How Curriculum Context Activates (or Suppresses) Pedagogical Sensitivity: Evidence from a Teacher Survey Experiment

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  In Roundtable Session: Contextualizing Educational Data

Abstract

This study examines how secondary social studies teachers respond to culturally relevant curriculum using a national survey experiment. A total of 598 teachers were randomly assigned to one of three U.S. legal case scenarios varying in cultural salience (Marbury v. Madison, Brown v. Board, Lau v. Nichols). Structural equation modeling tested how perceived cultural distance and relevance influence pedagogical sensitivity and intent to support student-led inquiry. Results show that cultural distance often triggers reflective responsiveness but may suppress teachers’ instructional confidence. Importantly, cases already tied to racial justice elicited high pedagogical sensitivity regardless of perceived relevance, while neutral cases required perceived cultural gaps to activate teacher attention. Findings highlight the context-dependent nature of culturally responsive teaching.

Authors

• Chenchen Lu, Purdue University

• Rudan Wang, Purdue University