Culturally responsive computing: a theory revisited

Despite multiple efforts and considerable funding, historically marginalized groups (e.g., racial minorities and women) continue not to enter or persist in the most lucrative of fields – technology. Understanding the potency of culturally responsive teaching (CRT), some technology-enrichment programs modified CRP principles to establish a culturally responsive computing (CRC) experience for disenfranchised groups. We draw from our respective praxes developing two such initiatives and reconceptualize CRC as a heuristic. In this theoretical article, we offer a more nuanced vision of CRC considering intersectionality, innovations, and technosocial activism. Implications for the newly defined tenets consider programmatic, theoretical, and methodological concerns.     

Culturally responsive pedagogy: A New Zealand case study

Abstract

This paper examines the justification for a culturally responsive educational initiative to raise the educational underachievement of Māori students in New Zealand. The initiative is justified by claims that the recognition in the classroom of a student’s cultural identity will lead to the student’s educational achievement. Using an account of a small study of teachers and their beliefs regarding New Zealand’s culturally responsive educational policy Kia Eke Panuku, we argue that such a claim is not established and it is the development of an epistemic identity which is more likely to be the means for Māori to attain educational success.     

The consensus conference as a mechanism for community responsive technology policy

Abstract

Questions concerning the education of mobile groups help to highlight the lived experiences of people otherwise rendered invisible by policy actors. This includes the diverse communities of occupational Travellers—those people who regularly move in order to earn their livelihood. While the category ‘occupational Travellers’ encompasses groups as varied as defence force personnel, specialist teachers and seasonal fruit pickers, the focus here is on the people who travel the agricultural show circuits of Australia to provide the entertainment of ‘sideshow alley’. Drawing on qualitative research with the Australian show people since 1992, this article deploys the concept of ‘sedentarism’ to highlight the ambivalently valorised lived experiences and educational opportunities of the show people. In particular, the article explores the pedagogical and policy implications of efForts to disrupt and transform the marginalising impact of sedentarism, which constructs mobility as the other in relation to fixed residence.     

Culturally responsive computing as brokerage: toward asset building with education-based social movements

Bridging schools and communities has been a goal, if not hurdle, for reformers who aim to improve the education of low-income and underrepresented students from the bottom-up. Strategies to create these connections are often characterized as ‘brokerage’, where individuals or organizations bridge two or more social worlds. This paper details the design and implementation of educational technologies that support the brokering of school–community connections using a ‘culturally responsive computing’ (CRC) framework. Culturally responsive education is often limited to content and learning styles, which misses the opportunities it creates for a brokerage process that also connects to education-based social movements for economic access in underrepresented communities. This paper provides empirical support for the claim that the CRC framework is well suited for both purposes. It allows schools and communities to build assets together, translating the knowledge and skills of underrepresented communities into math and computing education, while illuminating the ways in which technologies can motivate education-based social movement building.     

Going on-line: developing LRC web pages

Also received
Please note that coverage here does not preclude later fuller review .     

Understanding our learners and developing reflective practice: Conducting action research with English language learners

This paper examines the ways in which action research projects can be used to socialize teachers to the teaching of English language learners (ELLs) as well as help these teachers develop reflective practice. Drawing on surveys, action research projects conduced with ELLs and reflection papers as data, the study explored the teachers' statements about the impact of the course work and the projects on their teaching and their beliefs about teaching ELLs. Students stated that they felt they had grown as teachers, were more reflective, and more confident about teaching in general, and teaching ELLs in particular.     

Culturally responsive teaching in the context of mathematics: a grounded theory case study

In this grounded theory case study, four interconnected, foundational cornerstones of culturally responsive mathematics teaching (CRMT), communication, knowledge, trust/relationships, and constant reflection/revision, were systematically unearthed to develop an initial working theory of CRMT that directly informs classroom practice. These cornerstones were found to interact in unique ways. Results have implications for teachers of mathematics who aim to become more culturally responsive, mathematics teacher educators and supervisors, and school administrators who seek to promote equity in mathematics.     

A framework for fostering a community of practice: scaffolding learners through an evolving continuum

This paper proposes a framework of an evolving community of practitioners along a simulation, participation, and codetermined interactions continuum. Simulation, participation, and codetermined interactions are three models of learning, which describe how learners can be brought through a scaffolded process within a community experience. The framework also focuses on the processes rather than on the outcomes or products of a community. In this paper, we describe a case study of a group of heads of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in schools being scaffolded through an experiential workshop to achieve learning outcomes such as ICT‐based project work (as product) and other constructivist dispositions of learning (as processes). The proposed framework is intended to be sufficiently broad so that learners are supported from simulation to codetermined interactions where autonomy of learners’ co‐construction efforts are encouraged and experienced.     

