Cultural and social diversity is certainly not a new issue facing us humans. It has always existed, and we remain challenged by it. However, the burgeoning complexity of our times calls upon us as educators to face this challenge more directly, to value diversity, honor it with integrity, and to preserve the cultural dignity of our students.

—Lindsey, Roberts, & CampbellJones, 2005

Classrooms today do not look the same as they did a decade or even a few years ago. Major demographic shifts have led to increasing numbers of culturally, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse students in our schools. At the same time, the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and the resulting requirement that schools report disaggregated data have focused a spotlight on the achievement gaps that have persisted for years between children of color, children in poverty, and English language learning (ELL) students and their mainstream peers.

While recent reports indicate that some progress is being made in closing the gaps, significant inequities continue to exist for a wide range of educational indicators including grades, scores on standardized tests, dropout rates, and participation in higher education (Education Trust, 2004; NCES, 2001; Viadero & Johnston, 2000).

One explanation for these gaps is that disparities in achievement stem in part from a lack of fit between traditional school practices—which are derived almost exclusively from European American culture—and the home cultures of diverse students and their families (Cummins, 1986; Delpit, 1995; Ladson-Billings, 1995). According to this theory, children whose cultural background is European American have an innate educational advantage, while children from other backgrounds are required "to learn through cultural practices and perceptions other than their own" (Hollins, 1996). This "cultural mismatch" is often a result of widely divergent worldviews about such fundamental concepts as human nature, time, the natural environment, and social relationships (Sowers, 2004).

Related to this argument is the idea that an education system rooted in the dominant culture is inherently biased. When one set of beliefs is held up as "right" or "normal," the values of other cultural groups are treated as less valid, and children from those groups can be perceived as culturally deficient.

Evidence of this attitude can be found in statistics reflecting higher rates of discipline and suspension among children of color, particularly African American boys, and disproportionate numbers of minority and ELL students in special education. At the same time, these students are sharply underrepresented in gifted and advanced placement classes. By adopting culturally responsive school practices, educators seek to address issues of educational inequity and confront institutional bias and discrimination.

The need to effectively address cross-cultural differences was less of an issue when classrooms were more homogeneous and teachers and students shared common cultural traits. While today's classroom—whether in an urban, rural, or suburban setting—is more diverse than ever before, the majority of school personnel continue to come from middle class, European American backgrounds (National Collaborative on Diversity in the Teaching Force, 2004). Many educators are now struggling to connect with a completely new set of learners, with cultural backgrounds distinctly different from each other and from their teachers. Across the country and throughout our region, educators are embracing the notion of cultural responsiveness as a means of helping all students reach high standards.

Data from NWREL's Regional Needs Assessment (Barnett & Greenough, 2004) indicate that a large percentage of principals in high-poverty schools in our region want to devote more effort to addressing disparities in performance among students based on race, ethnicity, language, disability, and poverty. Principals and teachers also want to put more effort into incorporating a variety of classroom practices to meet the diverse learning needs of their students.

NWREL's Equity Center, which provides training and technical assistance in the areas of race, gender, and national origin, has seen a significant increase in districts' requests for professional development in cultural competence, key components of educational equity, and instructional strategies for ELLs. NWREL's English Language Learners unit has also received many requests for assistance that relate to developing a culturally competent school staff.

Closing the achievement gaps and correcting educational inequities are compelling reasons for schools to become more culturally responsive, but they are not the only reasons. Proponents of culturally responsive practices point to the importance of taking cultural context into account in order to teach the whole child (Gay, 2000) and, perhaps most important, the need for teachers and learners alike to be able to live effectively in a multicultural society with a rich variety of perspectives and worldviews.