Culturally Responsive Glossary - Wisconsin RtI Center

Culturally Responsive Practices Glossary Culturally responsive practices are an approach to teaching; they are a part of the skill, craft, and art of teaching. They are the practice of taking the best of teaching methods and applying them to teaching students whose culture differs from the dominant culture in our society and school system. Gloria Ladson-Billings of the University of Wisconsin-Madison coined the term cultural relevancy in 1994. Cultural relevancy is a way of teaching that “empowers students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using culture to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes.” Key components of culturally responsive practices are: •

Teachers who are culturally competent about their students’ cultural beliefs and practices

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Teachers who think of all of their students as capable learners, have high expectations for them, and help the students set short- and long-term goals for themselves

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Teachers who know each student and draw on the students’ own experiences to help them learn

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Teachers who have a wide variety of teaching strategies and skills to engage the students

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Teachers who can help the students deal with the inequitable treatment of students of color and other underserved populations by helping them become critically conscious and knowledgeable about the students’ culture

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Teachers who can create a bridge between the students’ home and school lives while meeting district and state curricular requirements (Ladson-Billings, 1994)

The following terms are designed to provide foundational context related to cultural diversity as well as represent some of the challenges that can arise in diverse school contexts (e.g., privilege, power differences, inequitable distribution of resources, and classism). The following terms reflect the practices that can be used to provide culturally responsive practices within an RtI framework. Belonging describes students feeling personally accepted, respected, included, and supported by others in the school environment (Goodenow, 1993). Community building in education must extend beyond popular commentary and advocacy into action. Community will engage many individuals’ ideas and actions, not just those of teachers, parents, and legislators. It also will involve the reflective interactions of students as agents, not as objects or actors (Davis, 2002).

The Wisconsin RtI Center/Wisconsin PBIS Network (CFDA #84.027) acknowledges the support of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in the development of this document and for the continued support of this federally-funded grant program. There are no copyright restrictions on this document; however, please credit the Wisconsin DPI and support of federal funds when copying all or part of this material.

Connectedness in school refers to an academic environment in which students believe that “adults in the school care about their learning and about them as individuals” (Blum, 2005). Through the development of a relationship where trust is evident, students have relationships with their peers, educators, other families, the community, and their studies. Cultural competence for educators includes: “(a) believing that all students will learn; (b) knowing the community where the school is located; (c) understanding all people have a unique world view; (d) using curriculum that is respectful of and relevant to the cultures represented in its student body; (e) being alert to the ways that culture affects who we are; (f) placing the locus of responsibility on the professional and the institution; (g) examining systems, structures, policies, and practices for their impact on all students and families; and (h) standing up to challenge and ameliorating prejudice and discrimination” (Liang, 2009). Cultural proficiency is an approach that demonstrates the practitioner has the self-awareness to recognize how he or she—because of ethnicity, culture, and life experiences—may affect others, as well as what the practitioner offers to others. “Being culturally proficient allows the practitioner to use teachable moments to share and learn from others” (Davis, 2007). Through culturally proficient knowledge, the practitioner affects policies and practices of a school/district or the values and behaviors that enable the practitioner or school to interact effectively in a culturally diverse environment. A culturally proficient practitioner possesses and works to build on his or her contextualized knowledge of culture, community, and identity of children and families as the core of his or her teaching practice. Culturally proficient practitioners possess a multicultural competence that “incorporates a deep and sophisticated understanding of race, racism, and the contemporary contexts of schooling” (Murrell, N.D.). “Cultural relevance is evident through the integration of cultural knowledge, prior experiences, and performance styles of diverse learners to make learning more appropriate and effective for them; it teaches to and through the strengths of these learners. Culturally relevant instruction integrates a wide variety of instructional strategies that are connected to different approaches to learning” (CCSSOITASC, 2011). “Culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy is the validation and affirmation of the home’s cultural and linguistic behaviors of the students through selected instructional practices for the purposes of building and bridging the student to increased success in the cultural and linguistic demands of academia (school) and mainstream society” (Hollie, 2012). Culturally relevant pedagogy requires teachers to empower students through teaching and using cultural referents to maximize students’ learning and educational outcomes. As cited by Garcia, Gloria Ladson-Billings outlines three criteria for culturally relevant pedagogy:


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An ability to develop students academically. This means effectively helping students read, write, speak, compute, pose and solve higher order problems, and engage in peer review of problem solutions.

