Enacting a Culturally Responsive Curriculum in a Novice Teacher's Classroom

Abstract

Many educators suggest that novice teachers lack the preparation necessary to be successful in today's urban classrooms, particularly when the experiences of those novices are vastly different from their students. However, it can also be suggested that culturally responsive practices have the potential to counteract the “cultural disequilibrium” that many novices encounter. In this narrative case study, the author traces one novice teacher's journey within a diverse, urban classroom. Data from this study suggest that a novice teacher's support systems, administrator, professional development, and the capacity to take risks contribute to his or her effectiveness in the classroom. Implications for teacher educators include providing instructional and experiential modeling of culturally responsive practices, informing preservice teachers of current educational policies and strategies for becoming student advocates, and becoming engaged within schools to support the implementation of induction programs that authentically prepare novices to turn cultural “disequilibrium” into cultural responsivity.