Impact of Culturally Relevant Teaching on Literacy Development of African American Students in Urban Education
Culturally relevant pedagogy has emerged as one of the interventions to help enhance the learning outcomes of different student populations. The concept emerged from reform initiatives of educational programs across the country, which have contributed to the development of various educational interventions and programs. Ladson-Billings (1995) developed this concept and define it as the inclusion of aspects of the students’ cultural environment in the arrangement of and instruction in the classroom. Culturally relevant pedagogy could play an important role in student engagement and achievement in the modern learning environment.

Byrd (2016) contends that culturally relevant teaching is a potent intervention and strategy for lessening achievement gaps and improving student engagement and achievement. While culturally relevant pedagogy could help lessen gaps in student achievement, today’s learning environment is still characterized by disparities in student outcomes. The academic outcomes of African American students are significantly lower than Latino, White, and Asian American students in both special and general education classrooms. The study demonstrates that culturally relevant pedagogy should be adopted in urban educational settings for literacy development of African American students.

Problem Statement

Since 1980s, the learning environment in the United States has continued to experience changes including demographic changes brought by the significant increase in the number of babies born to minority group members. Currently, the learning environment comprises students from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. The number of minorities in today’s classroom has continued to increase rapidly in recent years though the majority of student populations and teachers are Whites. African American students account for more than 16.5% of student population in general education classrooms and 28.7% of special education classrooms (Howard, 2001). On the other hand, African American teachers account for only 6% of the teaching population across the country (Howard, 2001).

African Americans account for a significant percentage of modern student populations. As a result, American teachers face new demands and need to adopt teaching practices and instructional strategies that meet the learning needs and styles of all students, particularly Black students. As the number of Black students in the modern classroom increases, the discrepancy in academic performance continues to widen. Efforts by educators and other stakeholders to enhance the academic outcomes of all students have been relatively ineffective because of the disparities in academic performance.

The U.S. public system has witnessed a growing increase in the discrepancy in student academic performance as certain groups are more likely to excel than others. Howard & Terry Sr. (2011) contend that African American students continue to lag behind in their academic performance compared to other student populations like Asian American, White, and Latino students. In essence, Black students are disproportionately affected by the current approaches to learning adopted in the classroom as evident in their relatively poor academic performance in comparison to other student groups. African American students in urban settings perform are less likely to excel in academics in comparison to other student groups. Despite learning in urban settings, 52% of African American students come from rural areas with single parent homes and 62% are from low-income families (Paulk, Martinez & Lambeth, 2014). Therefore, their experiences living in rural settings and communities seemingly affect their literacy development even when placed in urban learning environments. The gap in academic performance is an indicator of systematic racism existing within the school system. A review of existing literature and surveys on academic performance shows this discrepancy.

Review of Existing Literature

The discrepancy in the academic outcomes among different student populations has been the subject of numerous studies in the recent past. Existing studies have examined this issue from different perspectives including the potential causes of the achievement gaps and how they can be addressed. Paulk, Martinez & Lambeth (2014) identify cultural factors as one of the major factors contributing to achievement gaps between African American and White students. African American students have different communication patterns that affect their socialization and learning. These cultural factors shape their learning needs and affect their learning styles, especially when placed in a diverse classroom. According to Ladson-Billings (1995), African Americans’ learning and academic achievement is affected by their home and community cultures. Language interaction patterns in their home and community settings influence their socialization, which in turn shapes learning and academic achievement.

Paulk, Martinez & Lambeth (2014) further suggests that current approaches to learning in the classroom and discrepancies in the cultural background between teachers and students contribute to achievement gaps. Current approaches to learning do not adequately consider the diverse cultures of these students. For example, teachers do not consider the language interaction and communication of African American students when developing teaching approaches. Additionally, the differences in the cultural background between teachers and students make it difficult for educators to adopt teaching approaches that address the needs of these students (Gay, 2010). Scholars in the field of education have conducted studies to examine this issue as it has gained the attention of policymakers and other relevant stakeholders.

Cultural Factors in Student Achievement

As evidenced in existing literature, the discrepancy in the academic performance between different student populations is attributable to various factors. Cultural...…identity development and student learning and achievement. Consequently, without culturally relevant teaching, education and learning can never be the best it should be for students, especially those who are not part of the mainstream or majority of the society, communities, and schools (Gay, 2010).

Discussion

Existing literature provides significant insights into the role culturally relevant pedagogy plays in enhancing student learning and achievement. Some of these insights include improved teacher-student interaction, enhanced cultural awareness by teachers, and use of teaching approaches that cater for the needs of all students. Culturally relevant pedagogy enables teachers to connect better with their students and thus increase their engagement. As evident in existing literature, discrepancies in student achievement continue to exist in the United States despite numerous efforts and measures undertaken to enhance learning. African Americans and other minorities are disproportionately affected by current teaching or instructional strategies. These strategies fail to effectively integrate cultural aspects in the learning process and inadvertently affect African American students by contributing to poor academic achievement in comparison to other student groups or populations. In this regard, cultural elements should be incorporated in teaching practice to help meet the diverse needs of students in an increasingly multiethnic and multilingual modern learning environment.

Culturally relevant pedagogy is a suitable intervention that can help improve teaching practice and contribute to better student achievement. The integration of cultural elements and cultural awareness in the teaching process has been found to enhance the learning experiences and outcomes of African American students. As Woodly (2018) eloquently communicated in his book MC Means Move the Class: How to Spark Engagement and Motivation in Urban and Culturally Diverse Classrooms, we, teachers, are responsible for being the catalyst of change, the motivator of equality, and the facilitator of an experience in the classroom. The robust experiences in a classroom is dependent upon one’s abilities to curate cultural knowledge of the students you serve, provide culturally relevant curriculum, deliver rigorous, intentional instruction, and utilize cultural opportunities to pilot lesson plan standards and objectives off the ground – in order to maximize the students’ learning experience.

Culturally relevant pedagogy improves the learning and academic achievement of students by enhancing cultural awareness among teachers. Once teachers become culturally aware, they utilize suitable communication tools and strategies that mimic the home and community culture of African American students. As a result, these student increase their engagement in the learning process, which leads to better learning experiences and improved achievement. Therefore, culturally relevant pedagogy should be adopted in urban educational settings to help reduce achievement gaps among African American students. The adoption of culturally relevant pedagogy…