Culturally responsive learning environments within higher education

This study was carried out to examine the confidence of faculty in providing culturally responsive teaching from both a student and faculty perspective within the helping disciplines of counseling and social work. Researchers hypothesized that students and faculty would report higher percentages of confidence in being part of a culturally responsive learning environment. The study was conducted by means of questionnaires to both students and faculty. Data were collected using two types of questionnaires: students (n = 146) were given the Student Measure of Culturally Responsive Teaching (SMCRT) and the faculty (n = 14) were given the Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) Scale. Descriptive analyses of frequencies and cross-tabulations were conducted to observe how faculty rated their overall level of confidence to how students perceived the professor's ability to create a culturally responsive environment. Other parametric tests assessed differences within and amongst groups. Only 23.1% (n = 51) of students reported an average score of 80% or higher for having a culturally responsive learning environment with all of the statements, but a majority of the student participants indicated lower than 80% confidence in their professor's culturally responsive behaviors as it relates to their learning environment. In addition, roughly 33% (n = 5) of faculty rated their confidence level in supporting a culturally inclusive learning environment of 80% or higher. The results provide insight into implementing inclusive strategies to ensure that students and faculty are confident in providing more tangible experiences of operating within a culturally responsive learning environment.