Linking a community of learners with a community of scholars

Florida International University, a new upper level public university established in 1972, implemented a philosophical and programmatic objective of service to the community and fostering international understanding through the education of students. The University's primary clientele is composed of adult graduates of community colleges and older continuing education adults who are self-supporting. The changing student population demanded non-traditional methods for the delivery of the educational services. An External Degree mechanism was developed to deliver the educational services to the adult learner. The impact of this community of learners determined the values and assumptions of the External Degree Program. The adult role became a key factor in the development of the University. This role was manifested in programs as well as in administration of the University and it caused changes in the roles of the learners and the scholars in putting major emphasis on processes related to assessment of prior learning and development of an educational contract. The community of students helped define new roles for the community of scholars, especially the faculty adviser, content consultants, and adjunct professors. The major educational process that developed from this linking of the community of learners and a community of scholars was the educational contract. The challenge that faces this linkage is the development of and the support for quality standards that determine the learning outcome and are embodied in the learning contract process.

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Zusammenfassung Die Internationale Universität von Florida, eine neuere Universität, die 1972 gegründet wurde, hat die philosophische und programmatische Absicht in die Tat umgesetzt, den Dienst an der Gemeinschaft und die internationale Verständigung durch die Erziehung von Studenten zu fördern. Die hauptsächliche Zielgruppe der Universität sind erwachsene Absolventen von community-colleges und ältre, Erwachsene, die sich weiterbilden und das Studium selbst bezahlen. Die sich verändernde Studentenschaft verlangte auch nach untraditioneller Darbietung der Bildungsdienste. Ein Mechanismus wurde geschaffen, der über einen Externen Grad die Bildungsdienste an den erwachsenen Lernenden weitergeben sollte. Der Einfluss dieser Gemeinschaft von Lernenden bestimmte auch das Wertsystem und die allgemeinen Grundlagen des Externen Grad-Programms. Die Erwachsenenrolle wurde zum Schlüsselfaktor in der Entwicklung der Universität. Dies zeigte sich sowohl in den Programmen als auch in der Verwaltung der Universität, und führte zu Veränderungen sowohl in der der Lernenden als auch der Lehrenden durch die Betonung von Prozessen, die sich auf die Beurteilung bereits vorhandenen Wissens und die Entwicklung eines Bildungsvertrages. Die Gemeinschaft der Studenten half mit in der Definition neuer Rollen für die Gemeinschaft der Forschenden und Lehrenden, insbesondere für die Berater der Studenten, die Curriculumberater, und Professoren. Der hauptsächliche Bildungsprozess, der sich aus dieser Gemeinschaft von Lernenden und Lehrenden entwickelte, war der Bildungsvertrag. Der Test, den diese Verbindung noch bestehen muss, ist die Entwicklung und Unterstützung von Qualitätsansprüchen, die ihrerseits die Resultate bestimmen, und in den Bildungsvertrag mit eingeschlossen sind.

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Résumé L'Université Internationale de la Floride, une nouvelle université publique d'un niveau supérieur établie en 1972, a mis en oeuvre un objectif philosophique et programmatique de service vis-à-vis de la communauté et encourageant la compréhension internationale par l'éducation des étudiants. La clientèle principale de l'Université se compose d'adultes diplômés dans les collèges de la communauté et d'adultes plus âgés poursuivant leur éducation à leurs propres frais. Le changement dans la population qui étudie a exigé des méthodes non-traditionnelles pour la mise à disposition de services pédagogiques. Un mécanisme de Grade Externe a été élaboré pour mettre les services pédagogiques à la disposition de l'adulte qui apprend. L'influence de cette communauté de ceux qui apprennent a déterminé les valeurs et les présomptions du programme du Grade Externe. Le rôle de l'adulte est devenu un facteur clé dans le développement de l'Université. Ce rôle s'est manifesté dans des programmes ainsi que dans l'administration de l'Université et a causé des changements dans les rôles de ceux qui apprennent et des écoliers, en posant une accentuation majeure sur les processus ayant trait à l'évaluation de l'apprentissage précédent et du développement d'un contrat éducatif. La communauté des étudiants a aidé à définir les nouveaux rôles pour la communauté des écoliers, en particulier pour le conseiller de la faculté, les conseillers concernant le contenu et les professeurs adjoints. Le processus principal éducatif qui s'est développé à la suite de cette liaison de la communauté de ceux qui apprennent et d'une communauté d'écoliers a été le contrat prédagogique. Le défi, auquel fait face cette liaison, est le développement de et le soutien de degrés de qualité qui déterminent le résultat de l'apprentissage et qui sont incorporés dans le processus de contrat d'apprentissage.

