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Summary PDF: What Professional Development Activities Will Help PK–12 Teachers Create Culturally Responsive Learning Environments?

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What Professional Development Activities Will Help PK–12 Teachers Create Culturally Responsive Learning Environments?

While evidence is limited, suggestive studies describe multiple potential strategies that may help teachers build culturally responsive learning environments.

  • Teacher professional development programs that offer concrete tasks of teaching, assessment, observation, and reflection may produce higher student test scores.
  • Professional learning communities may help achieve the goals of creating more equitable and culturally responsive classrooms.
  • Providing an environment that allows teachers to co-develop lesson plans may be effective in assisting teachers with building equity into their lesson plans.
  • For pre-service teachers, service-learning, community engagement projects, and other immersive learning opportunities are promising approaches to training teachers to build culturally responsive classrooms.
  • Training teachers to support English language learners may help build a culturally responsive classroom.
  • Teachers who learn to scaffold language learning indicate they are more successful in building culturally responsive classrooms

 

Several studies suggest teachers want specific cultural training that will assist them in relating to their students.

  • Teachers indicate they want concrete information on the cultural norms of the students they are teaching.

Post TitleStrength of EvidenceType of StudyDirection of Evidence
Teacher professional development around the world: The gap between evidence and practiceModerateImpact evaluationPositive impact
Enjoying cultural differences assists teachers in learning about diversity and equality: An evaluation of antidiscrimination and diversity trainingModerateImpact evaluationPositive impact
Continuing professional development (CPD) as a means to reducing barriers to inclusive education: Research study of the education of refugee children in the Czech RepublicSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Learning to get it right: Understanding change processes in professional development for teachers of English learners.SuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Assisting elementary school personnel to better serve and support immigrant and Latine heritage childrenSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Education abroad and domestic cultural immersion: A comparative study of cultural competence among teacher candidatesSuggestiveSuggestive evidenceNo impact
Transforming preservice teacher perceptions of immigrant communities through digital storytellingSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
New immigrants. An incentive for intercultural education?SuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Anti-racism is not an initiative: How professional learning communities may advance equity and social-emotional learning in schoolsSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
Fostering cultural humility among pre-service teachers: Connecting with children and youth of immigrant families through service-learningSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact
From altered perceptions to altered practice: Teachers bridge cultures in the classroomSuggestiveSuggestive evidencePositive impact

Studies included in the database focused on high-income or upper middle-income countries, including but not limited to the United States. Studies included must have been published since 2012. To identify evidence, we searched the following websites and databases using the following population, methodology, and target outcome terms:

Websites and Databases Population Terms Methodology Terms Target Outcome Terms
Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC)

 

Education Source

 

APA PsycNet

 

Social Service Abstracts

 

SocIndex

 

 

refugee

OR

immigrant

OR

“unaccompanied minor”

OR

asylee

OR

“temporary protected status”

OR

“victims of traffick*”

OR

“traffick* victims”

OR

T-Visa

OR

U-Visa

OR

Cuban

OR

Haitian

OR

Amerasian

 

evaluation

OR

impact

OR

program

OR

intervention

OR

policy

OR

project

OR

train*

OR

therapy

OR

treatment

OR

counseling

OR

workshop

OR

review

OR

meta-analysis

OR

synthesis

“teacher professional development”

OR

“education”

OR

“K-12”

OR

“professional development”

OR

“teacher”

OR

“professional learning”

OR

“professional training”

OR

“professional education”

AND

“trauma-informed learning”

OR

“social-emotional learning”

OR

“social emotional learning”