Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002
2001 AACTE OUTSTANDING WRITING AWARD RECIPIENT
Editor’s Note: This article draws from Geneva Gay’s recent book, Culturally Responsive
Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice, which received the 2001 Outstanding Writing
Award from the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
PREPARING FOR CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHING
Geneva Gay
University of Washington, Seattle
In this article, a case is made for improving the them more effectively. It is based on the assump-
school success of ethnically diverse students tion that when academic knowledge and skills
through culturally responsive teaching and for are situated within the lived experiences and
preparing teachers in preservice education pro- frames of reference of students, they are more
grams with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills personally meaningful, have higher interest ap-
needed to do this. The ideas presented here are peal, and are learned more easily and thoroughly
brief sketches of more thorough explanations (Gay, 2000). As a result, the academic achieve-
included in my recent book, Culturally Respon- ment of ethnically diverse students will improve
sive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice (2000). when they are taught through their own cul-
The specific components of this approach to tural and experiential filters (Au & Kawakami,
teaching are based on research findings, theo- 1994; Foster, 1995; Gay, 2000; Hollins, 1996;
retical claims, practical experiences, and per- Kleinfeld, 1975; Ladson-Billings, 1994, 1995).
sonal stories of educators researching and work-
ing with underachieving African, Asian, Latino, DEVELOPING A CULTURAL
and Native American students. These data were DIVERSITY KNOWLEDGE BASE
produced by individuals from a wide variety of
disciplinary backgrounds including anthropol- Educators generally agree that effective teach-
ogy, sociology, psychology, sociolinguistics, com- ing requires mastery of content knowledge and
munications, multicultural education, K-college pedagogical skills. As Howard (1999) so aptly
classroom teaching, and teacher education. Five stated, “We can’t teach what we don’t know.”
essential elements of culturally responsive teach- This statement applies to knowledge both of
ing are examined: developing a knowledge base student populations and subject matter. Yet, too
about cultural diversity, including ethnic and many teachers are inadequately prepared to teach
cultural diversity content in the curriculum, dem- ethnically diverse students. Some professional
onstrating caring and building learning com- programs still equivocate about including multi-
munities, communicating with ethnically diverse cultural education despite the growing num-
students, and responding to ethnic diversity in bers of and disproportionately poor performance
the delivery of instruction. Culturally responsive of students of color. Other programs are trying
teaching is defined as using the cultural charac- to decide what is the most appropriate place and
teristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethni- “face” for it. A few are embracing multicultural
cally diverse students as conduits for teaching education enthusiastically. The equivocation is
Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 106-116
© 2002 by the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
106
inconsistent with preparing for culturally respon- ence) and cultural diversity are incompatible, or
sive teaching, which argues that explicit knowl- that combining them is too much of a concep-
edge about cultural diversity is imperative to tual and substantive stretch for their subjects to
meeting the educational needs of ethnically diverse maintain disciplinary integrity. This is simply
students. not true. There is a place for cultural diversity in
every subject taught in schools. Furthermore,
Part of this knowledge includes understand- culturally responsive teaching deals as much
ing the cultural characteristics and contribu- with using multicultural instructional strate-
tions of different ethnic groups (Hollins, King, & gies as with adding multicultural content to the
Hayman, 1994; King, Hollins, & Hayman, 1997; curriculum. Misconceptions like these stem, in
Pai, 1990; Smith, 1998). Culture encompasses part, from the fact that many teachers do not
many things, some of which are more important know enough about the contributions that dif-
for teachers to know than others because they ferent ethnic groups have made to their subject
have direct implications for teaching and learn- areas and are unfamiliar with multicultural edu-
ing. Among these are ethnic groups’ cultural cation. They may be familiar with the achieve-
values, traditions, communication, learning styles, ments of select, high-profile individuals from
contributions, and relational patterns. For exam- some ethnic groups in some areas, such as Afri-
ple, teachers need to know (a) which ethnic can American musicians in popular culture or
groups give priority to communal living and politicians in city, state, and national govern-
cooperative problem solving and how these pref- ment. Teachers may know little or nothing about
erences affect educational motivation, aspira- the contributions of Native Americans and Asian
tion, and task performance; (b) how different Americans in the same arenas. Nor do they
ethnic groups’ protocols of appropriate ways know enough about the less publicly visible but
for children to interact with adults are exhibited very significant contributions of ethnic groups
in instructional settings; and (c) the implications in science, technology, medicine, math, theol-
of gender role socialization in different ethnic ogy, ecology, peace, law, and economics.
groups for implementing equity initiatives in
classroom instruction. This information consti- Many teachers also are hard-pressed to have
tutes the first essential component of the knowl- an informed conversation about leading multi-
edge base of culturally responsive teaching. Some cultural education scholars and their major pre-
of the cultural characteristics and contributions mises, principles, and proposals. What they think
of ethnic groups that teachers need to know are they know about the field is often based on
explained in greater detail by Gold, Grant, and superficial or distorted information conveyed
Rivlin (1977); Shade (1989); Takaki (1993); Banks through popular culture, mass media, and crit-
and Banks (1995); and Spring (1995). ics. Or their knowledge reflects cursory aca-
demic introductions that provide insufficient
The knowledge that teachers need to have depth of analysis of multicultural education.
