CULTURAL RELVANCE & AFFIRMATION

Experts agree that cultural relevance is critical to effective teaching. In alignment with Ladson-Billings’ (1995) culturally sustaining approach, it is important that students have texts that don’t just represent them, but provide positive, affirming characters that honor students’ experiences (Muhammad, 2012). Culturally relevant texts can help develop student literacy and support healthy identity development for students, including those from marginalized groups (Kibler & Chapman, 2018). Foundational and recent research on adolescent identity development reveals implications for educators: it is critical to provide abundant opportunities for students to meaningfully explore cultures and identities. Educators can work toward supporting their students’ identity development by selecting diverse and culturally relevant texts.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Articles on culturally relevant text selection: 

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• EdWeek’s article featuring Gloria Ladson-Billings: What Should Culturally Relevant Teaching Look Like Today?

• Article by Sharma and Christ: Five Steps Toward Successful Culturally Relevant Text Selection and Integration

• National Council of Teachers of English blog post by Lisa Fink on Selecting Texts for Your Students and Your Course