Syntheses

Synthesis of Scholarly Articles

Curriculums of Diversity  As minorities have a growing presence in American schools, curriculums must center their perspectives through ethnic studies courses and culturally relevant teaching (CR). Unfortunately, there are significant barriers preventing these curriculums from being implemented nationwide.  When CR programs are available, they are incredibly effective. In 2017, professors Wiggan and Watson-Vandiver studied Harriet Tubman Academy (HTA), a private middle school whose population identified as African American. Students were expected to master core subjects while considering them in...

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Synthesis of Professional Articles

Teacher Preparation for CR Teaching  Research by Thomas Dee and Emily Penner of Stanford University has made it clear that culturally responsive teaching (CR) is effective in increasing student achievement. However, its lack of standardized teacher preparation makes it difficult to implement nationwide.  According to Education Professor Heather Hill, there is a troubling lack of research on the preparation for teachers to teach CR curriculums (Hill, 2020).  In fact, many educators who currently use CR curriculums have had...

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