about cultural diversity goes beyond mere aware- These inadequacies can be corrected by teach-
ness of, respect for, and general recognition of ers’ acquiring more knowledge about the con-
the fact that ethnic groups have different values tributions of different ethnic groups to a wide
or express similar values in various ways. Thus, variety of disciplines and a deeper understand-
the second requirement for developing a knowl- ing of multicultural education theory, research,
edge base for culturally responsive teaching is and scholarship. This is a third important pillar
acquiring detailed factual information about the of the knowledge foundation of culturally respon-
cultural particularities of specific ethnic groups sive teaching. Acquiring this knowledge is not
(e.g., African, Asian, Latino, and Native Ameri- as difficult as it might at first appear. Ethnic
can). This is needed to make schooling more individuals and groups have been making wor-
interesting and stimulating for, representative thy contributions to the full range of life and cul-
of, and responsive to ethnically diverse students. ture in the United States and humankind from
Too many teachers and teacher educators think the very beginning. And there is no shortage of
that their subjects (particularly math and sci-
Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 107
quality information available about multicul- decontextualizing women, their issues, and their
tural education. It just has to be located, learned, actions from their race and ethnicity; ignoring
and woven into the preparation programs of poverty; and emphasizing factual information
teachers and classroom instruction. This can be while minimizing other kinds of knowledge (such
accomplished, in part, by all prospective teach- as values, attitudes, feelings, experiences, and
ers taking courses on the contributions of ethnic ethics). Culturally responsive teaching reverses
groups to the content areas that they will teach these trends by dealing directly with contro-
and on multicultural education. versy; studying a wide range of ethnic individu-
als and groups; contextualizing issues within
DESIGNING CULTURALLY race, class, ethnicity, and gender; and including
RELEVANT CURRICULA multiple kinds of knowledge and perspectives.
It also recognizes that these broad-based analy-
In addition to acquiring a knowledge base ses are necessary to do instructional justice to
about ethnic and cultural diversity, teachers need the complexity, vitality, and potentiality of eth-
to learn how to convert it into culturally respon- nic and cultural diversity. One specific way to
sive curriculum designs and instructional strat- begin this curriculum transformation process is
egies. Three kinds of curricula are routinely to teach preservice (and inservice) teachers how
present in the classroom, each of which offers to do deep cultural analyses of textbooks and
different opportunities for teaching cultural other instructional materials, revise them for
diversity. The first is formal plans for instruction better representations of culturally diversity, and
approved by the policy and governing bodies of provide many opportunities to practice these
educational systems. They are usually anchored skills under guided supervision. Teachers need
in and complemented by adopted textbooks to thoroughly understand existing obstacles to
and other curriculum guidelines such as the culturally responsive teaching before they can
“standards” issued by national commissions, successfully remove them.
state departments of education, professional asso-
ciations, and local school districts. Even though Other instructional plans used frequently in
these curriculum documents have improved over schools are called the symbolic curriculum (Gay,
time in their treatment of ethnic and cultural 1995). They include images, symbols, icons, mot-
diversity, they are still not as good as they need toes, awards, celebrations, and other artifacts
to be (Wade, 1993). Culturally responsive teach- that are used to teach students knowledge, skills,
ers know how to determine the multicultural morals, and values. The most common forms of
strengths and weaknesses of curriculum designs symbolic curricula are bulletin board decora-
and instructional materials and make the changes tions; images of heroes and heroines; trade books;
necessary to improve their overall quality. These and publicly displayed statements of social eti-
analyses should focus on the quantity, accuracy, quette, rules and regulations, ethical principles,
complexity, placement, purpose, variety, signif- and tokens of achievement. Therefore, class-
icance, and authenticity of the narrative texts, room and school walls are valuable “advertis-
visual illustrations, learning activities, role mod- ing” space, and students learn important les-
els, and authorial sources used in the instruc- sons from what is displayed there. Over time,
tional materials. There are several recurrent trends they come to expect certain images, value what
in how formal school curricula deal with ethnic is present, and devalue that which is absent.
diversity that culturally responsive teachers need Culturally responsive teachers are critically con-
to correct. Among them are avoiding controver- scious of the power of the symbolic curriculum
sial issues such as racism, historical atrocities, as an instrument of teaching and use it to help
powerlessness, and hegemony; focusing on the convey important information, values, and actions
accomplishments of the same few high-profile about ethnic and cultural diversity. They ensure
individuals repeatedly and ignoring the actions that the images displayed in classrooms repre-
of groups; giving proportionally more attention sent a wide variety of age, gender, time, place,
to African Americans than other groups of color; social class, and positional diversity within and
108 Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002
across ethnic groups and that they are accurate information disseminated through the societal
extensions of what is taught through the formal curriculum.
