What Are We Seeking to Sustain through Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy? A Loving Critique Forward

• Published in: Harvard educational review Vol. 84; no. 1; pp. 85 - 100
• Main Authors: Paris, Django, Alim, H. Samy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge Harvard Education Publishing Group 01.04.2014; Harvard Education Press
• Subjects: Academic Achievement; Academic Aspiration; African American Achievement; African American Culture; African American Education; African American Students; Community Characteristics; Community Relations; Critical Theory; Cultural change; Cultural heritage; Cultural identity; Cultural Influences; Cultural Pluralism; Culturally Relevant Education; Culture; Educational Objectives; Educational Philosophy; Educational Practices; Educational research; Educational Strategies; English; Equity; Ethnicity; Heritage Education; Language; Language Dominance; Lau v Nichols; Learning; Linguistics; Literacy; Martin Luther King Elementary v Ann Arbor; Middle class; Minority Group Students; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Multilingualism; North American English; Pedagogy; Race; Reflection; Researchers; School Districts; Social Change; Social Justice; Students; Sustainability; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Urban schools; White Students; Young Adults; Youth; New York; United States > US; Michigan
• ISSN: 0017-8055; 1943-5045
• DOI: 10.17763/haer.84.1.982l873k2ht16m77

In this article, Django Paris and H. Samy Alim use the emergence of Paris's concept of culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) as the foundation for a respectful and productive critique of previous formulations of asset pedagogies. Paying particular attention to asset pedagogy's failures to remain dynamic and critical in a constantly evolving global world, they offer a vision that builds on the crucial work of the past toward a CSP that keeps pace with the changing lives and practices of youth of color. The authors argue that CSP seeks to perpetuate and foster linguistic, literate, and cultural pluralism as part of the democratic project of schooling and as a needed response to demographic and social change. Building from their critique, Paris and Alim suggest that CSP's two most important tenets are a focus on the plural and evolving nature of youth identity and cultural practices and a commitment to embracing youth culture's counterhegemonic potential while maintaining a clear-eyed critique of the ways in which youth culture can also reproduce systemic inequalities.