Exploring Sociocultural Perspectives on Race, Culture, and Learning

Abstract

This article explores the potential uses and extensions of sociocultural theoretical perspectives for integrating and further developing research on race, culture, and learning. Two bodies of literature are discussed and synthesized: (1) sociocultural theory and (2) studies on race, culture, and learning. The article proposes how a sociocultural lens might provide insight and suggests new lines of research on issues of race, culture, and learning. The authors argue for the extension of each of four lines of research in the sociocultural tradition: a concern with multiple levels of analysis, cultural practices as a unit of analysis, tools and artifacts as mediating action, and learning as shifts in social relations. In doing so, the authors raise critical questions for the field of education to consider.

Cultural Explanations for Racial and Ethnic Stratification in Academic Achievement: A Call for a New and Improved Theory

“…Often schools succumb to massive oversights in their curricula and pedagogy by erasing the different histories and social and economic realities of their students with only token nods to and discussions of difference (Banks, 2001;Delpit, 1997;Dempsey & Noblit, 1993;Flores-González, 2002;Pollock, 2004;Valenzuela, 1999). Also, we know that connections exist between students' social locations (e.g., their race, class, and immigrant status), culture, and how they learn (see King, 2005;Lee, 2007;Nasir & Hand, 2006 That is, particular policies of the school forced children to either assimilate and succeed or identify as Mexican American, be "silenced" and have their critiques of school ignored (Quiroz, 2001) and consequently disengage from school. Similarly, Flores-Gonzales (2002) describes the ways in which a Chicago school pushes Puerto Rican youth to either "street" or "school" identities; these identities in turn have implications for whether they drop out of high school.…”

Modifying the Diabetes Prevention Program to Adolescents in a School Setting: A Feasibility Study

“…Sociocultural theory guided the development of the 10 learning sessions. In particular, the researchers considered the cultural mix and developmental age of students in creating a learning environment that drew upon individual experiences as well as social interaction with each other [16]. The curriculum was delivered over a 10-week period during a regularly scheduled class, each session lasting no more than 45 minutes.…”

Ideas and Identities: Supporting Equity in Cooperative Mathematics Learning

“…Up to this point, sociocultural and situated theories of learning have not been able to adequately deal with the complex ways that race, culture and power influence the nature of social life (and learning) (Hodge, 2006;Nasir & Hand, 2006). Neither a view of equity in cooperative work that focuses solely on students' pre-existing socially constructed 'identities' (e.g., intersections of race, class, gender, sexuality, language communities, etc.)…”