curriculum. For example, lessons of leadership,
power, and authority taught through images DEMONSTRATING CULTURAL CARING
should include males and females and expres- AND BUILDING A LEARNING COMMUNITY
sive indicators of these accomplishments from
many different ethnic groups. A third critical component of preparation for
culturally responsive teaching is creating class-
A third type of curriculum that is fundamen- room climates that are conducive to learning for
tal to culturally responsive teaching is what ethnically diverse students. Pedagogical actions
Cortés (1991, 1995, 2000) has called the societal are as important as (if not more important than)
curriculum. This is the knowledge, ideas, and multicultural curriculum designs in implement-
impressions about ethnic groups that are por- ing culturally responsive teaching. They are not
trayed in the mass media. Television programs, simply technical processes of applying any “best
newspapers, magazines, and movies are much practices” to underachieving students of color,
more than mere factual information or idle enter- however. Much more is required. Teachers need
tainment. They engage in ideological manage- to know how to use cultural scaffolding in teach-
ment (Spring, 1992) and construct knowledge ing these students—that is, using their own cul-
(Cortés, 1995) because their content reflects and tures and experiences to expand their intellec-
conveys particular cultural, social, ethnic, and tual horizons and academic achievement. This
political values, knowledge, and advocacies. For begins by demonstrating culturally sensitive car-
many students, mass media is the only source of ing and building culturally responsive learning
knowledge about ethnic diversity; for others, communities. Teachers have to care so much
what is seen on television is more influential about ethnically diverse students and their
and memorable than what is learned from books achievement that they accept nothing less than
in classrooms. Unfortunately, much of this “knowl- high-level success from them and work dili-
edge” is inaccurate and frequently prejudicial. gently to accomplish it (Foster, 1997; Kleinfeld,
In a study of ethnic stereotyping in news report- 1974, 1975). This is a very different conception of
ing, Campbell (1995) found that these programs caring than the often-cited notion of “gentle
perpetuate “myths about life outside of white nurturing and altruistic concern,” which can
‘mainstream’ America . . . [that] contribute to an lead to benign neglect under the guise of letting
understanding of minority cultures as less sig- students of color make their own way and move
nificant, as marginal” (p. 132). Members of both at their own pace.
minority and majority groups are negatively
affected by these images and representations. Culturally responsive caring also places “teach-
Ethnic distortions in mass media are not limited ers in an ethical, emotional, and academic part-
to news programs; they are pervasive in other nership with ethnically diverse students, a part-
types of programming as well. The messages nership that is anchored in respect, honor, integ-
they transmit are too influential for teachers to rity, resource sharing, and a deep belief in the
ignore. Therefore, culturally responsive teach- possibility of transcendence” (Gay, 2000, p. 52).
ing includes thorough and critical analyses of Caring is a moral imperative, a social responsi-
how ethnic groups and experiences are pre- bility, and a pedagogical necessity. It requires
sented in mass media and popular culture. that teachers use “knowledge and strategic think-
Teachers need to understand how media images ing to decide how to act in the best interests of
of African, Asian, Latino, Native, and European others . . . [and] binds individuals to their soci-
Americans are manipulated; the effects they have ety, to their communities, and to each other”
on different ethnic groups; what formal school (Webb, Wilson, Corbett, & Mordecai, 1993, pp. 33-
curricula and instruction can do to counteract 34). In culturally responsive teaching, the “knowl-
their influences; and how to teach students to be edge” of interest is information about ethnically
discerning consumers of and resisters to ethnic diverse groups; the “strategic thinking” is how
this cultural knowledge is used to redesign teach-
Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 109
ing and learning; and the “bounds” are the reci- The process of building culturally responsive
procity involved in students working with each communities of learning is important for teach-
other and with teachers as partners to improve ers to know as well. The emphasis should be on
their achievement. Thus, teachers need to under- holistic or integrated learning. Contrary to the
stand that culturally responsive caring is action tendency in conventional teaching to make dif-
oriented in that it demonstrates high expecta- ferent types of learning (cognitive, physical, emo-
tions and uses imaginative strategies to ensure tional) discrete, culturally responsive teaching
academic success for ethnically diverse students. deals with them in concert. Personal, moral,
Teachers genuinely believe in the intellectual social, political, cultural, and academic knowl-
potential of these students and accept, unequiv- edge and skills are taught simultaneously. For
ocally, their responsibility to facilitate its real- example, students are taught their cultural heri-
ization without ignoring, demeaning, or neglect- tages and positive ethnic identity development
ing their ethnic and cultural identities. They along with math, science, reading, critical think-
build toward academic success from a basis of ing, and social activism. They also are taught
cultural validation and strength. about the heritages, cultures, and contributions
of other ethnic groups as they are learning their
Building community among diverse learners own. Culturally responsive teachers help stu-
is another essential element of culturally respon- dents to understand that knowledge has moral
sive teaching. Many students of color grow up and political elements and consequences, which
in cultural environments where the welfare of obligate them to take social action to promote
the group takes precedence over the individual freedom, equality, and justice for everyone. The
and where individuals are taught to pool their positive effects of teaching these knowledges
resources to solve problems. It is not that indi- and skills simultaneously for African, Asian,
viduals and their needs are neglected; they are Latino, and Native American students are docu-
addressed within the context of group function- mented by Ladson-Billings (1994); Foster (1995);
ing. When the group succeeds or falters, so do Krater, Zeni, & Cason, (1994); Tharp & Gallimore
its individual members. As a result, the group (1988); Escalanté and Dirmann (1990); and Sheets
functions somewhat like a “mutual aid society” (1995).
