Culturally Responsive Instruction: Application to Multiethnic Classrooms

Standards for literacy in developed nations have rapidly risen, fuelled by economic competition and globalisation. A danger in this rapid rise is the possibility of a further widening of the gap that exists between the literacy achievement of students of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds and their mainstream peers. Culturally responsive instruction, or teaching that builds on the values and experiences students bring from the home, is a possible solution to eliminating the literacy achievement gap. A new formulation of culturally responsive instruction is proposed—one that is centered on hybridity and a diverse worldview rather than a duplication of home settings.