Educating Culturally Responsive Teachers: A Coherent Approach

Educating Culturally Responsive Teachers: A Coherent Approach, by Ana Maria Villegas this is the primary justification for the authors' programmatic recommendations. first chapter describes the shifting demographic landscape of the U.S. and its impact in teacher education. Nationwide, as much as 91% of K-12 teachers are White while only 65% of students are White. By 2050 it is predicted that only 44% of students will have Anglo-American backgrounds. next three chapters present what are called curriculum meant to direct program planning to respond to this growing gap. A total of six strands comprise the coherent approach to preparing new teachers for culturally responsive teaching. These are (a) gaining sociocultural consciousness, (b) developing an affirming attitude toward students from culturally diverse backgrounds, (c) developing the commitment and skills to act as agents of change, (d) embracing the constructivist foundations of culturally responsive teaching, (e) about students and their communities, and (f) cultivating the practice of culturally responsive teaching. New teachers should understand and embrace these six areas as they move through their university experiences. A significant seventh strand might have been modeling culturally responsive research methodologies and dissemination in addition to teaching practices. Faculty members of teacher preparation programs, although also mostly White, should model culturally responsive teaching. While consistently and convincingly advocating for culturally responsive teaching for the growing cultural diversity among public school students, the authors do not explicitly locate themselves in the demographics of the teacher or teacher educator population. …