in which all members are responsible for help-
ing each other perform and ensuring that every- CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATIONS
one contributes to the collective task. The posi-
tive benefits of communities of learners and Effective cross-cultural communication is a
cooperative efforts on student achievement have fourth pivotal element of preparing for cultur-
been validated by Escalanté and Dirmann (1990) ally responsive teaching. Porter and Samovar
in high school mathematics for Latinos; by Sheets (1991) explained that culture influences “what
(1995) in high school Spanish language and lit- we talk about; how we talk about it; what we
erature with low-achieving Latinos; by Fullilove see, attend to, or ignore; how we think; and what
and Treisman (1990) in 1st-year college calculus we think about” (p. 21). Montagu and Watson
with African, Latino, and Chinese Americans; (1979) added that communication is the “ground
and by Tharp and Gallimore (1988) in elemen- of meeting and the foundation of community”
tary reading and language arts with Native (p. vii) among human beings. Without this “meet-
Hawaiian children. These ethics and styles of ing” and “community” in the classroom, learn-
working are quite different from the typical ing is difficult to accomplish for some students.
ones used in schools, which give priority to the In fact, determining what ethnically diverse stu-
individual and working independently. Cul- dents know and can do, as well as what they are
turally responsive teachers understand how con- capable of knowing and doing, is often a func-
flicts between different work styles may inter- tion of how well teachers can communicate with
fere with academic efforts and outcomes, and them. The intellectual thought of students from
they understand how to design more commu- different ethnic groups is culturally encoded
nal learning environments. (Cazden, John, & Hymes, 1985) in that its expres-
110 Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002
sive forms and substance are strongly influ- without corresponding cultural knowledge of
enced by cultural socialization. Teachers need to these ethnic groups.
be able to decipher these codes to teach ethni-
cally diverse students more effectively. There are several other more specific compo-
nents of the communication styles of ethnic groups
As is the case with any cultural component, that should be part of the preparation for and
characteristics of ethnic communication styles practice of culturally responsive teaching. One
are core traits of group trends, not descriptions of these is the protocols of participation in dis-
of the behaviors of individual members of the course. Whereas in mainstream schooling and
group. Whether and how particular individuals culture a passive-receptive style of communica-
manifest these characteristics vary along con- tion and participation predominates, many groups
tinua of depth, clarity, frequency, purity, pur- of color use an active-participatory one. In the
pose, and place. However, expressive variabil- first, communication is didactic, with the speaker
ity of cultural characteristics among ethnic group playing the active role and the listener being
members does not nullify their existence. It is passive. Students are expected to listen quietly
imperative for teachers to understand these reali- while teachers talk and to talk only at prescribed
ties because many of them are hesitant about times when granted permission by the teacher.
dealing with cultural descriptors for fear of ste- Their participation is usually solicited by teach-
reotyping and overgeneralizing. They compen- ers’ asking convergent questions that are posed
sate for this danger by trying to ignore or deny to specific individuals and require factual, “right
the existence of cultural influences on students’ answer” responses. This pattern is serialized in
behaviors and their own. The answer is not that it is repeated from one student to the next
denial or evasion but direct confrontation and (Goodlad, 1984; Philips, 1983).
