How Teachers are enacting Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy to Support the Transition of Newly Arrived Students in Ontario Schools

This is a qualitative research paper that looks at some of the ways a small sample of teachers are enacting culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy (CRRP) to support the transition of newly arrived students in Ontario schools. My research combines a review of relevant literature to my topic and three semi-structured interviews with teachers who currently enact CRRP regularly throughout their teaching practice. My findings show that CRRP, while conceptualized in different ways by teachers, shares many of the same tenets, which center on the notion of connecting students’ cultural backgrounds to the curriculum and learning environment. Furthermore, my findings show that CRRP can be implemented in a variety of ways in one’s teaching practice to assist newly arrived students in their transition into a new academic setting. In addition, my collected data shows that the implementation of CRRP practices are perceived by educators to be an effective way to support newly arrived students academically because it increases student engagement. I conclude my research by outlining the implications of my research findings and making recommendations for further areas of research