ABSTRACT
Meaningful contexts for learning have been notoriously inaccessible to children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, often contributing to their educational vulnerability. Culturally responsive classroom practices address explicit and implicit efforts to connect students with content objectives; yet there is virtually no evidence demonstrating how culturally responsive teaching enriches "relevant learning" for Latino students at scale. Culturally responsive educators often work with a social justice focus and may also connect their work to broader school reform efforts. To establish an instructional environment that builds on students' resources and strengths in classroom instruction, teachers need to incorporate students' cultural experiences at home and in the community, use cultural artifacts and community resources, use culturally relevant examples and analogies drawn from students' lives and consider instructional topics from the perspectives of multiple cultures. The conceptualization on culturally responsive pedagogy can be divided into two broad themes: beliefs and values of teachers and characteristics of culturally responsive teaching practices.
