Integration or Separation: Navigating Religious and Cultural Funds of Knowledge in Education

• In Event: Critical Identities and Discourses Within K–12 Education Spaces

Abstract

Like any other experiences or beliefs, religious influences inform students’ cultural knowledge. The engagement of students’ cultural knowledge may facilitate or challenge engagement and learning of particular academic content. This paper examines religious and related identities (e.g., ethnic, racial) as they relate specifically to curricula, knowledge, and assessment. Its purpose is to identify and discuss educational and political controversies embedded in naming religious and related assumptions implicit in the curricula and to outline implications for student engagement, development, and achievement from an equity framework. Through a consideration of religiously and socially diverse groups, this paper discusses the commonalities and particularities in culturally relevant resources and conflicts students may experience regarding how religious beliefs, values, and identity relate to curricula.

Author

• Mona M. Abo-Zena, University of Massachusetts - Boston
  Presenting Author