Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy & Multicultural Education

Teacher Support & Resources

What is culturally sustaining pedagogy?

According to Paris and Alim (2017) culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) seeks to perpetuate and foster—to sustain—linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of schooling for positive social transformation and revitalization. CSP positions dynamic cultural dexterity as a necessary good, and sees the outcome of learning as additive, rather than subtractive, as remaining whole rather than framed as broken, as critically enriching strengths rather than replacing deficits. CSP exists wherever education sustains the lifeways of communities who have been and continue to be damaged and erased through schooling. As such, CSP explicitly calls for schooling to be a site for sustaining—rather than eradicating—the cultural ways of being of communities of color. Paris and Alim h/t to Ladson-Billings’s culturally relevant pedagogy as the place where “the beat drops” for their CSP and has laid the groundwork for other social justice pedagogies.

What is Multicultural Education?

According to EdGlossary, multicultural education refers to any form of education or teaching that incorporates the histories, texts, values, beliefs, and perspectives of people from different cultural backgrounds. At the classroom level, for example, teachers may modify or incorporate lessons to reflect the cultural diversity of the students in a particular class. In many cases, “culture” is defined in the broadest possible sense, encompassing race, ethnicity, nationality, language, religion, class, gender, sexual orientation, and “exceptionality”—a term applied to students with specialized needs or disabilities.

Generally speaking, multicultural education is predicated on the principle of educational equity for all students, regardless of culture, and it strives to remove barriers to educational opportunities and success for students from different cultural backgrounds. In practice, educators may modify or eliminate educational policies, programs, materials, lessons, and instructional practices that are either discriminatory toward or insufficiently inclusive of diverse cultural perspectives. Multicultural education also assumes that the ways in which students learn and think are deeply influenced by their cultural identity and heritage, and that to teach culturally diverse students effectively requires educational approaches that value and recognize their cultural backgrounds. In this way, multicultural education aims to improve the learning and success of all students, particularly students from cultural groups that have been historically underrepresented or that suffer from lower educational achievement and attainment.

Self-Analysis & Implicit Bias

While it is important to make yourself aware of cultural pedagogies and multicultural education, the most vital piece of implementing equitable education into your classroom is self-analysis. This can be a scary and uncomfortable space for many people. In attempts to soften the blow, take a look at this short and digestible analysis of implicit bias.

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Implicit Bias Video Series
PBS, in partnership with the New York Times, produced a series of palatable videos regarding implicit bias. Click here to watch the subsequent videos.
Implicit Action Test
Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition – thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. Their Implicit Action Test measures responses to assess where your possible biases may exist. Click here to take a test.
Challenging Implicit Bias in the Classroom
Tuned into implicit bias? Here are some actionable things you can do in your own classroom and school to challenge the phenomenon. Click here to read the article.
Reducing Bias
Another short article about reducing bias in your classroom and your life. Click here for four ways you can reduce implicit bias.
The Heavy Lifting
If you’re ready for the heavy lifting, Dartmouth offers a list of research and strategies for teachers wanting to do further study into how to disrupt implicit bias in the classroom. Click here to access the list.

Diversity

Although often focused on race and ethnicity, this section explores the many cultures that may be represented in your classroom.

Multicultural Literacy

Literacy instruction for diverse students encourages success among all students.

Environment

In addition to curriculum concerns, the classroom environment must be considered in terms of cultural responsiveness.

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