A Culturally Responsive and Relevant Pedagogy (CRRP) approach requires educators to take the time to do some personal thinking and reflection. At the core of this personal identity work is the importance to understand how historical structures have impacted educators' experiences and perspectives in the school communities they work in. Educators need to begin the process of unpacking issues of their own power, privilege, marginalization, and oppression as part of the process to identify questions and realities that may be encountered. This section provides educators the opportunity to reflect on their own sensitivities and biases, and how they may influence their instruction, assessment, and evaluation approaches.
Sensitivity & Biases
When teaching Health and Physical Education (H&PE), educators must keep in mind that students come from families and backgrounds where their own experiences with healthy active living may be rooted in positive and/or negative experiences that are different than their own. Some faith traditions have specific beliefs surrounding H&PE, which need to be considered in classroom instruction.
What is my bias?
It is important to acknowledge that all individuals have assumptions and biases. Biases are beliefs and attitudes that can affect an individual’s behaviour and actions and may have an adverse impact on students who belong to the protected grounds and protected social areas identified in the Ontario Human Rights Code and those that belong to other related groups.
When addressing topics in H&PE, every student needs to feel supported in a safe environment. Students must be able to learn about and explore their own personal beliefs while respecting the beliefs of other without judgment. It’s important for educators to be aware of and plan for how to manage conflicting opinions during H&PE instructional time (e.g., during activities, games, and classroom discussions). Every student must have the opportunity to experience an inclusive environment where their thoughts and values are respected regardless of ancestry, culture, ethnicity, sex, physical or intellectual ability, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, or other similar factors.
To examine personal beliefs and identify potential biases that you may have about your students with regard to CRRP, consider responding to some or all of the reflective and guiding questions.