Academic Success Through Cultural Awareness
“There can be no keener revelation of society’s soul then the way in which it treats it’s children.”
-Nelson Mandela
Effective Education for All Learners:
Educating all learners means acknowledging the various factors that impact student learning and experience. It focuses on preparing students to understand complex aspects of educational, social, environmental, economic, and political life. Military families, through their unique experiences, are often exposed to different cultures, customs, languages, religions, traditions, and ethnicities around the world. Parents, caregivers, educators, and other professionals can model compassionate choices and behaviors, kindness, and an optimistic curiosity towards people who look or speak differently.
For scholarly perspectives on educational approaches, we can consider the work of researchers like Marilyn Cochran-Smith, who has written extensively on frameworks that recognize how different backgrounds and experiences shape student learning. Her research acknowledges that students come to the classroom with varied life experiences influenced by their family background, economic circumstances, and personal characteristics. She suggests that effective teachers help students understand these different perspectives and develop critical thinking skills about the world around them.
By fostering these skills, teachers can better prepare military-connected students to navigate varied social contexts and succeed academically in any environment. Educators can also consider other educational strategies including multicultural education and responsive teaching. The Culturally Responsive Teaching and the Brain Webinar by Hammond (2014) provides additional context for some of these approaches.
Multicultural Education:
Multicultural education focuses on celebrating a variety of cultures and creating positive and social interactions across differences. It also exposes students to an expanded offering of literature and new perspectives. The National Association for Multicultural Education (2025) explains that:
“Multicultural education is a process that permeates all aspects of school practices, policies and organization as a means to ensure the highest levels of academic achievement for all students.“
Understanding Cultural and Racial Awareness in Education:
Engaging and encouraging meaningful conversations within schools and classrooms about race and cultural backgrounds can help set the stage for a lifetime of respect, empathy, strength, pride, and understanding for generations to come. These discussions help students develop important social skills and prepare them for success in varied environments. Military-connected students often experience different racial and cultural environments as they move between communities. This exposure can help them develop valuable skills in cross-cultural communication and understanding – assets that will serve them well in their future educational and professional endeavors.
Racial equity is a process of eliminating racial disparities for people of color through the intentional and continual practice of changing policies, practices, systems, and structures by prioritizing measurable change.
Racial justice is the transformation of society to eliminate racial hierarchies and advance collective liberation, where Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders have the dignity, resources, power, and self-determination to fully thrive.
Culturally Responsive Practices:
Culturally responsive teaching practices center strategies around the cognitive aspects of teaching and learning pedagogy. These teaching approaches are meant to promote engagement, enrichment, and achievement of all students by recognizing and nurturing students’ cultural strengths and validating students’ lived experiences and their place in the world (Samuels, 2018; Pijanowski & Brady, 2021; Zygmunt, 2016). There is a focus on improving the learning capacity of students from various backgrounds and a concern to build resilience and an academic mindset by acknowledging different narratives and perspectives.
The COVID-19 Pandemic and nationwide unrest have impacted the US education system in a myriad of ways, specifically by highlighting longstanding educational access challenges. Culturally responsive teachers can:
- Promote engagement and achievement by connecting curriculum to students’ daily lives, cultural backgrounds, and concerns.
- Deploy rigorous daily activities to help students make connections and sense of the world around them.
- Encourage students to become agents for positive change.
- Call attention to educational injustice and bolster learning opportunities for all students.
Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education
A glimpse into the educational pathways of today’s college students and the educators who serve them.Resources for Talking About Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids
Compiled and continually updated by the Center for Racial Justice in EducationThe Education Trust Diversity Map
Use this tool to learn about promising educator diversity policy practices across the country, review each state’s educator diversity data,…Race Conversations in the Classroom
A course about classism, sexism, and racism that creates space for students to have courageous conversations and make intentional choices…Sesame Street: The Friends in Your Neighborhood
A song celebrating the diverse people and friends in a community.Sesame Street: Let’s Talk About Race
An activity to engage all children in conversation, thought, and action around racial equity.Sesame Street: Outside, Inside
A storybook about celebrating everyone’s similarities and differences.
Sesame Street: Spanish is My Superpower
When Rosita doesn’t want to play Veo Veo (I Spy), her friend Sophía asks why.Sesame Street: Raising an Upstander
An article on ways to develop “upstandership” in young children.5 Big Ideas
An article about five themes that help children learn about themselves, others, and the world.Integrating Equitable Principles
Today we have a tremendous opportunity to reimagine our education system by using what we know from the science of…A Walk in My Shoes: Military Life
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be in the military, or be a military child or spouse?A Walk in My Shoes: Social Justice in Education
“Great teaching is about so much more than education; it is a daily fight for social justice.” – Arne Duncan,…Equity Messaging Guidance for Districts
Affirming your commitment to creating equitable, just, and thriving schools for everyone.Why Social Justice Matters in Schools
Meet five educators who are determined to help young people realize their value and power.References:
Alvarez, B. (2019, January 22). Why social justice in school matters. NEA. https://www.nea.org/advocating-for-change/new-from-nea/why-social-justice-school-matters
American School of Education (2020, May 19). What is multicultural education? An educator’s guide to teaching diverse students. https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/multicultural-education
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (2022). What is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)? https://dei.extension.org/
Department of Defense Education Activity (2022, January 5). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. https://www.dodea.edu/offices/dei/index.cfm
Federal Reserve. (n.d.) Diversity, equity, and inclusion. Office of the Inspector General. https://oig.federalreserve.gov/diversity-equity-inclusion.htm
Hammond, Z. (2014). Culturally responsive teaching and the brain: Promoting authentic engagement and rigor among culturally and linguistically diverse students. Corwin Press.
Grabowska, K. (2020). Crop man reading book on grass in sunshine. Pexel. https://www.pexels.com/photo/crop-man-reading-book-on-grass-in-sunshine4218703/
Milken Institute of Public Health. (2020, November 5). Equity vs. equality: what’s the difference? The George Washington University. https://onlinepublichealth.gwu.edu/resources/equity-vs-equality/
Pijanowski J.C., Brady K.P. (2021) Handbook of social justice interventions in education. Springer international handbooks of education. In: Mullen C.A. (eds)
Defining social justice in education. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-35858-7_106
Race Forward. (n.d.) What is racial equity? https://www.raceforward.org/about/what-is-racial-equity-key-concepts
Race Matters Institute. (2014, April 2). Racial equality or racial equity? The difference it makes. JustPartners, Inc. https://viablefuturescenter.org/racemattersinstitute/2014/04/02/racial-equality-or-racial-equity-the-difference-it-makes/
Samuels, A. J. (2018). Exploring culturally responsive pedagogy: Teachers’ perspectives on fostering equitable and inclusive classrooms. SRATE Journal, 27(1), 22- 30. https://doi.org/10.24018/ejedu.2021.2.6.202
Sensoy, Ö., & DiAngelo, R. (2009). Developing social justice literacy an open letter to our faculty colleagues. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(5), 345– 352. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170909000508
The School of Education at Channel Islands. (n.d.) What is a “social justice framework”? https://education.csuci.edu/about/justice-conference/faq.htm
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.) Department of Education equity action plan. Department of Education Equity Action Plan. https://www.ed.gov/equity
Zygmunt, E., & Clark, P. (2016). Transforming teacher education for social justice. Teachers College Press. https://doi.org/10.1086/688330
Disclosure Statement: These tools are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health providers with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.
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