Using Children’s Created Cultures: Culturally Appropriate Practice in the Primary Grades

摘要

In discussions about developmentally appropriate practice, the term “social and cultural context” is typically used to refer to the culture of children, their families, and their community. Those discussions do not usually address the unique cultures children sometimes create among themselves. Those cultures have values, rules, and norms that frequently exclude adults. As outsiders, we teachers often react to children’s created cultures by discounting them as something that interferes with education rather than something we can use. However, teachers can incorporate those cultures into their classrooms in effective ways that can enhance children’s motivation and facilitate learning.