Description of Research Focus and Constructs of Interest
The article under review is aimed at investigating the practical application of culturally sensitive techniques in education to the arrangement of the environment in which each student feels included and appraised. The focus of the study is the set of principles inherent in the Black Lives Matter movement as a pedagogical framework for teaching at an educational facility with both majority and minority students. The constructs of interest addressed and unfolded in the study include diversity, intersectionality, loving engagement, and empathy, and their relevance to culturally sustaining pedagogy (Cole, 2017). In particular, the ways in which the issues concerning the black community are addressed in media and communication are at the center of the scholar’s inquiry. It is qualitative research that uses the method of a case study pertaining to «the author’s experiences teaching at two majority-minority colleges in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, USA” (Cole, 2017, p. 736). Moreover, the study shows how leadership might adjust culturally sustaining practices toward the goals of advancing equity and equality in the learning environment.
Description of Research Questions
The general research question posed by the scholar is as follows: How can the principles of the Black Lives Matter movement be applied to culturally sustaining pedagogy? Moreover, at a more specific level, the study is aimed at responding to the question of whether the implementation of the principles of empathy, diversity, intersectionality and loving engagement is effective in constructing a favorable learning environment for black students.
Description of Research Participants and Measures
This descriptive case study involved the students of two minority-majority colleges. Given the particularities of the inquiry, the qualitative findings observed by the researcher in the course of teaching at the colleges and implementing the principles of diversity, empathy, loving engagement, and intersectionality were described and assessed from the perspective of their effectiveness in enhancing “college teaching to make it more diverse and inclusive” (Cole, 2017, p. 736). Thus, the measurements were implicit and validated by the extent of positive communicational and educational results obtained by the students and the facilities in general as the aftermath of the pedagogical framework application.
Description of Results
The result of the study showed that the deliberate and systematic implementation of a culturally sustaining pedagogical framework using Black Lives Matter allows for yielding substantial qualitative improvements in the student’s perception of their identity and the identities of others in a diverse society. The scholar reported having critically engaged “in teaching so that students with marginalized identities see themselves, their experiences, and their futures as central to the study and practice of media and communication” (Cole, 2017, p. 746). Thus, the research has contributed to the academic literature on the problem of culturally sustaining pedagogy and the scope of best practices for institutional implementation at both instruction and leadership levels.
Summary
In conclusion, the review of Cole’s (2017) article provided the researchers with valuable insights into the practices that help enrich and improve culturally sustaining pedagogy. The results of this descriptive case study serve as a solid background for building an integrative and systematic framework to enhance the college environment for a diverse student population. The study is a valuable source of evidence on the effectiveness of media and communication context integration into education for the enhancement of inclusion and diversity.
Reference
Cole, C. E. (2017). Culturally sustaining pedagogy in higher education: Teaching so that Black lives matter. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 36(8), 736-750.