"But I Teach Black Authors!" A Critical Review of the Historical Works of Gloria Ladson-Billings

• In Event: 58.083 - Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: 58.083-14 - People of Curriculum: Gloria Ladson-Billings, William Pinar, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, and Jessica Benjamin

Abstract

In 1994, Dr. Ladson-Billings published The Dreamkeepers: Successful Teachers of African American Children where she investigates teaching strategies that are effective with African American students in predominately low-income communities. This introduction of culturally relevant pedagogy, or adaptive teaching that empowers cultures and identities, changed curricula for many pre-service teacher programs in America and helped to foster a long-standing agenda of education for liberation. This article will review Ladson-Billing’s foundational works on culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) and defend how its popularity speaks to a shift in the right direction for the role of education for all children.

Authors

• Amber C Bryant

• Marcia J. Watson-Vandiver, Towson University

• Lakia M Scott, Baylor University