Culturally Grounded Online/Virtual Instruction in ICC

Theme Description:

Online or digital education is generally, though not exclusively, grounded in the cultural norms of those who have created that technology. The individuals creating educational technology are mostly from cultures in the “Globalized West” or “Global North.” However, there are millions of students from Indigenous and non-Western cultures who access or who may seek to access online or digital education, and their realities and ways of thinking and being are not represented in digital learning spaces. We have developed processes to work with rural Indigenous communities to create culturally grounded digital educational technology and materials using community-based participatory action research (CPBAR) and Student Voice Research methodologies. While prior research has demonstrated the efficacy of the Culturally Grounded Curriculum Development approach through CBPAR and Student Voice Research in single primary and secondary schools, as well as in individual classes in Universities, this project expands the process to include engaging students district or region-wide in contextualized and culturally grounded digital and hybrid learning experiences. We show how this approach can be in alignment with competency-based education curriculum policy frameworks and the science of learning. We also explore practical as well as axiological/epistemological ICC issues and possibilities of developing digital/hybrid education that is more responsive to, and grounded in, students’ identities and cultures.

Leader Bio:

Dr. Joseph (Joe) Levitan  is an Associate Professor in the Department of Integrated Studies in Education at McGill University.  His research uses community-based participatory action research methodologies to develop and test more responsive, socially just, and culturally grounded educational policies and practices throughout the Americas. His writing focuses on issues of educational practice and policy; leadership; identity and learning; and community-based collaborative research methods. He is currently the Principal Investigator on two federal grant-funded projects to co-develop culturally grounded digital learning materials through working with Indigenous students and community members in Peru. His work has appeared in journals such as the American Journal of Education, Teachers College Record, and Action Research. 

Dr. Joseph (Joe) Levitan

Tools For Educators

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Resources for Educators:

Full Lesson 1 (Pachamama 6th Grade Primary School of Andean Indigenous Youth–In Spanish)

Full Lesson 2 (Retos de Comunidades 6th Grade Primary School of Andean Indigenous Youth–In Spanish)

Full Lesson 3 (Vivir en Harmonia 6th Grade Primary School of Andean Indigenous Youth–in Spanish)

 

 

Culturally Grounded, CBPAR, and Student Voice Readings:

  • Levitan, J., & Johnson, K. M. (2020). Salir adelante: Collaboratively developing culturally grounded curriculum with marginalized communities. American Journal of Education, 126(2), 195-230.
  • Brasof, M., & Levitan, J. (Eds.). (2022). Student voice research: Theory, methods, and innovations from the field. Teachers College Press.
  • Levitan, J. (2019). Ethical relationship building in action research: Getting out of western norms to foster equitable collaboration. The Canadian Journal of Action Research, 20(1), 10-29.
  • Levitan, J. (2020). Incorporating participant voice in culturally responsive leadership: A case study. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 19(3), 390-406.
  • Johnson, K. M., & Levitan, J. (2022). Rural indigenous students in Peruvian Urban higher education: interweaving ecological systems of coloniality, community, barriers, and opportunities. Diaspora, Indigenous, and Minority Education, 16(1), 21-42.

 

Relevant Online Materials

 

Brief “How to’s” (foundational culturally responsive online learning materials NOT Culturally Grounded)

 

Further Reading on Online Culturally Responsive Education

 

Further Reading On Culturally Grounded Education (Credit: Cory Legassic)

