What Does Research Say About the Effectiveness of Professional Learning and Development for Culturally Responsive Teaching at Primary School Level?

Abstract

In recognition of the growing cultural diversity in today’s schools and the importance of culturally responsive teaching, a systematic review was conducted to attempt to answer the question: “What training is most effective for primary teachers to incorporate their students’ cultures into their learning opportunities?” Database searches were conducted and eight studies, including three based in New Zealand, met the specified inclusion criteria. The studies included qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches. Main themes and findings include a lack of studies that are designed to collect data on teachers’ implementation of professional development strategies and their impact on student achievement, sampling and researcher bias as common threats to validity, and common characteristics of training such as sustained support, self-awareness, reflection and constructing learning with others. Due to the dissimilarities of the studies reviewed, for example, with different age groups, for different topic areas and varying aims, no one type of professional development could be identified as the most effective. Implications for teachers and teacher educators are discussed.