A Bioecological View of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy
PDF

Keywords

culturally sustaining pedagogy
bioecological theory
PPCT model
Homework
Family Storytelling

How to Cite

Billen, R. M., & Billen, M. (2022). A Bioecological View of Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy. Educational Renaissance, 11(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.33499/edren.v11i1.2850

Abstract

Culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) considers the impacts of schools on communities, explicitly calling upon schools to sustain instead of overlook the cultural modalities of communities of color (Paris, 2012). In this paper, we argue that one important influence schools should have on families is the awareness and knowledge that families’ culture are sustained and viewed as “official knowledge” (Ladson-Billings, 1995) in the education system. We do so by including a perspective found in the disciplines of developmental science, family science, and education, Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory. Specifically, we examine the principles of CSP from the Person-Process-Context-Time (PPCT) model within bioecological theory. Furthermore, we problematize the traditional practice of assigning homework and offer an implication for reimagining homework from a CSP lens. 



Keywords: culturally sustaining pedagogy, bioecological theory, homework, family storytelling, PPCT model

https://doi.org/10.33499/edren.v11i1.2850
PDF

References

Apple, M. (1990). Ideology and curriculum (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Algava, A. (2016). Beyond child-centered constructivism: A call for culturally sustaining progressive pedagogy. Occasional Paper Series, 2016 (35). Retrieved from https://educate.bankstreet.edu/ occasional-paper-series/vol2016/iss35/5

Au, K., & Jordan, C. (1981). Teaching reading to Hawaiian children: Finding a culturally appropriate solution. In H. Trueba, G. Guthrie, & K. Au (Eds.), Culture and the bilingual classroom: Studies in classroom ethnography (pp. 139-152). Newbury.

Baldwin-White, A. J. M., Kiehne, E., Umaña-Taylor, A., & Marsiglia, F. F. (2017). In pursuit of belonging: Acculturation, perceived discrimination, and ethnic--racial identity among Latino youths. Social Work Research, 41(1), 43–52. https://doi.org/10.1093/swr/svw029

Baş, G., Senturk, C., & Cigerci, F. M. (2017). Homework and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Issues in Educational Research, 27(1), 31.

Bowles, N. (2018). The digital gap between rich and poor kids is not what we expected. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/style/digital-divide-screens-schools.html

Bronfenbrenner, U. (Ed.). (2005). Making human beings human: Bioecological perspectives on human development. Sage.

Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In R. M. Lerner & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology. 6th ed. Vol. 1. Theoretical Models of Human Development (pp. 793-828). John Wiley & Sons.

Clarke, C., & Comber, B. (2019). How homework shapes family literacy practices. The Reading Teacher, 73(5), 563-573. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1879

Cleveland Clinic. (2019, February 4). Too much screen time harmful for kids’ development (especially those under age 5). https://health.clevelandclinic.org/too-much-screen-time-harmful-for-kids-development-especially-those-under-age-5/

Delpit, L. (2006). Other people's children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. The New Press.

Dewitt, S. (2017, April). 3 fears about screen time for kids — and why they're not true [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/sara_dewitt_3_fears_about_screen_time_for_kids_and_why_they_re_not_true?language=en

DiStefano, M., O’Brien, B., Storozuk, A., Ramirez, G., & Maloney, E. A. (2020). Exploring math anxious parents’ emotional experience surrounding math homework-help. International Journal of Educational Research, 99, 101526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2019.101526

Doucet, F. (2017). What does a culturally sustaining learning climate look like?. Theory Into Practice, 56(3), 195-204. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2017.1354618

Erickson, F., & Mohatt, G. (1982). Cultural organization and participation structures in two classrooms of Indian students. In G. Spindler (Ed.), Doing the ethnography of schooling (pp. 131-174). Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Farrell, A., & Danby, S. (2015). How does homework ‘work’ for young children? Children’s accounts of homework in their everyday lives. British Journal of Sociology of Education, 36(2), 250-269. https://doi.org/10.1080/01425692.2013.814532

First 5 California. (2019). Boosting your baby's brainpower starts with you. Retrieved February 12, 2020 from http://www.first5california.com/learning-center.aspx?id=9&sub=111

Gay, G. (2004). Multicultural curriculum theory and multicultural education. In J. A. Banks & C. M. Banks (Eds.), Handbook of research in multicultural education (2nd ed., pp. 30–49). Jossey-Bass.

