EDWARDSVILLE – To better prepare future educators in fostering inclusive classroom environments, the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) passed the Culturally Responsive Teaching and Leading (CRTL) Standards in February. The Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Education, Health and Human Behavior (SEHHB) has played a pivotal role in the development of the new standards, and will serve as the pilot program.
By providing a framework of how to better engage and connect with students from different backgrounds, the CRTL Standards aim to improve student outcomes after training new educators to embrace student identities and diversity.
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SEHHB’s Jennifer Hernandez, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, was a major contributor in the creation of the CRTL Standards. As a member of ISBE’s Diverse and Learner Ready Teachers (DLRT) network, Hernandez assisted in drafting and providing feedback for the new provisions.
“The primary goal of implementing the CRTL Standards is to create a paradigm shift from teaching a Eurocentric curricula that centers on whiteness and white supremacy into a socially just education that represents all people, and tells the stories of the marginalized people in our national and cultural history,” explained Hernandez.
In compliance with the new standards, culturally responsive teachers throughout the state of Illinois will:
Be self-aware and reflective of their relationships with others
Be understanding of systems of oppression
Value their students as individuals
Center learning around student experiences and position them as co-creators
Support and create opportunities for student advocacy
Collaborate with families and communities to build rapport and engage in effective cross-cultural communication
Embrace student identities and prioritize representation in chosen curriculum
Ensure diversity in student representation throughout the classroom
Hernandez assisted in writing the fifth learning standard in collaboration with educators, students, administrators and professors from state-wide educator preparation programs. Her role has since evolved to create professional development for ISBE to support faculty in switching to the new standards and provide training for the state’s public schools.
“We have spent the last two years working independently to re-design our current program into a socially just and culturally responsive educator preparation program,” said Hernandez. “We stand to be the first educator prep program to be both socially just and culturally responsive in the state.”
Currently, Hernandez is conducting anti-racism education professional development in local school districts to create field placements for teacher candidates that demonstrate a socially just and culturally responsive pedagogy.
To learn more about the CRTL Standards, visit isbe.net.
The SIUE School of Education, Health and Human Behavior prepares students in a wide range of fields including public health, exercise science, nutrition, instructional technology, psychology, speech-language pathology and audiology, educational administration, and teaching. Faculty members engage in leading-edge research, which enhances teaching and enriches the educational experience. The School supports the community through on-campus clinics, outreach to children and families, and a focused commitment to enhancing individual lives across the region.
