A framework to improve teaching in multicultural contexts

Teachers in multicultural contexts often have difficulty teaching their diverse students. Multicultural education theorists have advanced frameworks for reforming classroom teaching; one of the most widely used is Banks’s (2013) five dimensions of multicultural education. Research supports the connection between these five dimensions and student learning, particularly integrating knowledge from students’ cultural backgrounds into academic content, using pedagogy that is culturally responsive to students, and addressing stereotypes about diverse groups. Research confirms that a culturally inclusive curriculum, taught to high expectations and through trusting teacher-student relationships, improves students’ academic achievement. This paper addresses how teachers can learn to use these dimensions, using a planning framework that has been shown to improve curriculum planning and teaching (Sleeter & Flores Carmona, 2017). After expanding on this framework and its research foundations, this paper will illustrate a teacher learning to use it through a case study of Angela, a second-year elementary teacher.