CRESPAR Report #68: Building on Children's Cultural Assets in Simulated Classroom Performance Environments: Research Vistas in the Communal Learning Paradigm

Abstract

The achievement gap between low-income African American students and their White counterparts remains substantial. To address this, researchers have begun to examine the impact of culture on cognitive performance among African American students (Lee, 2001; Foster, Lewis, & Onafowora, 2003). The findings from this work suggest that when aspects of students’ home culture are incorporated into academic learning contexts, strong academic performance and motivation result. This report presents the results of two experimental studies incorporating the cultural theme of communalism. For both studies, a general literature review is provided, along with statistical analyses and results specific to the procedures and measures used in each.