Missing the Mark: The Cost of Overlooking Black Students’ Cultural Capital

• In Event: Teacher Perspectives on Culturally Based Teaching

Abstract

Historically, educators and policymakers have viewed Black students from a deficit lens (Valencia, 1997), often presuming they lack the necessary skills needed to become academically successful (see critique by Ladson-Billings, 2014). Today, teachers have countered deficit framing of Black students by learning more about and incorporating Black students’ assets and critical views of the world into their learning (e.g., Fletcher et. al, 2024; Ladson-Billings, 1995). One issue teachers run into, however, is knowing how to incorporate Black students’ cultures in their classroom learning. Using an embedded case study, this study analyzes how one white teacher draws on Black students’ cultural capital (Yosso, 2005) and in what ways it impacts students’ classroom experiences.

Author

• Christine Quince, Santa Clara University