Shifting from “Ways of Doing” to “Ways of Being”: Odds-beating High Schools and the Imperative for Cultural Responsiveness

by Kristen C. Wilcox, Rebecca Shea, and Catherine Kramer

“If you have come here to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together”

-Lila Watson (Indigenous Australian visual artist, activist and academic working in the field of women’s issues and Aboriginal epistemology)

The disproportional damage of COVID-19 in historically marginalized communities and the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police has amplified the raw and fundamental flaws in the American approach to address systemic racism and its deleterious effects.

In the education sector, a number of scholars have noted that to address root causes of inequitable opportunities for children of color, teachers need to employ what they term culturally responsive, culturally relevant, and/or culturally sustaining pedagogies. Such pedagogies and their companion policies and practices used outside of the classroom by guidance counselors, social workers, school psychologists, and other staff who interact with children and families can coalesce in powerful ways to promote social justice and democratic principles.

One prominent scholar, Gloria Ladson-Billings initially outlined the goal of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) in three foundational tenets:

(1) to create a learning environment where all students are academically successful

(2) understand and deepen cultural competence

(3) develop critical consciousness as active members of society

This framework was intended in part to help teachers critically examine and modify their practices to provide equitable opportunities for all children, but especially children of color. Reflecting on over 20 years of research on cultural responsive pedagogy, Ladson-Billings indicated that these tenets have often been reduced to a simple list of recommended instructional strategies and classroom celebrations of diversity revealing grave misunderstandings and consequent poor implementation.

From “Ways of Doing” to “Ways of Being”

Why has a fundamental shift toward more cultural responsiveness in K-12 schools been so difficult to achieve?

One, albeit insufficient, answer: Effectively infusing culturally responsive practices into a child’s school experience requires cultural knowledge and deep understanding and valuing of the youth and community that educators serve. And as Linda Darling-Hammond notes in a recent Learning Policy Institute blog, resource allocations must be made to meet specific and urgent equity aims to include “… social emotional learning, restorative practices, and mental health supports…” particularly in economically disadvantaged communities and communities of color.

Beyond resources, Howard and Rodriguez-Scheel analyzed over two decades of research and found that educators often need support to move from surface-level understandings of cultural responsiveness to effectively apply and sustain culturally responsive practices in their everyday work with children and families. Seriki and Brown cite Ladson-Billings’ research and argue that what is needed is a shift from a focus on simply “ways of doing” cultural responsiveness (through the use of isolated strategies and activities, and piecemeal professional development opportunities), toward “ways of being” culturally responsive.

“Ways of being” culturally responsive require, as a starting point, that systemic racism be acknowledged as a root cause for trauma and inequitable opportunities for youth to reach their potentials. From there, Seriki and Brown argue that leaders and educators must get honest about implicit bias, self-evaluate/reflect, and critically examine their own mindsets and behaviors. Of course, adult learning principles and research need to be applied and this effort needs to be prioritized and sustained, ideally through a disciplined continuous improvement lens, and with spread and scale as the goal. This imperative is clearly urgent.

Resources

• For research and resources on health related outcomes associated with racial identity and experiences of racism; antiracism advocacy; race-related aspects of counseling psychology training, etc. see University at Albany’s Dr. Pieterse’s work.

• For research and resources on systemic improvement, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching provides guidance: see Louis Gomez’ call for “… schools, teachers, researchers, policymakers, and others … to stop dithering and wasting time, and get down to the business of eradicating unacceptable educational problems with all deliberate speed”. And see Manuelito Biag’s chapter outlining how Improvement Science can be used to meet equity aims.

Working Together

NYKids research highlights the work of leaders and educators at odds-beating schools in addressing inequitable opportunities for youth of color. In particular, Malverne, Freeport and Port Chester High Schools – serve large percentages of brown and black children and provide insights for those seeking to engage in culturally responsive approaches. And for more on this topic, see related NYKids’ blog on culturally-responsive staffing practices.

If you are a district or school leader looking for assistance in re-entry planning with cultural responsiveness as a priority please contact us about our  COMPASS continuous improvement institutes and resources using COMPASS-AIM Improvement Science based processes and tools.

As always, your comments and suggestions on blogs and research of interest to you and your community are welcome at our NYKids Contact Link.