The Influence of Culturally Responsive Teaching on Student Engagement in Shandong Secondary School Diverse Classrooms

Abstract

Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) is most definitely the most important teen educational practice that can be done to drive student engagement in their increasingly diverse classrooms. However, in China, educational reforms as well as internal migration have been together resulting in increasingly diverse classrooms, but the use of CRT is still at a low level, and the implementation of the same is not consistent.  This study investigates the relationship between CRT and student engagement in the high school educators in Shandong Province as a method of getting the insight into the influence of CRT practices on the students' motivation, autonomy, confidence, and participation in the classroom. Data was collected employing a quantitative correlational design where a sample of 384 secondary school educators from urban and rural schools was interviewed. The data was gathered using follow-up question method. Correlation and regression methods were used for the primary variables CRT (independent) and engagement of the students (dependent) to determine the relationship strength and direction. The results revealed a very strong positive correlation between CRT and student engagement (r = 0.979, p < 0.001), with regression analysis showing that CRT accounts for 95.9% of the variance in engagement (R² = 0.959). These findings suggest that CRT is not only statistically significant but also a highly effective predictor of student engagement.The findings reflect local and global literature, confirming that CRT is an adequate tool for progressive learning. CRT has been somewhat familiar in China, but the collected data has shown that it can become the main driving force for systematized application. To sum up, CRT is a game-changing way of teaching that results in communities that are inclusive, fair, and relevant. It is more than clear that teachers' training and school regulations should be implemented to embed CRT. One possible solution is that teachers receive formal training in culturally responsive practice and school rules are changed to give space for the development of a learning culture that includes all students.