Culturally Responsive Teaching

Learn more about how to use students’ customs, characteristics, experience, and perspectives as tools for better classroom instruction

Explainer

conceptual illustration of a classroom with colorful roots growing beneath the surface under the teacher and students
What Is Culturally Responsive Teaching?
Here's what it means to be a culturally responsive teacher and where critical race theory ties in—or not.
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Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion To Get Culturally Responsive Teaching Right, Follow These 3 Basic Tenets
Prioritizing students' academic success is fundamental to getting this instructional approach right.
Larry Ferlazzo, July 8, 2025
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13 min read
Richard Evans, a teacher at Hyde Park Elementary School, helps a student sound out a word during a reading circle in class on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y.
Richard Evans, a teacher at Hyde Park Elementary School, helps a student sound out a word during a reading circle in class on Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022, in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Federal support for reading has waxed and waned over the years, and now the Trump Administration says it will prioritize "evidence-based" reading supports in its grant programs.
Joshua Bessex/AP
Reading & Literacy Trump's Ed. Dept. Wants to Fund 'Evidence-Based' Reading. What Will That Mean for Schools?
The agency has placed literacy squarely on its agenda amid an ongoing national "science of reading" movement.
Sarah Schwartz, May 27, 2025
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9 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Opinion Zaretta Hammond: 6 Ways to Uphold Culturally Responsive Teaching
Go beyond performative acts of equity and focus on strengthening the instructional core of every child, the teacher educator advises.
Larry Ferlazzo, February 28, 2025
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4 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion Culturally Responsive Teaching Is Misunderstood. How to Correct That
Nearly 30 years have passed since scholars identified this instructional approach, yet educators still struggle to execute it.
Larry Ferlazzo, February 7, 2025
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11 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Equity & Diversity Opinion No, Culturally Responsive Education Is Not a Synonym for CRT
If you're confused about what culturally responsive teaching means, here is guidance from educators on how to avoid common misconceptions.
Larry Ferlazzo, November 26, 2024
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10 min read
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024.
Students arrive for classes at Taylor Allderdice High School in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh on Jan. 23, 2024. As part of a recent court settlement, Pennsylvania will no longer require school districts to follow its set of guidelines that sought to confront racial and cultural biases in education.
Gene J. Puskar/AP
States A State Changed Anti-Bias Guidelines for Teachers After a Lawsuit. Will Others?
The lawsuit filed by a conservative law firm took issue with state guidelines on examining biases and diversifying curriculum.
Brooke Schultz, November 21, 2024
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5 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity Opinion You Need to Understand Culturally Responsive Teaching Before You Can Do It
Too often, teachers focus solely on the content. They need to move beyond that and get out of their comfort zones.
Larry Ferlazzo, October 16, 2024
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11 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion How to Make Rigorous Curriculum Accessible to All Students
Culturally responsive teaching is research-based. Here's why that matters for the classroom.
Larry Ferlazzo, October 11, 2024
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7 min read
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept.10, 2024, in Philadelphia.
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a presidential debate with Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris at the National Constitution Center, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Philadelphia. He shared anti-immigrant rhetoric targeting the Haitian immigrant community of Springfield, Ohio.
Alex Brandon/AP
English Learners Amid Political Attacks on Ohio Immigrants, How Schools Can Support Newcomers
Former President Trump's anti-immigrant rumors shed light on how an Ohio town's schools have helped newcomers.
Ileana Najarro, September 11, 2024
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5 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Equity & Diversity Opinion 13 Ways Educators Get Culturally Responsive Teaching Wrong
Some teachers believe adding a few culturally relevant texts or activities to the existing curricula is sufficient. It's not.
Larry Ferlazzo, August 28, 2024
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13 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
Teaching Opinion Student Identity Is Complex. Here's How to Honor It
There are practices to help students, their families, and teachers develop a regard for themselves, each other, and the human experience.
Larry Ferlazzo, August 26, 2024
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10 min read
Workflow, Teamwork, Education concept. Team, people, colleagues in company, organization, administrative community. Corporate work, partnership and study.
Paper Trident/iStock
School & District Management Opinion 3 Steps for Culturally Competent Education Outside the Classroom
It’s not just all on teachers; the front office staff has a role to play in making schools more equitable.
Allyson Taylor, April 15, 2024
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5 min read
Lily Gladstone arrives at the 96th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Lily Gladstone arrives at the 96th Academy Awards Oscar nominees luncheon on Feb. 12, 2024, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Jordan Strauss/Invision via AP
Equity & Diversity Q&A The Lily Gladstone Effect: A Teacher Explains the Value of Indigenous Language Immersion
Students in the Browning public schools district in Montana engage in a Blackfoot language immersion program for all ages.
Ileana Najarro, March 6, 2024
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5 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
iStock/Getty
English Learners Opinion How to Connect With English-Language Newcomers. Teachers Share Their Favorite Lessons
Stock classrooms with books that reflect students’ lives, languages, and cultures and invite them into as yet unfamiliar worlds.
Larry Ferlazzo, February 6, 2024
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10 min read
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