Responsive to What?: Conceptualizations of “Culture” and “Culturally Responsive” in Multiple Voices

We reviewed the literature on culturally responsive instruction published in Multiple Voices for Ethnically Diverse Learners over 10 years to examine how “culture” and “culturally responsive” were defined and for what purpose. Generally, we found that culturally responsive pedagogy was constructed in alignment with three ontological stances tightly woven into the historical fabric of special education (a) culture as static and monolithic (b) normalization/assimilation (c) disability culture silence. We assert the literature on culturally responsive instruction for students with disabilities needs to better account for culture as dynamic, heterogeneous, and intersectional; we provide an interdisciplinary framework for doing so in future research.