thorough, critical knowledge of the interactive
relationships between culture, ethnicity, com- In contrast, the communicative styles of most
munication, and learning and between individ- ethnic groups of color in the United States are
uals and groups. more active, participatory, dialectic, and multi-
modal. Speakers expect listeners to engage with
Culturally responsive teacher preparation pro- them as they speak by providing prompts, feed-
grams teach how the communication styles of back, and commentary. The roles of speaker and
different ethnic groups reflect cultural values listener are fluid and interchangeable. Among
and shape learning behaviors and how to mod- African Americans, this interactive communi-
ify classroom interactions to better accommo- cative style is referred to as “call-response” (Baber,
date them. They include knowledge about the 1987; Smitherman, 1977); and for Native Hawai-
linguistic structures of various ethnic communi- ians, it is called “talk-story” (Au, 1993; Au &
cation styles as well as contextual factors, cul- Kawakami, 1994). Among European American
tural nuances, discourse features, logic and females, the somewhat similar practice of “talk-
rhythm, delivery, vocabulary usage, role rela- ing along with the speaker” to show involve-
tionships of speakers and listeners, intonation, ment, support, and confirmation is described as
gestures, and body movements. Research reported “rapport talk” (Tannen, 1990). These communal
by Cazden et al. (1985), Kochman (1981), and communication styles can be problematic in the
Smitherman (1994) indicated that the discourse classroom for both teachers and students. Unin-
features of cultural communications are more formed and unappreciative teachers consider
challenging and problematic in teaching ethni- them rude, distractive, and inappropriate and
cally different students than structural linguistic take actions to squelch them. Students who are
elements. The cultural markers and nuances told not to use them may be, in effect, intellectu-
embedded in the communicative behaviors of ally silenced. Because they are denied use of
highly ethnically affiliated Latino, Native, their natural ways of talking, their thinking,
Asian, and African Americans are difficult to intellectual engagement, and academic efforts
recognize, understand, accept, and respond to are diminished as well.
Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 111
Another communication technique important ues of ethnically diverse students in instruc-
to doing culturally responsive teaching is under- tional communications; to better decipher their
standing different ethnic groups’ patterns of task intellectual abilities, needs, and competencies;
engagement and organizing ideas. In school, stu- and to teach them style or code-shifting skills so
dents are taught to be very direct, precise, deduc- that they can communicate in different ways
tive, and linear in communication. That is, they with different people in different settings for
should be parsimonious in talking and writing, different purposes. Therefore, multicultural com-
avoid using lots of embellishment, stay focused munication competency is an important goal and
on the task or stick to the point, and build a logi- component of culturally responsive teaching.
cal case from the evidence to the conclusion,
from the parts to the whole. When issues are CULTURAL CONGRUITY IN
debated and information is presented, students CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION
are expected to be objective, dispassionate, and
explicit in reporting carefully sequential facts. The final aspect of preparation for culturally
The quality of the discourse is determined by responsive teaching discussed in this article deals
the clarity of the descriptive information pro- with the actual delivery of instruction to ethni-
vided; the absence of unnecessary verbiage, flair, cally diverse students. Culture is deeply embed-
or drama; and how easily the listener (or reader) ded in any teaching; therefore, teaching ethni-
can discern the logic and relationship of the cally diverse students has to be multiculturalized.
ideas (Kochman, 1981). Researchers and schol- A useful way to think about operationalizing
ars call this communicative style topic-centered this idea in the act of teaching is matching instruc-
(Au, 1993; Michaels 1981, 1984). Many African, tional techniques to the learning styles of diverse
Asian, Latino, and Native Americans use a dif- students. Or, as the contributing authors to Edu-
ferent approach to organizing and transmitting cation and Cultural Process (Spindler, 1987) sug-
ideas: one called topic-chaining communication. gested, establishing continuity between the modus
It is highly contextual, and much time is devoted operandi of ethnic groups and school cultures in
to setting a social stage prior to the performance teaching and learning. Many possibilities for
of an academic task. This is accomplished by the establishing these matches, intersections, or
speakers’ (or writers’) providing a lot of back- bridges are implied in the previous discussions.
ground information; being passionately and per- For example, a topic-chaining communication
sonally involved with the content of the dis- style is very conducive to a storytelling teaching
course; using much indirectness (such as innu- style. Cooperative group learning arrangements
endo, symbolism, and metaphor) to convey ideas; and peer coaching fit well with the communal
weaving many different threads or issues into a cultural systems of African, Asian, Native, and
single story; and embedding talk with feelings Latino American groups (Gay, 2000; Spring, 1995).
of intensity, advocacy, evaluation, and aesthet- Autobiographical case studies and fiction can
ics. There also is the tendency to make the dis- crystallize ethnic identity and affiliation issues
course conversational (Au, 1993; Fox, 1994; across contextual boundaries (i.e., geographic,
Kochman, 1981; Smitherman, 1994). The think- generational, temporal). Motion and movement,
ing of these speakers appears to be circular, and music, frequent variability in tasks and formats,
their communication sounds like storytelling. novelty, and dramatic elements in teaching
To one who is unfamiliar with it, this communi- improve the academic performance of African
cation style “sounds rambling, disjointed, and Americans (Allen & Boykin, 1992; Allen & But-
as if the speaker never ends a thought before ler, 1996; Boykin, 1982; Guttentag & Ross, 1972;
going on to something else” (Gay, 2000, p. 96). Hanley, 1998).