Gladwell, M. (2006). The tipping point: How little things can make a big difference. Little, Brown.

González, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (Eds.). (2006). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and classrooms. Routledge.

Grier-Reed, T., & Williams-Wengerd, A. (2018). Integrating Universal Design, culturally sustaining practices, and constructivism to advance inclusive pedagogy in the undergraduate classroom. Education Sciences, 8(4), 167. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci8040167

Hayes, S. W., & Endale, E. (2018). “Sometimes my mind, it has to analyze two things”: Identity development and adaptation for refugee and newcomer adolescents. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 24(3), 283–290. https://doi.org/10.1037/pac0000315

Hong, S. (2019). Natural allies: Hope and possibility in teacher-family partnerships. Harvard Education Press.

Hymes, D. (1971). On linguistic theory, communicative competence, and the education of disadvantaged children. In M. L. Wax, S. Diamond, & F. O. Hearing (Eds.), Anthropological perspectives on education. Basic Books, Inc.

Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465-491. https://doi.org/10.3102/00028312032003465

Ladson-Billings, G. (2007). Pushing past the achievement gap: An essay on the language of deficit. The Journal of Negro Education, 316-323. Retrieved from www.jstor.org/stable/40034574

Ladson-Billings, G. (2013). Critical race theory—What it is not! In M. Lynn & A. Dixson (Eds.), The handbook of critical race theory in education (pp. 34–47). Routledge.

Ladson-Billings, G. (2014). Culturally relevant pedagogy 2.0: aka the remix. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 74-84. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.p2rj131485484751

Lee, C. (2017). An ecological framework for enacting culturally sustaining pedagogy. In D. Paris, & H. S. Alim (Eds.), Culturally sustaining pedagogies: Teaching and learning for justice in a changing world (pp. 261-273). Teachers College Press.

Levitt, S. D., & Dubner, S. J. (2009). Freakonomics. Harper/Collins.

Lightfoot, S. L. (1978). Worlds apart: Relationships between families and schools. Basic Books.

Lovato, S. B., & Waxman, S. R. (2016). Young children learning from touch screens: Taking a wider view. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1078. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01078

Maxwell, L. (2014, August 19). U.S. school enrollment hits majority-minority milestone. Education Week. https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2014/08/20/01demographics.h34.html

McCreadie, K. (2010). Robert Collier's the secret of the ages: A modern day interpretation of a self-help classic. Infinite Ideas.

Misoska, A. T. (2014). Giving children space to express themselves: Exploring children’s views and perspectives of contact programmes in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Macedonia. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 44(5), 778-800. https://doi-org.hmlproxy.lib.csufresno.edu/10.1080/03057925.2013.792665

Mohatt, G., & Erickson, F. (1981). Cultural differences in teaching styles in an Odawa school: A sociolinguistic approach. In H. Trueba, G. Guthrie, & K. Au (Eds.), Culture and the bilingual classroom: Studies in classroom ethnography (pp. 105-110). Newbury.

National Center for Education Statistics. (2013, December). Enrollment and percentage distribution of enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity and region: Selected years, fall 1995 through fall 2023. Retrieved February 10, 2020, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d13/tables/dt13_203.50.asp

Newman, B. M., & Newman, P. R. (2015). Theories of human development. Psychology Press.

