Using culturally responsive pedagogy to improve literacy learning within a supplementary school

Abstract

The research discussed here is taken from a PhD study undertaken between 2012 and 2014 by one of the authors of the current chapter. It illustrates how the use of culturally responsive pedagogy together with an emancipatory approach of the sort advocated by Freire (2009) in one supplementary school contributed to overcoming issues of disaffection and lack of interest in reading and writing experienced by a group of culturally diverse students aged 11-14. The significance of such pedagogy is that it takes account of the individuality and cultural backgrounds of students, and what, therefore, students bring with them into the learning context of which teachers should be aware. The students were referred to the researcher by their parents who were concerned about their levels of progress in their mainstream schools. A supplementary school was established in a community centre for the purpose of addressing the literacy difficulties that were identified. Sessions were based on the National Curriculum in England (Department for Education (DfE) 2013) but pedagogy was adapted to meet students’ expressed interests and literacy learning needs as well as their diverse cultural backgrounds. Students were involved in every aspect of the sessions from planning to evaluation as befits an emancipatory approach. The outcomes were improved levels of attainment and re-engagement with literacy learning. The approach and its results cannot be generalized from such a small sample of participants. Nevertheless, there is an implication that even within the tight prescription of the National Curriculum there is room for a degree of flexibility to enable cultural responsiveness and sensitive engagement with students’ own views to improve their literacy learning.