     

Culturally responsive teaching in special education for ethnically diverse students: Setting the stage

Two major premises are developed in this discussion. One is that many students of color are disproportionately assigned to special education because educators lack knowledge about or appreciation for their cultural values and socialization, and how these affect learning behaviors. The other premise is that the educational quality of students of color in both special and regular education can be improved significantly by using instructional programs and practices that reflect their cultural heritages, experiences, and perspectives. Several components of this ''culturally responsive teaching'' are explained, along with some research findings about its effects on student achievement. These include critical cultural consciousness of teachers; culturally pluralistic classroom climates; diverse communities of learners; and multicultural curriculum and instruction. The author concludes that without culturally responsive teaching education can never be the best it should be for students who are not part of the majority and mainstream of schools and society.     

Meaning making in a community of learners: Struggles and possibilities in an urban science class

In this study, we embark on an exploration and analysis of a community of learners of science in a classroom of one of the authors (Barbara Luster)—a group of Year 8 African American girls and boys in an urban, inner-city school. This study is a collaborative action research project that examines closely the practice of teaching and learning science within a socio-cultural perspective that Barbara has espoused and brought to her classroom. We study the two dimensions of a community of learners—social-organisational, and intellectual-thematic—and how each evolved and influenced the other. As we explore these dimensions we pay particular attention to the gender of the students, looking for similarities and differences between boys and girls in the patterns that emerge. Our findings indicate that in Barbara's class the relative success of the learning community in terms of the social-organisational dimension was not accompanied by a relative success in the intellectual-thematic dimension. Barbara and her students, for the most part, succeeded in developing a community of people coming together to ask questions, offer their thinking, and respectfully sometimes build on each other's contributions and sometimes disagree with each other. However, Barbara and her students did not quite succeed in developing shared understandings, and we discuss the reasons for this.     

Culturally appropriate media and technology: A perspective from Zimbabwe

Summary and Conclusion The above discussion should make my position clear-that the issue of appropriate media is dependent on the quality of the personnel. Skilled personnel can perform a variety of tasks such as arguing the case for a more central role for media and technology in instruction, developing low-cost alternatives, giving support to the minority with “high tech”, selecting and adapting imported media and technology to fit local conditions, and exploring traditional non-technological options for the purpose of enhancing learning. In my view, the option of training personnel is a bottom-up approach to the question of media and technology. This approach gives the practitioners the knowledge which is required to make choices, to innovate, and to select. Given such power, the practitioners are in a position to argue the case for more media resources; they are able to generate effective and responsive learning environments, using the available media and technology. Such effectiveness and responsiveness is surely what cultural appropriateness of media and technology is about. The program of teacher education that we are developing at the University of Zimbabwe is intended to produce competent media producers and users. By offering courses in media and technology to prospective teachers, and offering training to key media personnel working in other training colleges, we hope to develop the skills of our teachers to a point where they can be innovators in the process of developing culturally appropriate media and technology.     

Culturally responsive pedagogy for African American students: promising programs and practices for enhanced academic performance

The academic outcomes for African American students continue to lag behind their White, Latino, and Asian American counterparts. Culturally responsive pedagogy has been purported to be an intervention that may help to reverse the persistent under performance for African American students. This article highlights findings from a three-year study of an intervention program designed to increase college going rates for African American students. The authors document the manner in which overall student outcomes, graduation rates, and college going rates increased when culturally responsive pedagogical practices were used. Finally, this work calls for academic rigor to be a more germane characteristic of the culturally responsive pedagogical framework.     

Culturally responsive peacebuilding pedagogy: a case study of Fambul Tok Peace Clubs in conflict-affected Sierre Leone

Recent research on the peace-promoting agency of teachers in conflict-affected contexts has critiqued the dominance of a menu of curriculum initiatives circulated within aid organizations which ignore or dismiss indigenous cultural resources available within local communities. On the other hand, the turn to local culture in peacebuilding interventions has also been critiqued for idealizing the local. This paper presents a case study of the work of Fambul Tok Peace Clubs in conflict-affected Sierra Leone which aim to support teachers in drawing on local practices, rituals and symbols. Using an interpretative approach, alert to the meanings teachers ascribe to their pedagogical practices, it finds that teachers respond to local culture in multiple, sometimes contradictory ways. These range from celebration of indigenous practices as resources for conflict resolution that resonate with their pupils and communities to critique of their oppressive gender norms and inability to address structural drivers of conflict.