Creating a Multicultural Science Classroom Through Representation, Engagement, and Belonging

Abstract

The literature on multicultural education that addresses culturally responsive teaching is filled with conflicting viewpoints about what works and for whom. This chapter is a brief review of how teachers can use their keen eyes and ears to identify key differences in their students’ life aspects. Life aspects include but are not limited to a student’s ethnicity, gender, language, race, and socioeconomic background. The main idea underlying life aspects is that differences matter but are not binary. Exploration of each of these ideas follows and leads to deeper levels of understanding the student. Teachers, especially science teachers, can then use the information to understand the importance of educating in an equitable and socially just manner. After noticing what our keen eyes and ears can tell us about our students, this chapter focuses on how to communicate with the early school-aged child. This section describes communication through the lenses of style, attitudes toward conflict, approaches toward decision-making, perceptions of self and others, and personal stories. In the final section, a review of two sets of early childhood curriculum materials will be evaluated both in terms of testing efficacy on a variety of populations and, secondly, on ways in which the materials provide opportunities for cultural responsiveness.