“It’s all about theganas”: Incorporating a Multicultural Curriculum in Developmental Education

Abstract

Despite the overrepresentation of students of color in developmental education, there is a lack of research on programs that promote the success and transfer of these students beginning in developmental education, especially Latinx students. Since 2012, the Dream Catchers program in Texas has targeted the recruitment, retention, and completion of Latinx and other historically underrepresented students through a literacy-based program that targets students in developmental education in community colleges. This study draws primarily from interview data gathered from 14 Dream Catchers faculty across the 10 institutions that have participated in the program. Through the lens of a multicultural developmental education curriculum, we investigate how the Dream Catchers program provides intensive, long-term professional development for its faculty in order to prepare them to work in a high-touch, holistic program. This article describes some of the professional development activities faculty undergo, what this multicultural curriculum looks like in practice, and how faculty incorporate cultural understanding of their students into developmental courses. Disciplines Disciplines Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Higher Education Comments Comments

Community Colleges’ Use of the Term “Latinx”

“…Similarly, Doran and Singh () defined the term on the first page stating, “The term “Latinx” is a relatively new term and is used here instead of Latina/o or Hispanic in order to acknowledge gender diversity within this population (Molina, )” (p. 478). Whitehead's () justification of the term Latinx appears as a note located after the text of the article and just before the footnotes.…”

What does culturally relevant pedagogy mean in the community college context?

“…In my own work (Doran & Singh, 2018), I applied a multicultural developmental education framework (developed by Bruch et al., 2004) to a study explaining how community college faculty in Texas used multicultural texts and shared experiences with students to boost the success of Latinx students in particular. After immersing myself more in the work of James Banks (1992, 1993, 2019) and others (e.g., the aforementioned authors as well as researchers like Christine Sleeter (2011, 2012, 2016), I look back on this article with some derision for my part in the research—namely, the surface‐level use of “multicultural” to equate that as celebratory in nature rather than critical.…”

Responding to a Plea for Identity and Criticality: Applying an Equity Lens to Focus Instruction

“…Current research suggests that developmental education benefits from culturally relevant teaching strategies. For example, Doran & Singh's (2018) qualitative interviews with faculty participants spoke to the success of a multicultural curriculum implemented in 13 Texas community colleges. The study highlighted promising aspects of the multi-campus program including the professional development faculty received (year-long training, plus ongoing support), the inclusion of texts reflecting students' cultural identities, and an approach which equips students to critically examine relationships of power within society.…”