion
Piagets statement: The heartbreaking difficulty in pedagogy, as indeed in medicine and
other branches of knowledge at the same time of art and science, is in fact, that the best
methods are also the most difficult ones.(1969, p. 69). Beyond time, the authors also
seem to communicate that understanding is just the beginning; it takes more to artfully
incorporate all of the many essential elements necessary to make the commitment to
culturally relevant pedagogy. This includes getting to know each student, including their
cultural and language backgrounds and knowledge. The important part is working
toward that commitment for students. It is these ideas which I will take into my future
teaching and philosophy of education.
Echoed in other studies in my research, the authors point out that it ultimately
comes down to the teachers actions and caring for the students (Tate, 2008; Jett, 2011).
I want to keep in mind the authors concluding thought; Morrison, Robbins, and Rose
wrote: Culturally relevant pedagogy, like so many other aspects of teaching, is
multifaceted and dynamic. The specific teacher actions we have discussed are predicated
on teachers having a sociocultural consciousness and a deep and holistic caring for
students (2008).

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References

Jett, C. (2011). "I Once Was Lost, but Now Am Found": The Mathematics Journey of an
African American Male Mathematics Doctoral Student. Journal of Black Studies,
42(7), 1125-1147. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from SAGE Journals.
Morrison, K., Robbins, H., & Rose, D. (2008). Operationalizing Culturally Relevant
Pedagogy: A Synthesis Of Classroom-Based Research. Equity & Excellence in
Education, 41(4), 433-452. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from Taylor and Francis
Online.
Piaget, J. (1969). The Mechanisms of Perception. London: Routledge and Keger Paul.
Tate, W. (2008). The Political Economy of Teacher Quality in School Mathematics:
African American Males, Opportunity Structures, Politics, and Method. American
Behavioral Scientist, 51(7), 953-971. Retrieved November 7, 2014, from SAGE
Journals.