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Abstract

A culturally relevant pedagogical stance requires a complex understanding of content and culture. For English Language Arts (ELA) teachers, that complex understanding includes recognizing, valuing, and centering content from diverse authors and realizing the possible impact of that content may have on the lives of students. Teachers with such a stance use culturally relevant teaching consistently and effectively with diverse learners. Additionally, they are able to customize standards, practices, and tools based on the needs of their students—not just at the planning stages of curriculum implementation, but during implicit or explicit instruction and classroom management. Thus, this study utilizes qualitative methodology in order to profile Ms. Steck, a culturally relevant teacher, by examining the ways in which she uses culturally relevant pedagogy to inform her daily instruction and classroom management choices in two diverse learning spaces — Blocks A and D.

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