  • Ball, J., & Pence, A. (2000). A Postmodernist Approach to Culturally Grounded Training in Early Childhood Care and Development. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 25(1), 21–25. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693910002500106
  • Bermúdez Parsai, M., Castro, F. G., Marsiglia, F. F., Harthun, M. L., & Valdez, H. (2011). Using community based participatory research to create a culturally grounded intervention for parents and youth to prevent risky behaviors. Prevention Science, 12(1), 34–47. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-010-0188-z
  • Chaudhary, N., & Sriram, S. (2021). Toward a Culturally Grounded Human Science: Prospects of Psychology for India. In G. Misra, N. Sanyal, & S. De (Eds.), Psychology in Modern India (pp. 469–485). Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-4705-5_25
  • Colby, M., Hecht, M. L., Miller-Day, M., Krieger, J. L., Syvertsen, A. K., Graham, J. W., & Pettigrew, J. (2013). Adapting School-Based Substance Use Prevention Curriculum Through Cultural Grounding: A Review and Exemplar of Adaptation Processes for Rural Schools. American Journal of Community Psychology, 51(1–2), 190–205. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-012-9524-8
  • Colin III, S. A. (1999a). It’s not what you call me, but what I answer to. Through the Eyes of Ethiopia: Africentrism and Culturally Grounded Research.
  • Colin III, S. A. (1999b). Through the eyes of Ethiopia: Africentrism and culturally grounded research. National-Louis University, Chicago.
  • Colin, S. A. J., III. (1989). Voices from beyond the veil: Marcus Garvey, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and the education of African-Ameripean adults [Ed.D., Northern Illinois University]. In ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (303728337). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/voices-beyond-veil-marcus-garvey-universal-negro/docview/303728337/se-2?accountid=12339
  • Damschroder, L. J., Aron, D. C., Keith, R. E., Kirsh, S. R., Alexander, J. A., & Lowery, J. C. (2009). Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: A consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implementation Science, 4(1), 50. https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-4-50
  • de Heer, B., Heffern, J., Cheney, J., Secakuku, A., & Baldwin, J. (2020). A Community-Based Evaluation of a Culturally Grounded, American Indian After-School Prevention Program: The Value of Practitioner-Researcher Collaboration. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 27(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2701.2020.1
  • Ellis, A. E. (2013, June 30). Integrating aesthetics: Transforming continuing education through africentric practice. Online Submission. 54th Annual Adult Education Research Conference, UMSL- St. Louis Missouri.
  • Goodwin, S. (2015). Reflection Teaching and Learning Informed by a Culturally Grounded Practice. In Dysconscious Racism, Afrocentric Praxis, and Education for Human Freedom: Through the Years I Keep on Toiling (pp. 229–234). Routledge.
  • Griffiths, C. (2021). “I felt seen”: A mixed-methods investigation of culturally responsive teaching in postsecondary education. https://doi.org/10.13023/ETD.2021.124
  • Guthrie, G. (2015). Culturally grounded pedagogy and research methodology. Compare: A Journal of Comparative and International Education, 45(1), 163–168. https://doi.org/10.1080/03057925.2014.981440
  • Harthun, M. L., Dustman, P. A., Reeves, L. J., Hecht, M. L., & Marsiglia, F. F. (2008). Culture in the classroom: Developing teacher proficiency in delivering a culturally-grounded prevention curriculum. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 29(5), 435–454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-008-0150-z
  • Harthun, M. L., Dustman, P. A., Reeves, L. J., Marsiglia, F. F., & Hecht, M. L. (2009). Using Community-based Participatory Research to Adapt keepin’ it REAL: Creating a Socially, Developmentally, and Academically Appropriate Prevention Curriculum for 5th Graders. Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education, 53(3), 12–38. WorldCat.org.
  • Hecht, M. L., & Krieger, J. L. R. (2006). The principle of cultural grounding in school-based substance abuse prevention: The drug resistance strategies project. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 25(3), 301–319.
  • Hecht, M. L., & Lee, J. K. (2008). Branding through cultural grounding: The keepin’it REAL curriculum. In D. Evans & G. Hastings (Eds.), Public health branding: Applying marketing for social change (pp. 161–179). Oxford University Press.
