Curriculum As Cultural Practice

Curriculum as Cultural Practice aims to revitalize current discourses of curriculum research and reform from a postcolonial perspective.

A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection

This txtbk presents the concept of curriculum as culture-a system of implicit & explicit beliefs, values, behaviors, & customs in classrooms & schools. Goal is to foster awareness, examination, & deliberation about the curricula planned for & carried out

Using "cultures of curriculum" as a lens, this clear, compelling text reveals and critically examines the belief systems and classroom practices of curricular orientations in contemporary American society. It is designed to foster awareness, examination, and deliberation about the curricula planned for and carried out in classrooms and schools; to inspire conversations about theory and practice as well as political, social, and moral issues; and to expand critical consciousness about approaches to curriculum and practice. Readers are encouraged to give serious attention to the issues this book raises for them, and to join with their colleagues, students, and communities in considering how to create curricula with purpose and congruent practices and to reculture classrooms and schools. A framework of inquiry is presented to facilitate such reflection and to accomplish these goals. Cultures of Curriculum, Second Edition: Introduces the field of curriculum studies by describing theories and questions pertinent to curriculum inquiry Describes the process of curriculum leadership drawing from historical and contemporary research on curriculum change and transformation Presents the concept of cultures of curriculum as a way of thinking of curriculum as cultural text encompassing histories, norms, beliefs, values, roles, and environments. Connects theory to practice by describing curricular orientations as depicted in practice, providing educators with approaches to instruction, planning, and assessment for creating intentional practices in classrooms and schools Uses a heuristic that helps educators to understand curricular orientations, examine curriculum in classrooms and schools, and reflect upon their own beliefs and practices Integrates moral and political discourse into discussions of curriculum orientations so that educators can recognize, question, and challenge aims and actions by examining dominant paradigms and both their direct and unforeseeable influences upon schooling Changes in the second edition: Four new chapters – "Narrowing the Curriculum" (current trends of standardization and high-stakes testing) "Educating Through Occupations (Deweyan progressive and career/technical education) "Sustaining Indigenous Traditions" (Native American/indigenous education) "Envisioning Peace" (peace, global, human rights, environmental education) Updates and pertinent scholarship in all chapters reflecting recent events and discourses Curricular cultures all are examples of progressive alternatives to traditional education New two-part structure: Curriculum Studies and Curricular Cultures

Moving beyond the expectations and processes of conventional teacher evaluation, this book provides a framework for teacher evaluation that better prepares educators to serve culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) learners. Covering theory, research, and practice, María del Carmen Salazar and Jessica Lerner showcase a model to aid prospective and practicing teachers who are concerned with issues of equity, excellence, and evaluation. Introducing a comprehensive, five-tenet model, the book demonstrates how to place the needs of CLD learners at the center and offers concrete approaches to assess and promote cultural responsiveness, thereby providing critical insight into the role of teacher evaluation in confronting inequity. This book is intended to serve as a resource for those who are committed to the reconceptualization of teacher evaluation in order to better support CLD learners and their communities, while promoting cultural competence and critical consciousness for all learners.

This book foregrounds pedagogy in a way that challenges readers to reflect on themselves as teachers and learners, and to be reflexive about their own practices and contexts. Learning involves a transformation of identity which occurs through negotiation and repositioning, through new ways of relating, and through different ways of participating in practices. This book examines the meaning and implications for pedagogy in educational and workplace settings, and the role of the teacher in this sociocultural view of learning. By illustrating the mediated nature of agency and identity, the chapters (re)conceptualise the teacher and the learner and show different ways of supporting learning and being a teacher. The settings represented range from nursery to university and from out-of-school to insitutionally-based and work place situations. Curricular aspects represented include popular culture, critical literacy, multimodality, the arts, and new technologies. Teachers and student teachers, as learners, are also represented in the accounts assembled. The book takes a sociocultural view of learning and considers the pedagogical implications of this view. It explores different meanings of pedagogy and considers notions of cultural bridging and the processess of transforming identities. The contributions challenge ways of thinking about practice, both teaching and assessment, and argue for practices that bridge between learners′ worlds, their communities and educational institutions. Drawing on the international literature, this book will be essential reading for students of curriculum learning and assessment in all sectors from pre-primary to further and higher education. It is suitable as a core text for masters and taught doctorate programmes. It will also be of interest to a wide range of professionals involved with curriculum, learning and the practice of teaching and assessment. This book is relevant to those in work-based and professional education and training, and in informal educational settings, as well as traditional educational institutions at all levels. A unique collection in a field that is underrepresented, it will also be of interest to an academic audience.

In this text Etta Hollins presents a powerful process for developing a teaching perspective that embraces the centrality of culture in school learning. The six-part process covers objectifying culture, personalizing culture, inquiring about students' cultures and communities, applying knowledge about culture to teaching, formulating theory or a conceptual framework linking culture and school learning, and transforming professional practice to better meet the needs of students from different cultural and experiential backgrounds. All aspects of the process are interrelated and interdependent. Two basic procedures are employed in this process: constructing an operational definition of culture that reveals its deep meaning in cognition and learning, and applying the reflective-interpretive-inquiry (RIQ) approach to making linkages between students' cultural and experiential backgrounds and classroom instruction. Discussion within chapters is not intended to provide complete and final answers to the questions posed, but rather to generate discussion, critical thinking, and further investigation. Pedagogical Features Focus Questions at the beginning of each chapter assist the reader in identifying complex issues to be examined. Chapter Summaries provide a quick review of the main topics presented. Suggested Learning Experiences have been selected for their value in expanding preservice teachers' understanding of specific questions and issues raised in the chapter. Critical Readings lists extend the text to treat important issues in greater depth. New in the Second Edition New emphasis is placed on the power of social ideology in framing teachers’ thinking and school practices. The relationship of core values and other important social values common in the United States to school practices is explicitly discussed. Discussion of racism includes an explanation of the relationship between institutionalized racism and personal beliefs and actions. Approaches to understanding and evaluating curriculum have been expanded to include different genres and dimensions of multicultural education. A framework for understanding cultural diversity in the classroom is presented. New emphasis is placed on participating in a community of practice. This book is primarily designed for preservice teachers in courses on multicultural education, social foundations of education, principles of education, and introduction to teaching. Inservice teachers and graduate students will find it equally useful.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Reflection in Higher Education explores how postsecondary educators can develop their own cultural awareness and provide inclusive learning environments for all students. Discussing best practices from the Cultural Literacy Curriculum Institute at Lesley University, faculty and administrators who are committed to culturally responsive teaching reflect on how to create an inclusive environment and how educators can cultivate the skills, attitudes, and knowledge necessary for implementing culturally responsive curriculum and pedagogy. Rather than a list of "right answers," essays in this important resource integrate discussion and individual reflection to support educators to enhance skills for responding effectively to racial, cultural, and social difference in their personal and professional contexts. This book is as an excellent starting point or further enrichment resource to accompany program or institutional diversity and inclusion efforts.