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A willingness to nurture and support cultural competence in both home and school cultures. The key for teachers is to value and build on skills that students bring from the home culture.

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The development of a sociopolitical or critical consciousness. Teachers help students recognize, critique, and change social inequities (Garcia, 2010).

Culture describes how we live on a daily basis in terms of our language, ancestry, religion, food, dress, musical tastes, traditions, values, political and social affiliations, recreation, and so on (Singleton, 2006). Equality is the state of alikeness in quantity, degree, and/or value. Applied to education, this means providing the same educational resources to everyone (OECD, 2007). Equity is the quality of being fair or impartial. Applied to education, this means accommodating and meeting specific needs to ensure equal educational opportunity. Students of all cultures, languages, classes, races, ethnic backgrounds, disabilities, religions, genders, sexual orientations, and other diversity factors have equal educational opportunities (OECD, 2007). Fairness is being free from injustice or bias. Applied to education, this can be considered a subcomponent of equity and means that personal and social circumstances (e.g., gender, SES, and ethnicity) should not be an obstacle to achieving educational potential. Fairness “refers to the educational environment in which persons have the possibility of choice according to their own developmental potential, abilities, and talent, and not on the basis of prejudice, educational stereotypes, expectations of the environment, or discrimination, which opens up economic and social opportunities regardless of developmental potential, gender, age, ethnic or racial belonging, or social status” (OECD, 2007). Fill building includes the participation in professional development used to: •

Build background knowledge around history, culture, philosophy, and experience of underserved student populations

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Support understanding of historical contexts for accessing learning

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Support understanding of what is not known (Hollie, 2012).

Identity in education is defined as a commitment that embodies beliefs and values concerning the aims and the process of education against the background of basic convictions about what is right and good for the individual and the society (www.policyarchive.org).


Identity development reflects the actions and arrangements that encourage productive self-exploration and self-definition. Literature and topic selections related to social justice and the students’ backgrounds are particularly important. • Race is a social construct based on visible physical features, as well as historical and political characteristics. In the United States the general public tends to recognize five primary racial groups Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, White, Hispanic/Latino, and American Indian/Alaskan Native). o

Racial identity attitudes are complex in that they can be reflected in an individual’s strong involvement in racially related activities and positive feelings of self-worth, or seen in another individual’s self-loathing behaviors and intense feelings of inferiority. Individuals from the same racial group can exhibit a great deal of variance with respect to their racial identity (Cross, 1971, 1991, 2001).

• Ethnicity refers to a characterization of a group of people who see themselves and are seen by others as having a common ancestry, shared history, shared traditions, and shared cultural traits such as language, beliefs, values, music, dress, and food. Intersectionality is a tool for analysis, advocacy, and policy development that addresses multiple discriminations and helps us understand how different sets of identities impact access to rights and opportunities (Symington, 2004). “Multicultural education is a lifelong learning process designed to empower all students to become knowledgeable, caring, and active participants in their communities. Education that is multicultural is inclusive and respectful of all ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds and engages staff, families, students, and community. Multicultural education is based on the following: •

Everyone has culture.

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Multicultural education is respectful and inclusive of each student’s cultural heritage and learning styles.

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A respectful learning environment is one that promotes success for all.

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Everyone has a stake and a responsibility in their education.

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Students from all ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds are active participants in their learning.

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Everyone has a right to an equitable education.

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Infusion is throughout the curriculum and the culture of the school” (Oregon DoE, N.D.)