  • Hecht, M. L., Marsiglia, F. F., Elek, E., Wagstaff, D. A., Kulis, S., Dustman, P., & Miller-Day, M. (2003). Culturally grounded substance use prevention: An evaluation of the keepin’ it R.E.A.L. curriculum. Prevention Science : The Official Journal of the Society for Prevention Research, 4(4), 233–248. WorldCat.org.
  • Helm, S., & Okamoto, S. K. (2013). Developing the Ho’ouna Pono substance use prevention curriculum: Collaborating with Hawaiian youth and communities. Hawai’i Journal of Medicine & Public Health : A Journal of Asia Pacific Medicine & Public Health, 72(2), 66–69. WorldCat.org.
  • Hunter, A., Carlos, M., Muniz, F. B., Leybas Nuño, V., Tippeconnic Fox, M. J., Carvajal, S., Lameman, B., & Yuan, N. (2022). Participation in a Culturally Grounded Program Strengthens Cultural Identity, Self-esteem, and Resilience in Urban Indigenous Adolescents. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 29(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.5820/aian.2901.2022.1
  • Hunter, A. M. (2020). Native Spirit: Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Culturally-Grounded After-School Program for American Indian Adolescents in an Urban Setting [D.P.H., The University of Arizona]. In ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2434488928). ProQuest Central; ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; ProQuest One Academic. https://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/native-spirit-development-implementation/docview/2434488928/se-2
  • Hunter, A. M., Carlos, M., Nuño, V. L., Tippeconnic‐Fox, M. J., Carvajal, S., & Yuan, N. P. (2022). Native Spirit: Development of a culturally grounded after‐school program to promote well‐being among American Indian adolescents. American Journal of Community Psychology, 70(1–2), 242–251. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12590
  • Inglebret, E. R. (2001). Conceptual framework for developing culturally responsive teacher education curriculum for Northwest Indian College: A grounded theory [Ph.D., Washington State University]. In ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (304733039). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; ProQuest One Academic. https://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/conceptual-framework-developing-culturally/docview/304733039/se-2?accountid=12339
  • Johnson, K. M., & Levitan, J. (2020). Identity, culture, and iterative curriculum development: Collaborating with girls from Indigenous communities to Improve education. International Journal of Student Voice, 7, 1–30.
  • Kaholokula, J. K., Okamoto, S. K., & Yee, B. W. K. (2019). Special issue introduction: Advancing Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander health. Asian American Journal of Psychology, 10(3), 197–205. https://doi.org/10.1037/aap0000167
  • Karadjova-Kozhuharova, K. G., & Todorova, T. Y. (2022). Culturally grounded approaches to information literacy understanding. In S. Kurbanoğlu, S. Špiranec, Y. Ünal, J. Boustany, & D. Kos (Eds.), Information Literacy in a Post-Truth Era (Vol. 1533, pp. 663–674). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99885-1_55
  • Keith, R. E., Crosson, J. C., O’Malley, A. S., Cromp, D., & Taylor, E. F. (2017). Using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) to produce actionable findings: A rapid-cycle evaluation approach to improving implementation. Implementation Science, 12(1), 15. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-017-0550-7
  • Kelly, K., & Davis, J. (2021). Increasing representation of Black men in school psychology through early exposure. Perspectives on Urban Education, 19(1).
  • King, J. E. (2015). Transformative Curriculum Praxis for the Public Good 1. In Dysconscious Racism, Afrocentric Praxis, and Education for Human Freedom: Through the Years I Keep on Toiling (pp. 235–247). Routledge.
  • Kirk, M. A., Kelley, C., Yankey, N., Birken, S. A., Abadie, B., & Damschroder, L. (2015). A systematic review of the use of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research. Implementation Science, 11(1), 72. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-016-0437-z
  • Kulis, S., Marsiglia, F. F., Elek, E., Dustman, P., Wagstaff, D. A., & Hecht, M. L. (2005). Mexican/Mexican American Adolescents and keepin’ it REAL: An Evidence-Based Substance Use Prevention Program. Children & Schools, 27(3), 133–145. https://doi.org/10.1093/cs/27.3.133
  • Ladeji-Osias, J. O., & Coleman, S. T. (2020). Increasing the representation of Black male students in STEM through culturally grounded curriculum, instruction, mentoring, and professional learning communities. Journal of African American Males in Education, 11(2).