These (and other) differences in ethnic commu-
nication styles have many implications for cul- Cultural characteristics provide the criteria
turally responsive teaching. Understanding them for determining how instructional strategies
is necessary to avoid violating the cultural val- should be modified for ethnically diverse stu-
dents. Developing skills in this area should begin
with teacher education students confronting the
112 Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002
misconceptions and controversies surrounding connect prior knowledge with new knowledge,
learning styles. Some might be resolved by under- the known with the unknown, and abstractions
standing that learning styles are how individu- with lived realities. Teachers need to develop
als engage in the process of learning, not their rich repertoires of multicultural instructional
intellectual abilities. Like all cultural phenom- examples to use in teaching ethnically diverse
ena, they are complex, multidimensional, and students.
dynamic. There is room for individuals to move
around within the characteristics of particular This is not something that happens automati-
learning styles, and they can be taught to cross cally or simply because we want it to. It is a
style parameters. Learning styles do have core learned skill that should be taught in teacher
structures, and specific patterns by ethnic groups preparation programs. The process begins with
are discernible (see, for instance, Shade, 1989). understanding the role and prominence of ex-
The internal structure of ethnic learning styles amples in the instructional process, knowing
includes at least eight key components (which the cultures and experiences of different ethnic
are configured differently for various groups): groups, harvesting teaching examples from these
preferred content; ways of working through learn- critical sources, and learning how to apply multi-
ing tasks; techniques for organizing and con- cultural examples in teaching other knowledge
veying ideas and thoughts; physical and social and skills—for instance, using illustrations of
settings for task performance; structural arrange- ethnic architecture, fabric designs, and recipes
ments of work, study, and performance space; in teaching geometric principles, mathematical
perceptual stimulation for receiving, process- operations, and propositional thought. Or us-
ing, and demonstrating comprehension and com- ing various samples of ethnic literature in teach-
petence; motivations, incentives, and rewards ing the concept of genre and reading skills such
for learning; and interpersonal interactional styles. as comprehension, inferential thinking, vocabu-
These dimensions provide different points of lary building, and translation. Research indi-
entry and emphasis for matching instruction to cates that culturally relevant examples have pos-
the learning styles of students from various eth- itive effects on the academic achievement of eth-
nic groups. To respond most effectively to them, nically diverse students. Boggs, Watson-Gegeo,
teachers need to know how they are configured and McMillen (1985) and Tharp and Gallimore
for different ethnic groups as well as the patterns (1988) demonstrated these effects for Native Ha-
of variance that exist within the configurations. waiians; Foster (1989), Lee (1993), and Moses
and Cobb (2001) for African Americans; García
Another powerful way to establish cultural (1999) for Latinos and limited-English speakers;
congruity in teaching is integrating ethnic and and Lipka and Mohatt (1998) for Native Alas-
cultural diversity into the most fundamental kans. Observations made by Lipka and Mohatt
and high-status aspects of the instructional pro- on their research and practice with using cul-
cess on a habitual basis. An examination of tural examples to teach math and science to
school curricula and measures of student achieve- Yup’ik students in Alaska underscored the im-
ment indicates that the highest stakes and high- portance and benefits of these strategies for im-
est status school subjects or skill areas are math, proving school achievement. They noted that
science, reading, and writing. Teachers should
learn how to multiculturalize these especially, Important connections between an aboriginal sys-
although all formal and informal aspects of the tem of numbers and measurements and the hunting
educational process also should be changed. and gathering context from which it derived can be
Further analysis of teaching behaviors reveals used as a bridge to the decontextualized abstract
that a high percentage of instructional time is system often used in teaching mathematics and sci-
devoted to giving examples, scenarios, and ence, . . . can demystify how mathematics and sci-
vignettes to demonstrate how information, ence are derived . . . [and] visualize . . . ways in which
principles, concepts, and skills operate in prac- everyday tasks and knowledge can be a basis for
tice. These make up the pedagogical bridges that learning in formal schooling. (p. 176).
A wide variety of other techniques for incor-
porating culturally diverse contributions, expe-
Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 113
riences, and perspectives into classroom teaching held accountable for doing so if they are not ade-
can be extracted from the work of these and quately prepared. Therefore, teacher preparation
other scholars. They are valuable models and programs must be as culturally responsive to
incentives for doing culturally responsive teach- ethnic diversity as K-12 classroom instruction.
ing and should be a routine part of teacher prep-
aration programs. REFERENCES
CONCLUSION Allen, B. A., & Boykin, A. W. (1992). African-American
children and the educative process: Alleviating cultural
The components of the preparation for and discontinuity through prescriptive pedagogy. School Psy-
practice of culturally responsive teaching included chology Review, 21(4), 586-598.
in this discussion are not inclusive. There is
much more to know, think, and do. These sug- Allen, B. A., & Butler, L. (1996). The effects of music and
gestions are merely samples of the knowledge movement opportunity on the analogical reasoning per-
and skills needed to prepare teachers to work formance of African American and White children: A
more effectively with students who are not part preliminary study. Journal of Black Psychology, 22(3), 316-
of the U.S. ethnic, racial, and cultural main- 328.
stream. This preparation requires a more thor-
ough knowledge of the specific cultures of dif- Au, K. H. (1993). Literacy instruction in multicultural settings.
ferent ethnic groups, how they affect learning New York: Harcourt-Brace.
behaviors, and how classroom interactions and
instruction can be changed to embrace these dif- Au, K. H., & Kawakami, A. J. (1994). Cultural congruence
ferences. Because culture strongly influences the in instruction. In E. R. Hollins, J. E. King, & W. C. Hay-
attitudes, values, and behaviors that students man (Eds.), Teaching diverse populations: Formulating a
and teachers bring to the instructional process, knowledge base (pp. 5-23). Albany: State University of
it has to likewise be a major determinant of how New York Press.
the problems of underachievement are solved.