Risk ratio compares one racial/ethnic group’s risk of receiving special education and related services to that of all other students. The risk ratio can be used to calculate disproportionality at both the state and district levels (Bollmer, 2007). School climate/school culture “refers to the quality and character of school life” that is “based on the patterns of students’, parents’, and school personnel’s experiences of school life and reflects norms, goals, values, interpersonal relationships, teaching aligned learning practices, and organizational structures” (NSCC, N.D.). Skill building is bridging newfound knowledge to pedagogical approaches including a focus on four areas of instruction including culturally and linguistically responsive classroom management, academic vocabulary/language, academic literacy, and learning environment (Hollie, 2012). Underserved population(s) is represented by any student who is not successful academically, socially, and/or behaviorally in school (Hollie, 2012). Will building is the power of making a reasoned choice. It is characterized by determination, a certain attitude, or a particular desire or choice. Will building includes: •

Aligning philosophy

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Managing frustration

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Creating a culture of collaboration

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Institutionalizing a healthy culture

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Analyzing data

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Building leadership teams

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Building capacity at the district/school level for the work (Muhammad, 2012)


Reference List Blum, R. W. (2005). The case for school connectedness. The Adolescent Learner, 62 (7). http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr05/vol62/num07/A-Case-for-SchoolConnectedness.aspx. Bollmer, J. Bethel, J., Garrison-Mogren, R. and Brauen, M. (2007). Using the risk ratio to assess racial/ethnic disproportionality in special education at the school-district level. Journal of Special Education, 41 (3). Cross, Jr., W. E. (1971). The negro-to-black conversion experience. Black World, 20 (9), 13–27. Cross, Jr., W. E. (1991). Shades of Black: Diversity in African-American Identity (Philadelphia: Temple University Press). Cross, Jr., W. E. and Vandiver, B. J. (2001). Nigrescence theory and measurement: Introducing the crossracial identity scale (CRIS). Handbook of Multicultural Counseling, 2nd Ed.(Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage). Davis, B.M. (2005). How to Teach Students Who Don’t Look Like You: Culturally Relevant Teaching Strategies (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin) Davis, O.L. (2002). Editorial/on community. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 18 (1). Fairness of the education system, accessed January 16, 2014, http://www.seeeducoop.net/education_in/pdf/chal-educ-reform-ser-08-ser-enl-t02.pdf. Garcia, M. (2010). An introduction to culturally relevant pedagogy, Teaching Tolerance, accessed August 26, 2014, http://www.tolerance.org/blog/introduction-culturally-relevant-pedagogy. Goodenow, C. (1993). The psychological sense of school membership among adolescents: Scale development and educational correlates. Psychology in the Schools, 30 (1). Hollie, S. (2012). Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Teaching and Learning: Classroom Practices for Student Success (Huntington Beach: Shell Education). Council of Chief State School Officers’ Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (2011). InTASC model core teaching standards: A resource for state dialogue. http://www.ccsso.org/documents/2011/intasc_model_core_teaching_standards_2011.pdf. Ladson-Billings, Gloria (1994). The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishing). Liang, X. and Zhang, G., (2009). Indicators to evaluate pre-service teachers’ cultural competence. Evaluation and Research in Education 22 (1) and the state of Washington’s Office of Public Instruction. The Wisconsin RtI Center/Wisconsin PBIS Network (CFDA #84.027) acknowledges the support of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction in the development of this document and for the continued support of this federally-funded grant program. There are no copyright restrictions on this document; however, please credit the Wisconsin DPI and support of federal funds when copying all or part of this material.

Lindsey, R. B., Nuri Robins, K. and Terrell, R. D. (2003). Cultural Proficiency: A Manual for School Leaders (Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press); Davis 2007. Muhammad, A. and Hollie, S. , (2012). The Will to Lead, the Skill to Teach: Transforming Schools at Every Level (Bloomington: Solution Tree Press). Murrell, Jr., P.C. (N.D.). Concept paper for discussion: Defining the community teacher, accessed August 26, 2014, http://acts-alliance.org/resources/Murrell/CommunityTeacherConceptPaper.pdf Oregon Department of Education, s.v. “Multicultural Education,” accessed January 6, 2014, http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?id=2575 Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development, (2007). Education at a Glance 2007. (Paris: OECD Publications). “School Climate,” National School Climate Center, accessed January 6, 2014, http://www.schoolclimate.org/climate/. Singleton, G. E. and Linton, C. Courageous Conversations About Race: A Field Guide for Achieving Equity in Schools (Thousand Oaks: Corwin, 2006). Symington, A., (2004). Intersectionality: A tool for gender and economic justice, Women’s Rights and Economic Change 9, accessed September 15, 2014: https://lgbtq.unc.edu/sites/lgbtq.unc.edu/files/documents/intersectionality_en.pdf
