Culturally and linguistically relevant educational practices provide a framework that integrates foundational theorizing in the United States by Gloria Ladson-Billings, Geneva Gay, Django Paris and others. Their collective conceptual work describes teaching approaches that intentionally center and affirm students’ assets, culture, and language identities, while critiquing existing social inequities experienced by students and their families. This type of reflective and critical practice requires ongoing self-awareness to recognize one’s own positioning and build on students’ prior experiences and strengths, emphasize positive adult-student relationships, engage students’ communities and families, and acknowledge students’ ever-evolving identities and culture.

Aceves and Orosco reviewed culturally responsive teaching literature in 2014 and identified six general themes and four emerging evidence-based practices, along with additional content for consideration. The relevant themes included: Instructional engagement; culture, language, and racial identity; multicultural awareness; high expectations; critical thinking; and social justice. The four emerging practices included: Collaborative teaching; responsive feedback; modeling; and instructional scaffolding. The additional content for consideration included: Problem-solving approach; child-centered instruction; assessment; and materials.

In the present review, the authors update the review of empirical studies to include research published between 2016 to 2023, with expanding the focus to culturally and linguistically responsive and sustaining practices. To accompany the review, the authors identify new examples, emergent and recommended practices, and instructional considerations related to and expand on these elements with additional criteria. The goal was to not only review the literature, but to also develop a tool for enhancing educator development courses and continuing education in a rubric format.

Given the complexity of examining culturally and linguistically responsive practices and adequately representing the criteria and evidence for these practices, the authors add a secondary analysis by intentionally situating these methods within the domains of Environment, Curriculum, and Instruction. Educators employ culturally and linguistically responsive and sustaining teaching and learning practices across multiple spaces including the classroom, school, home, and community (Environment) to create optimal conditions for learning that elevate and prioritize students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds and lived experiences. Culturally and linguistically responsive and sustaining practices are reflected in–or are used to enhance–the learning standards or goals for instruction and in the design of the units and lessons (Curriculum). Additionally, culturally and linguistically responsive and sustaining teaching practices involve carefully selected approaches when engaging students in meaningful learning opportunities (Instruction). In other words, culturally and linguistically responsive teaching involves curriculum development and engaging in purposeful instructional practices within supportive yet rigorous learning environments. By considering the complexity of identities and how they intersect within individuals (e.g., emerging bilingual identified with a learning disability and as gifted) is essential to achieving optimal outcomes.

Keywords: Educator development, culturally relevant education, inclusion.