This mandate for change is both simple and pro- Baber, C. R. (1987). The artistry and artifice of Black com-
found. It is simple because it demands for ethni- munications. In G. Gay & W. L. Baber (Eds.), Expres-
cally different students that which is already sively Black: The cultural basis of ethnic identity (pp. 75-
being done for many middle-class, European 108). New York: Praeger.
American students—that is, the right to grapple
with learning challenges from the point of strength Banks, J. B., & Banks, C.A.M. (Eds.). (1995). Handbook of
and relevance found in their own cultural frames research on multicultural education. New York: Macmillan.
of reference. It is profound because, to date, U.S.
education has not been very culturally respon- Boggs, S. T., Watson-Gegeo, K., & McMillen, G. (1985).
sive to ethnically diverse students. Instead, these Speaking, relating, and learning: A study of Hawaiian chil-
students have been expected to divorce them- dren at home and at school. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
selves from their cultures and learn according to
European American cultural norms. This places Boykin, A. W. (1982). Task variability and the performance
them in double jeopardy—having to master the of Black and White schoolchildren: Vervistic explora-
academic tasks while functioning under cul- tions. Journal of Black Studies, 12(4), 469-485.
tural conditions unnatural (and often unfamil-
iar) to them. Removing this second burden is a Campbell, C. P. (1995). Race, myth, and the news. Thousand
significant contribution to improving their aca- Oaks, CA: Sage.
demic achievement. This can be done by all
teachers’ being culturally responsive to ethni- Cazden, C. B., John, V. P., & Hymes, D. (Eds.). (1985). Func-
cally diverse students throughout their instruc- tions of language in the classroom. Prospect Heights, IL:
tional processes. But they cannot be reasonably Waveland.
Cortés, C. E. (1991). Empowerment through media liter-
acy: A multicultural approach. In C. E. Sleeter (Ed.),
Empowerment through multicultural education (pp. 143-
157). Albany: State University of New York Press.
Cortés, C. E. (1995). Knowledge construction and popular
culture: The media as multicultural educator. In J. A.
Banks & C.A.M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research on
multicultural education (pp. 169-183). New York: Macmillan.
Cortés, C. E. (2000). Our children are watching: How media
teach about diversity. New York: Teachers College Press.
Escalanté, J., & Dirmann, J. (1990). The Jaime Escalanté
math program. Journal of Negro Education, 59(3), 407-
423.
Foster, M. (1989). It’s cooking now: A performance analysis
of the speech events of a Black teacher in an urban com-
munity college. Language in Society, 18(1), 1-29.
114 Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002
Foster, M. (1995). African American teachers and cultur- Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally
ally relevant pedagogy. In J. A. Banks & C.A.M. Banks relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Jour-
(Eds.), Handbook of research on multicultural education nal, 32(3), 465-491.
(pp. 570-581). New York: Macmillan.
Lee, C. (1993). Signifying as a scaffold to literary interpretation:
Foster, M. (1997). Black teachers on teaching. New York: New The pedagogical implications of a form of African-American
Press. discourse (NCTE Research Rep. No. 26). Urbana, IL:
National Council of Teachers of English.
Fox, H. (1994). Listening to the world: Cultural issues in aca-
demic writing. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers Lipka, J., & Mohatt, G. V. (1998). Transforming the culture of
of English. schools: Yup’ik Eskimo examples. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Erlbaum.
Fullilove, R. E., & Treisman, P. U. (1990). Mathematics
achievement among African American undergraduates Michaels, S. (1981). “Sharing time”: Children’s narrative
at the University of California, Berkeley: An evaluation styles and differential access to literacy. Language in
of the Mathematics Workshop Program. Journal of Negro Society, 10(3), 423-442.
Education, 59(30), 463-478.
Michaels, S. (1984). Listening and responding: Hearing the
García, E. (1999). Student cultural diversity: Understanding logic of children’s classroom narratives. Theory Into
and meeting the challenge. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Practice, 23(3), 218-224.
Gay, G. (1995). A multicultural school curriculum. In C. A. Montagu, A., & Watson, F. (1979). The human connection.
Grant & M. Gomez (Eds.), Making school multicultural: New York: McGraw-Hill.
