Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Can Save a Bad Curriculum: In Conversation with Gloria Ladson-Billings

After taking us through some of the key tenets of Critical Race Theory, interest convergence and counter-narratives, Professor Gloria Ladson-Billings shares her expertise in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.

There are 3 key ideas in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, all outlined in her research (see The Dream Keepers: Successful Teachers of African-American Children):

- student learning (this does not always translate to what can be traditionally/academically assessed. So much learning happens at home during a pandemic.)

- cultural competence (how competent are teachers in valuing young people's culture in the classroom?)

- sociopolitical/critical consciousness (often forgotten, but crucial: how critical is the teacher of issues of power in the knowledge that is presented in the classroom? Remember that the curriculum is never neutral.)

As we see more pressure being put on schools to decolonise the curriculum in the midst of a pandemic, often with limited resources, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy can make education more inclusive and equitable. Thanks to critical consciousness, you can save a bad curriculum with good pedagogy. Gloria uses the example of race being fully-funded in society and how critical consciousness requires educators to question this and themselves in unlearning racism.

As we approach the end of the episode, Gloria shares her analysis of these uncertain times by drawing on Arundhati Roy's claim that the pandemic is a portal. According to Gloria, we are experiencing a quadruple pandemic:

- Covid-19 (a literal pandemic)

- a white supremacist pandemic (that has been going on for a while, but it has resurfaced for us all to see)

- an economic pandemic (financial crisis along with high levels of unemployment)

- a climate pandemic (similar to white supremacy, it's been going on for a while, but it's reaching its peak).

At the end of the episode, we finish our discussion with some helpful advice for people of colour feeling overwhelmed by the permanence of racism, and some useful reminders for white people aspiring to race equality.