Culturally Responsive Schooling for Indigenous Youth: A Review of the Literature

• Published in: Review of educational research Vol. 78; no. 4; pp. 941 - 993
• Main Authors: Castagno, Angelina E., Brayboy, Bryan McKinley Jones
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA American Educational Research Association 01.12.2008; SAGE Publications
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Accountability; Achievement tests; American Indian Education; Case studies; Cognitive Style; Community relations; Core curriculum; Cultural Differences; Cultural education; Cultural Maintenance; Culturally Relevant Education; Curricula; Curriculum Design; Educational leadership; Educational research; Educational Strategies; English teacher education; Epistemology; Learning; Learning styles; Literature reviews; Mathematics education; Mathematics teachers; Multicultural Education; Native Americans; Native North Americans; Native students; Racism; Self Determination; Standardized tests; Teacher Attitudes; Teacher Characteristics; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Tribal Sovereignty; Urban schools; Youth; Indian education; multicultural education; Indigenous peoples
• ISSN: 0034-6543; 1935-1046
• DOI: 10.3102/0034654308323036

This article reviews the literature on culturally responsive schooling (CRS) for Indigenous youth with an eye toward how we might provide more equitable and culturally responsive education within the current context of standardization and accountability. Although CRS for Indigenous youth has been advocated for over the past 40 years, schools and classrooms are failing to meet the needs of Indigenous students. The authors suggest that although the plethora of writing on CRS reviewed here is insightful, it has had little impact on what teachers do because it is too easily reduced to essentializations, meaningless generalizations, or trivial anecdotes--none of which result in systemic, institutional, or lasting changes to schools serving Indigenous youth. The authors argue for a more central and explicit focus on sovereignty and self-determination, racism, and Indigenous epistemologies in future work on CRS for Indigenous youth.