Abstract
The mission of this chapter is to address new teachers' understanding of effective classroom management and instruction for classrooms that include students who are culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD). Because a growing number of classrooms have students who are CLD, it is critical that new teachers understand the integrated use of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) and high-leverage practices to address the social/emotional, behavioral, and academic needs of all students within the classroom. In this way, new teachers will be better prepared for such classrooms and more likely to be retained within their school and profession. Current data shows that the rate in which new teachers are entering the field is not enough to help solve the current teacher shortage crisis.
TopChapter Objectives
- 1.
Describe culturally responsive pedagogy.
- 2.
Describe high-leverage practices for special education.
- 3.
Identify ways to support academically and culturally and linguistically diverse students in the classroom.
TopHow Teacher Shortage And Culture Collide
Darling-Hammond & Edgerton (2021) emphasize that students actively construct knowledge by connecting what they know to what they are learning in cultural contexts and learn best when they feel safe, affirmed, and deeply engaged within a supportive community of learners; therefore, all teachers (general and special education) need to know how to provide high quality instruction effectively and efficiently to a diverse student population (Franklin & Peterson-Ahmad, 2021). Conversely, students from CLD backgrounds have been falling behind with lower academic achievement scores and graduation rates for decades (Gay, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 2014; McCray et al., 2014). According to NCES (2019), there is a 25-point difference in reading and a 32-point difference in math achievement scores between White and Black 8th grade students and this has remained relatively the same since 1994.
The shortage of qualified teachers is a real and growing problem in the field of education and one that directly impacts students in schools. Researchers show that between 20% and 40% of teachers leave teaching in their first 5 years (Darling-Hammond & Sykes, 2003; Gray & Taie, 2015; Hanushek et al., 1999; Ingersoll, 2003). It is estimated that in the 2017-2018 school year, there were about 110,000 teacher vacancies (Garcia & Weiss, 2019). This shortage is expected to continue as the number of teachers leaving the profession outpace the number of teachers entering. According to Garcia and Weiss (2019), 13.8% of public-school teachers either leave their schools or the profession altogether. In addition to the large number of teachers leaving the field, schools are also having a hard time retaining experienced and certified teachers, especially in schools that serve large numbers of CLD students.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: An approach to teaching in which the teacher incorporates the strengths and values of the cultures of the students in the classroom into everyday teaching practices.
Culture: The beliefs, values, customs, and social norms of a group of people.
Diversity: Different ethnic backgrounds, genders, sexual orientations, socioeconomic status, or race.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students: Students who are from a variety of different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds and may speak languages other than English.
Novice Teacher: A teacher who has been in the classroom for less than three years.
High Leverage Practices: A set of practices that have been shown to improve student achievement and behavior of all students in the classroom, when implemented by the classroom teacher.
Cultural Dissonance: Misunderstandings that occur when one’s beliefs and values are different from another person’s beliefs and values.