Lessons from the History of Pedagogical Methods for Culturally Responsive Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The chapter discusses educational practices drawing on examples from the history of pedagogical methods across classic to postmodern realities. It aims at deriving lessons through the exploration of global social contexts of teaching and learning to address diversity and multiculturalism in contemporary education. Accentuating the history of educational practices, pedagogical methods are presented as socially constructed phenomena, while teachers and learners are viewed as possessing socialised knowledge. The chapter concludes with reflections on the pursuit of educational aims as referred to culturally responsive teaching and learning and multiculturalism in contemporary education. It shows that the present world has created diverse forms of pedagogical methods and education is no longer the prerogative of formal education. The teachers and learners are freer from social and physical boundaries. They are more likely to reflect on what they teach and learn. On the other hand, this reflection is hard to achieve in an increasingly entertaining surrounding of new technologies and self-representation. This is one important barrier that teachers and learners have to overcome in order to assure culturally responsive education in the contemporary world. However, they can be more reflexive towards the past in doing so.