Listening to New Teachers: Successes and Challenges of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy

• In Event: 77.055 - Voices of Teachers and Students in Urban Settings

Abstract

While culturally relevant pedagogy continues to develop as a theoretical and conceptual pursuit, the realities of enacting it in urban, public school classrooms remain under-explored. In this study, new teachers speak to their successes and challenges developing and enacting culturally relevant pedagogy as they begin their careers. They discuss the roadblocks they face, the pressure from school administrators, the labels placed upon them by “veteran” colleagues, and the quest for making curriculum meaningful for youth. Their experiences reveal the need for support and mentorship of new teachers in urban schools and the opportunities for bringing about much needed change in approaches and curricula being offered for students.

Author

• Noah Borrero, University of San Francisco