  • Ladson‐Billings, G. (1995). But that’s just good teaching! The case for culturally relevant pedagogy. Theory into Practice, 34(3), 159–165.
  • Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491. WorldCat.org.
  • Lassiter, L. E. (2005). The Chicago guide to collaborative ethnography. University of Chicago Press; WorldCat.org. http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0621/2005006396-t.html
  • Lauricella, M., Valdez, J. K., Okamoto, S. K., Helm, S., & Zaremba, C. (2016). Culturally grounded prevention for minority youth populations: A systematic review of the literature. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 37(1), 11–32. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-015-0414-3
  • Lavrencic, L. M., Donovan, T., Moffatt, L., Keiller, T., Allan, W., Delbaere, K., & Radford, K. (2021). Ngarraanga Giinganay (‘thinking peacefully’): Co-design and pilot study of a culturally-grounded mindfulness-based stress reduction program with older First Nations Australians. Evaluation and Program Planning, 87, 101929. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2021.101929
  • Levitan, J., & Johnson, K. M. (2020). Salir adelante: Collaboratively developing culturally grounded curriculum with marginalized communities. American Journal of Education, 126(2), 195–230. https://doi.org/10.1086/706921
  • Mustafaa, F. N. (2016). Beneath the Skin: A Survey of Black K-12 Educators’ Racial Identities, Beliefs, and Culturally Grounded Pedagogy.
  • Okamoto, S. K., Helm, S., Chin, S. K., Hata, J., Hata, E., & Okamura, K. H. (2020). The implementation of a culturally grounded, school-based, drug prevention curriculum in rural Hawai’i. Journal of Community Psychology, 48(4), 1085–1099. WorldCat.org. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22222
  • Okamoto, S. K., Helm, S., Giroux, D., Edwards, C., & Kulis, S. (2010). The development and initial validation of the Hawaiian Youth Drug Offers Survey (HYDOS). Ethnicity & Health, 15(1), 73–92. https://doi.org/10.1080/13557850903418828
  • Okamoto, S. K., Helm, S., McClain, L. L., & Dinson, A.-L. (2012). The Development of Videos in Culturally Grounded Drug Prevention for Rural Native Hawaiian Youth. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 33(5–6), 259–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-012-0281-0
  • Okamoto, S. K., Helm, S., Ostrowski, L. K., & Flood, L. (2018). The Validation of a School-Based, Culturally Grounded Drug Prevention Curriculum for Rural Hawaiian Youth. Health Promotion Practice, 19(3), 369–376. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524839917704210
  • Okamoto, S. K., Helm, S., Pel, S., McClain, L. L., Hill, A. P., & Hayashida, J. K. P. (2014). Developing Empirically Based, Culturally Grounded Drug Prevention Interventions for Indigenous Youth Populations. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 41(1), 8–19. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11414-012-9304-0
  • Okamoto, S. K., Kulis, S., Helm, S., Lauricella, M., & Valdez, J. K. (2016). An Evaluation of the Ho‘ouna Pono Curriculum: A Pilot Study of Culturally Grounded Substance Abuse Prevention for Rural Hawaiian Youth. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 27(2), 815–833. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2016.0061
  • Okamoto, S. K., Kulis, S., Marsiglia, F. F., Holleran Steiker, L. K., & Dustman, P. (2014). A Continuum of Approaches Toward Developing Culturally Focused Prevention Interventions: From Adaptation to Grounding. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 35(2), 103–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-013-0334-z
  • Okamura, K. H., Okamoto, S. K., Marshall, S. M., Chin, S. K., Garcia, P. M., Powell, B. J., Stern, K. A., Becker, S. J., & Mandell, D. S. (2022). Ho‘ouna Pono implementation: Applying concept mapping to a culturally grounded substance use prevention curriculum in rural Hawai‘i schools. Implementation Science Communications, 3(1), 111. https://doi.org/10.1186/s43058-022-00359-2
  • Palmer-Wackerly, A. L., Krok, J. L., Dailey, P. M., Kight, L., & Krieger, J. L. (2014). Community engagement as a process and an outcome of developing culturally grounded health communication interventions: An example from the DECIDE project. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53(3–4), 261–274. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10464-013-9615-1
  • Parker, M., Pearson, C., Donald, C., & Fisher, C. B. (2019). Beyond the Belmont principles: A community-based approach to developing an Indigenous ethics model and curriculum for training health researchers working with American Indian and Alaska native communities. American Journal of Community Psychology, 64(1–2), 9–20. WorldCat.org. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajcp.12360
