Noted scholar, Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings introduced the term culturally relevant pedagogy over two decades ago, which formed as a new theoretical model for educators to provide students with learning experiences rooted in their cultural understandings and experiences (Muñiz, 2019). Dr. Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) asserted that culturally responsive pedagogy is created with the following criteria in mind: (1) Students experience of academic achievement; (2) Students development in cultural competencies; and (3) Students development of critical thinking that challenges inequities within the social norms.
Culturally relevant or responsive pedagogy focuses on meeting the academic needs of students through curriculum which seeks to support students’ cultural identities and transform educational, racial, and social inequalities. As such culturally responsive teaching provides support, equity, and empowerment for students, when educators reflect a high regard through their pedagogies for the diverse communities, cultural backgrounds, languages, and perspectives students bring with them into their academic experiences (Oberg De La Garza, Lavigne & Si, 2020).
How have humanities faculty contributed to the growth and achievement of Black and brown students, demographics of college learners who have typically been labeled as being “at risk” or “falling” in the achievement gap or “just not college ready”? Humanities has within it the very keys for student proficiency and mastery of the written and spoken language, as well as critical analysis of literature, art, history, film, and other required subjects in college programs. During the pandemic, college faculty at both HBCUs and HSIs had to adapt and master new ways of teaching in the humanities to engage students online and find ways of connecting academic material to student's lived realities in the face of the "twin pandemics" of COVID-19 and racial injustice. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) have throughout time served as educational institutions responsible for educating the hearts and minds of Black American students, when other educational opportunities were not afforded to them. Similarly Hispanic Serving Institutions, have historically met the academic needs of students of Hispanic heritage, in the most diverse cities in the U.S. Both institutional types have faced various challenges in its commitment to remain stable educational safe spaces for the most underserved populations of students in this country. Exploring the ways in which faculty have developed new courses, taught using technology, utilized the arts and digital media, and facilitated student research and writing related to capstone projects in the humanities, can further provide insight into the success of HBCUs and HSIs and how the faculty are meeting the needs of diverse students - pre and post - pandemic to increase student achievement and provide cultural safe spaces for students.
This edited volume, titled Teaching Humanities with Cultural Responsiveness at HBCUs and HSIs will bring together contributions from faculty across various regions, who will present their research and experiences in teaching and observing the learning process and academic growth of students who currently attend HBCUs and HSIs. Because these institutions have long served the educational aspirations of Black and brown college students in their pursuit of undergraduate and two-year degrees, or certifications, it is valuable to understand how faculty at these institutions’ "remix" their pedagogies and revise curriculum to provide culturally responsive materials, learning activities, and thematic focus for students.
We specifically want to highlight how HBCU and HSI faculty are teaching ESL and EFL students; how they are providing accommodations and adaptive technology for students with disabilities; facilitating honors and accelerated courses; how faculty incorporates film, languages, art, creative writing, and history into their curriculum; how humanities faculty works on study abroad programs; hip hop pedagogies; teaching literature with film and visual arts; introducing students to topics in social justice and social change; teaching with pop culture and social media; and culturally responsive revision of rubrics and assessments. These and other curriculum and pedagogical perspectives will be explored within this volume centering on culturally responsive teaching in humanities at HBCUs and HSIs.
References
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory Into Practice, 34(3), 159–165. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1476635
Muñiz, J. (2019). Culturally responsive teaching. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED594599.pdf
Oberg De La Garza, T., Lavigne, A., & Si, S. (2020). Culturally responsive teaching through the lens of dual language education: Intersections and opportunities. Universal Journal of Educational Research. 8, 1557-1571. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.080450