Narratives on Culturally Relevant Pedagogy: Personal Responses to the Standardized Curriculum

Abstract

As curriculum objectives become more “standardized,” pedagogical strategies that reach diverse populations become more important, not less as some practitioners might be prone to believe. Through the use of narratives, we have found that students achieve greater understandings of curriculum as well as find culturally relevant ways of applying curriculum to previous knowledge. Using the same line of thinking, stories of successful pedagogical practice help to reinforce the ideas behind culturally relevant pedagogy as it translates from theory into practice. Classroom narratives from students and teachers where culturally relevant pedagogical practices have been implemented are the focus of this article.