Office of Head Start. (2018, May 18). About the office of head start. U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children & Families. https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ohs/about

Paat, Y-F. (2013). Working with immigrant children and their families: An application of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23, 8, 954-966. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2013.800007

Paris, D. (2012). Culturally sustaining pedagogy: A needed change in stance, terminology, and practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93-97. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189X12441244

Paris, D., & Alim, H. S. (2014). What are we seeking to sustain through culturally sustaining pedagogy? A loving critique forward. Harvard Educational Review, 84(1), 85-100. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.84.1.982l873k2ht16m77

Park, A. (2019, January 28). Too much screen time can have lasting consequences for young children’s brains. TIME. https://time.com/5514539/screen-time-children-brain/

Patterson, J. M. (1988). Families experiencing stress: The family adjustment and adaptation response model. Family Systems Medicine, 5(2), 202–237. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0089739

Patterson, J. M. (2004). Integrating family resilience and family stress theory. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64(2), 349-360. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2002.00349.x

Pressman, R. M., Sugarman, D. B., Nemon, M. L., Desjarlais, J., Owens J. A., & Schettini-Evans, A. (2015). Homework and family stress: With consideration of parents’ self confidence, educational level, and cultural background. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 43(4), 297-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2015.1061407

Rosa, E. M., & Tudge, J. R. H. (2013). Urie Bronfenbrenner’s theory of human development: Its evolution from ecology to bioecology. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 5, 243–258. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12022

Smith, S. R., & Hamon, R. R. (2022). Exploring family theories (5th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Smith, T. E., & Sheridan, S. M. (2019). The effects of teacher training on teachers’ family-engagement practices, attitudes, and knowledge: A meta-analysis. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 29(2), 128-157. https://doi.org/10.1080/10474412.2018.1460725

Strekalova-Hughes, E., & Wang, X. C. (2019). Perspectives of children from refugee backgrounds on their family storytelling as a culturally sustaining practice. Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 33(1), 6-21.

Tudge, J. R. H., Mokrova, I., Hatfield, B., & Karnik, R. B. (2009). Uses and misuses of Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory of human development. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 1, 198–210. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1756-2589.2009.00026.x

Tudge, J. R., Payir, A., Merçon‐Vargas, E., Cao, H., Liang, Y., Li, J., & O'Brien, L. (2016). Still misused after all these years? A reevaluation of the uses of Bronfenbrenner's bioecological theory of human development. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8(4), 427-445. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12165

Tregaskis, S. (2015, May 15). 50 years later, recalling a founder of Head Start. Cornell Chronicle. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/05/50-years-later-recalling-founder-head-start

Umaña‐Taylor, A. J., Quintana, S. M., Lee, R. M., Cross Jr, W. E., Rivas‐Drake, D., Schwartz, S. J., Syed, M., Yip, T., Seaton, E., & Ethnic and Racial Identity in the 21st Century Study Group. (2014). Ethnic and racial identity during adolescence and into young adulthood: An integrated conceptualization. Child Development, 85, (1), 21-39. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12196

U.S. Census Bureau. (2018, May 13). Older people projected to outnumber children for first time in U.S. History. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2018/cb18-41-population-projections.html

Vatterott, C. (2018). Rethinking homework: Best practices that support diverse needs. ASCD.

Villegas, A. M., & Lucas, T. (2002). Preparing culturally responsive teachers: Rethinking the curriculum. Journal of Teacher Education, 53(1), 20-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022487102053001003

Walker-Dalhouse, D., & Risko, V. J. (2020). Culturally responsive literacy instruction. In D. Kern (Ed), Best Practices of Literacy Leaders: Keys to School Improvement, (pp. 304-321). Guilford Press.

Weiss, H. B., Lopez, M. E., Kreider, H., & Chatman-Nelson, C. (Eds.). (2013). Preparing educators to engage families: Case studies using an ecological systems framework. Sage Publications.

Wilder, S. (2014). Effects of parental involvement on academic achievement: A meta-synthesis. Educational Review, 66(3), 377-397. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2013.780009

Wynter-Hoyte, K., Braden, E. G., Rodriguez, S., & Thornton, N. (2019). Disrupting the status quo: Exploring culturally relevant and sustaining pedagogies for young diverse learners. Race Ethnicity and Education, 22(3), 428-447. https://doi.org/10.1080/13613324.2017.1382465