Abstract
While the value of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies in education is largely accepted, how to equip educators to integrate these pedagogies in their practice is far less understood. In this chapter, the authors discuss how teacher education faculty's understanding and implementation of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies were strengthened through an iterative and co-constructed process of tenet and rubric development, scaffolded implementation, peer feedback, and collaborative reflection. Drawing from four years of faculty inquiry group work in ongoing professional learning settings, the authors discuss the importance of a localized, evolving central framework which both informed practice and was grounded in praxis. The authors argue for the importance of systematic approaches, including both self-work and engagement with structural inequities, using shared understandings to affect enduring, multi-layered transformation across a large and diverse set of teacher education programs.
I find it very frustrating to be a student [in the credential program]. Oftentimes, [teacher educators] are not aware of the emotional impact their classes have on their [teacher credential] students. Teacher [educator]s may know their content well, but may not understand power dynamics and gender norms that are replicated among students during whole-class discussions. Teacher [educator]s may be so interested in the subject matter themselves that they do not notice that the students are not engaged in the lesson. Teacher [educator]s may also not realize that the content of their lesson may be triggering to [credential program] students who come from diverse backgrounds. – Michelle, Teacher Credential Candidate
TopIntroduction
As faculty working within a large and diverse university, we, the authors, recognize the importance of culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995), culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2018), and culturally sustaining pedagogies (Paris & Alim, 2017) for future educators in our teacher preparation programs. However, Michelle’s opening vignette highlights that many program faculty need support to engage in equity-oriented pedagogical practices that center the intersectional-identities and social-emotional wellness of our diverse teacher candidate population. One avenue for pursuing this important work has been through creating communities of practice focused on Culturally Responsive and Sustaining Pedagogies (CRSP)1 for teacher preparation faculty. In this piece, we discuss an emergent, multiyear process of moving CRSP from the periphery of our teacher preparation programs towards the center of our collective work, with the long-term goal of positioning it at the forefront of the teaching practices of our faculty and future K-12 teachers alike. To that end, we introduce a CRSP rubric as a focal point to inform the program design, curricula, and instruction within our teacher education programs, with the ultimate aim of advancing this work in K-12 settings.
Our CRSP professional learning efforts are supported by a Hispanic Serving Institution Teacher Preparation Grant – the Caminos Project – that aims to both expand the number of Latinx teachers in local schools as well as to ensure that all of our pre-service candidates teach in culturally responsive and sustaining ways. In this article, we discuss one aspect of the Caminos Project – the strengthening of faculty and pre-service teachers’ understandings of and competency in implementing elements of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies (CRSP) (Gay, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Paris & Alim, 2014) through an iterative and collaborative process of CRSP tenet and rubric development, and implementation across multiple contexts.
In Year 1, the Caminos Project engaged interested volunteer faculty across the various credential programs within our college (multiple subject, single subject, education specialist, and dual credential programs) in monthly faculty inquiry group (FIG) meetings. In Year 2, the project shifted to program specific work, engaging all (full-time and part-time) faculty in the Single Subject Credential Program (SSCP) in an initial summit, with the majority of these faculty continuing to participate in ongoing monthly FIG meetings.2 Year 3 transitioned to virtual collaborative meeting settings in response to the global pandemic, where we expanded our work to include SSCP student teaching supervisors, and faculty and supervisors in the education specialist (i.e., special education) (EDSP) and multiple subject (MSCP) credential programs. In light of the size and institutional complexity of CSULB’s College of Education, we hope to demonstrate the means for generating programmatic change that is inclusive, organic, incremental and at scale.
Our work was built upon several core components. These components include the importance of developing relationships among faculty, establishing shared understandings and tenets of CRSP that were specific to our localized context, drawing from and acknowledging the prior knowledge and experiences of faculty in relation to CRSP, providing examples of CRSP in practice, and supporting implementation with a common framework. By sharing practices, observing one another and developing a rubric, we were able to discuss teacher education practice through a CRSP lens and support CRSP enactment at the classroom level, with movement towards programmatic implementation. As will be shown, the process of creating and implementing this rubric, as well as the observation tool itself, can serve a critical purpose in guiding, supporting, and assessing CRSP instruction in teacher preparation and clinical practice settings.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Single Subject Credential: Licensure in a specialized content area for K-12 educators, but generally focused at the secondary (7-12) grade levels.
Culture: A hybrid, fluid, and complex constellation of intersecting and changing elements of one’s identity including, but not limited to, race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, ability, language, religion, and community membership.
Intergroup Dialogue: Meetings between members of two (or more) social groups that have a history of conflict or potential conflict.
Faculty Inquiry Groups: Groups of faculty members at or across institutions engaging in systematic reflection on their practice, often involving the implementation of new practices, observation and/or collaborative discussion.
Professional Learning: The development and acquisition of new knowledge to support professional growth and practice.
Teacher Preparation: Refers to teacher education prior to obtaining one’s teacher credential or licensure.
Education Specialist Credential: Licensure for educator in K-12 special education.
Identity: The way a person sees themselves and/or is perceived by others which can include specific qualities, beliefs, personality traits, actions, and characteristics.
Multiple Subject Credential: Licensure for K-8 (elementary) educators.
Teacher Education: Systematic professional learning for teachers.