Campus and classroom (pp. 37-54). Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
Merrill/Prentice Hall. Moses, R. P., & Cobb, C. E., Jr. (2001). Radical equations: Math
literacy and civil rights. Boston: Beacon.
Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research,
and practice. New York: Teachers College Press. Pai, Y. (1990). Cultural foundations of education. New York:
Merrill/Macmillan.
Gold, M. J., Grant, C. A., & Rivlin, H. N. (Eds.). (1977). In
praise of diversity: A resource book on multicultural educa- Philips, S. U. (1983). The invisible culture: Communication in
tion. Washington, DC: Teacher Corps. classroom and community on the Warm Springs Indian Res-
ervation. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland.
Goodlad, J. I. (1984). A place called school: Prospects for the
future. New York: McGraw-Hill. Porter, R. E., & Samovar, L. A. (1991). Basic principles of
intercultural communication. In L. A. Samovar & R. E.
Guttentag, M., & Ross, S. (1972). Movement responses in Porter (Eds.), Intercultural communication: A reader (6th
simple concept learning. American Journal of Orthopsy- ed., pp. 5-22). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
chiatry, 42(4), 657-665.
Shade, B. J. (Ed.). (1989). Culture, style, and the educative pro-
Hanley, M. S. (1998). Learning to fly: Knowledge construction cess. Springfield, IL: Charles C Thomas.
of African American adolescents through drama. Unpub-
lished doctoral dissertation, University of Washington, Sheets, R. H. (1995). From remedial to gifted: Effects of cul-
Seattle. turally-centered pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3),
186-193.
Hollins, E. R. (1996). Culture in school learning: Revealing the
deep meaning. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Smith, G. P. (1998). Common sense about common knowledge:
The knowledge bases for diversity. Washington, DC: Amer-
Hollins, E. R., King, J. E., & Hayman, W. C. (Eds.). (1994). ican Association of Colleges for Teacher Education.
Teaching diverse populations: Formulating a knowledge base.
Albany: State University of New York Press. Smitherman, G. (1977). Talkin’ and testifyin’: The language of
Black America. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Howard, G. R. (1999). We can’t teach what we don’t know:
White teachers, multiracial schools. New York: Teachers Smitherman, G. (1994). The blacker the berry the sweeter
College Press. the juice: African American student writers. In A. H.
Dyson, & C. Genishi (Eds.), The need for story: Cultural
King, J. E., Hollins, E. R., & Hayman, W. C. (Eds.). (1997). diversity in classroom and community (pp. 80-101). Urbana,
Preparing teachers for cultural diversity. New York: Teachers IL: National Council of Teachers of English.
College Press.
Spindler, G. D. (Ed.). (1987). Education and cultural process:
Kleinfeld, J. (1974). Effects of nonverbal warmth on the Anthropological approaches (2nd ed.). Prospect Heights,
learning of Eskimo and White students. Journal of Social IL: Waveland.
Psychology, 92(1), 3-9.
Spring, J. (1992). Images of American life: A history of ideologi-
Kleinfeld, J. (1975). Effective teachers of Eskimo and Indian cal management in schools, movies, radio, and television.
students. School Review, 83(2), 301-344. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Kochman, T. (1981). Black and White styles in conflict. Chi- Spring, J. (1995). The intersection of cultures: Multicultural
cago: University of Chicago Press. education in the United States. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Krater, J., Zeni, J., & Cason, N. D. (1994). Mirror images: Takaki, R. (1993). A different mirror: A history of multicultural
Teaching writing in Black and White. Portsmouth, NH: America. Boston: Little, Brown.
Heinemann.
Tannen, D. (1990). You just don’t understand: Women and men
Ladson-Billings, G. (1994). The dreamkeepers: Successful teach- in conversation. New York: Morrow.
ers of African-American children. San Francisco: Jossey-
Bass.
Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002 115
Tharp, R. G., & Gallimore, R. (1988). Rousing minds to life: within the graduate studies and teacher education pro-
Teaching, learning, and schooling in social context. Cam- grams. She is a former high school social studies teacher.
bridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Her research, teaching, and scholarship interests include
the interaction among culture, ethnicity, and education;
Wade, R. C. (1993). Content analysis of social studies text- curriculum design, staff development, and classroom instruc-
books: A review of ten years of research. Theory and tion for multicultural education; and bridging multicul-
Research in Social Education, 21(3), 232-256. tural education theory and practice. She is the author of
more than 130 articles and book chapters, the author of two
Webb, J., Wilson, B., Corbett, D., & Mordecai, R. (1993). books, and the coeditor of one. Her latest book, Culturally
Understanding caring in context: Negotiating borders Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice
and barriers. Urban Review, 25(1), 25-45. (2000, Teachers College Press), received the AACTE 2001
Outstanding Writing Award.
Geneva Gay is a professor of education at the Univer-
sity of Washington, Seattle, where she teaches courses in
multicultural education and general curriculum theory
116 Journal of Teacher Education, Vol. 53, No. 2, March/April 2002