  • Pepic, V. (2022). A Mixed Method Evaluation of a Culturally Grounded After-School Arts Intervention on Native Youth [Ph.D., Northern Arizona University]. In ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (2718159519). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global; ProQuest One Academic. https://proxy.library.mcgill.ca/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/mixed-method-evaluation-culturally-grounded-after/docview/2718159519/se-2?accountid=12339
  • Raisa, A., Roberto, A. J., Love, R. R., Steiness, H. L. S., Salim, R., & Krieger, J. L. (2023). Pot song as a novel cancer communication intervention: Lessons learned from developing, implementing, and evaluating a culturally grounded intervention for breast cancer education in rural Bangladesh. Journal of Cancer Education, 38(1), 260–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-021-02111-1
  • Reeves, L. J., Dustman, P. A., Holleran, L. K., & Marsiglia, F. F. (2008). Creating Culturally Grounded Prevention Videos: Defining Moments in the Journey to Collaboration. Journal of Social Work Practice in the Addictions, 8(1), 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/15332560802108647
  • Soto-Lara, S., & Simpkins, S. D. (2022). Parent Support of Mexican-Descent High School Adolescents’ Science Education: A Culturally Grounded Framework. Journal of Adolescent Research, 37(4), 541–570. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558420942478
  • Spring, J. (2015). Reflection Dysconscious Racism, Land of Immigrants, and Culturally-based Pedagogy—The Legacy of Joyce E. King. In Dysconscious Racism, Afrocentric Praxis, and Education for Human Freedom: Through the Years I Keep on Toiling (pp. 105–110). Routledge.
  • Susana Helm, Scott K. Okamoto, Howard Medeiros, Coralee I. H. Chin, K. Nahe Kawano, Ka`ohinani Po`a-Kekuawela, LaRisa H. Nebre, & F. Petelo Sele. (2008). Participatory Drug Prevention Research in Rural Hawai`i With Native Hawaiian Middle School Students. Progress in Community Health Partnerships: Research, Education, and Action, 2(4), 307–313. https://doi.org/10.1353/cpr.0.0042
  • Thomas, L. R., Donovan, D. M., & Sigo, R. L. (2010). Identifying community needs and resources in a Native community: A research partnership in the Pacific Northwest. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8(2), 362–373.
  • Thomas, M. K., & Lubin, I. A. (2021). Making Culture Visible: A Primer for Culturally Grounded Design. In ICT and International Learning Ecologies (pp. 87–108). Routledge.
  • Tolliver, D. (2010). Using an African-centered paradigm for understanding race and racism in adult education. V. Sheared, J. Johnson-Bailey, S. Colin, III, E. Peterson, S. Brookfield, & Associates (2010). The Handbook of Race and Adult Education, 317–328.
  • Vallejo, J. M. (2019). Revitalising language through music: A case study of music and culturally grounded pedagogy in two Kanien’ke:ha (Mohawk) language immersion programmes. Ethnomusicology Forum, 28(1), 89–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/17411912.2019.1641124
  • Walters, K. L., Johnson-Jennings, M., Stroud, S., Rasmus, S., Charles, B., John, S., Allen, J., Kaholokula, J. K., Look, M. A., de Silva, M., Lowe, J., Baldwin, J. A., Lawrence, G., Brooks, J., Noonan, C. W., Belcourt, A., Quintana, E., Semmens, E. O., & Boulafentis, J. (2020). Growing from our roots: Strategies for developing culturally grounded health promotion interventions in American Indian, Alaska native, and native Hawaiian communities. Prevention Science, 21(S1), 54–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11121-018-0952-z
  • Waltz, T. J., Powell, B. J., Fernández, M. E., Abadie, B., & Damschroder, L. J. (2019). Choosing implementation strategies to address contextual barriers: Diversity in recommendations and future directions. Implementation Science, 14(1), 42. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-019-0892-4
  • Weaver, H. N. (1999). Health Concerns for Native American Youth: A Culturally Grounded Approach to Health Promotion. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 2(1–2), 127–143. https://doi.org/10.1300/J137v02n01_09
  • Wilson, J. (2020). Development, Implementation and Evaluation of a Culturally Grounded Diabetes Educational Tool for the Diné (Navajo).
  • Woodrow, D. (2001). Cultural determination of curricula, theories and practices. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 9(1), 5–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/14681360100200109

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