Resources

Teachers need to be prepared to work effectively with linguistically and culturally diverse student populations. Every K-12 classroom in the country is already, or will soon be, deeply affected by the changing demographics of America’s students.

Most of the literature on language education has typically focused on preparing English as a second language or bilingual teachers. The needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students, including immigrants, refugees, language minorities, African Americans, and deaf students, have been addressed separately.

This unique volume takes on this previously unstudied challenge in teacher education and emphasizes the fact that these children have both common education requirements and needs that are culturally and linguistically specific. The ideas and analyses presented here help prepare all teachers who work with culturally and linguistically diverse students – not just English as a second language or bilingual teachers.

The book not only focuses on how teachers need to change but how the curricula must transform, and how to effectively train teacher education candidates to relate to and work better with diverse student groups.

Sharon Nelson-Barber, Director of WestEd’s Culture & Language in STEM Education division, co-authored a key chapter, “Rethinking the Case for Culture-Based Curriculum: Conditions That Support Improved Mathematics Performance in Diverse Classrooms.”