Asset-based Pedagogies are the larger conceptual educational framework from which culturally relevant pedagogy, culturally sustaining pedagogy, and other related pedagogies stem. Asset-based pedagogies counter the pervasive viewpoint in which educators perceive students of color as deficient, as reflective of larger societal biases. Commonalities among asset-based pedagogies include a commitment to framing students' prior knowledge as valid and honoring students' cultural contexts. Historically, asset-based pedagogy researchers worked with specific communities of color with the goal of helping them bridge the "achievement gap." For example, the standard practice of rote memorization and recall was insufficient for making the curriculum relevant to kānaka maoli (Native Hawaiians). Educators adopted the practice of talk story, the practice of building community through narrative, in the classroom to connect the course content to cultural norms and practices.
In more recent years, scholars have questioned whether the operationalization of academic achievement works towards cultural assimilation. Recent frameworks make an intentional move to make learning environments more sustaining and/or revitalizing rather than merely relevant by addressing specific community needs, e.g. valuing bilingualism in Spanish-speaking communities or honoring Indigenous educational sovereignty. It's vital for educators to treat each community of color according to their specific needs and recognize that cultures are not monolithic.
We've chosen to highlight Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies and Dismantling Deficit Thinking in this guide, but we recognize that Asset-based Pedagogies also include other approaches such as Culturally Responsive Teaching and Culturally Sustaining/Revitalizing Pedagogy, which we've chosen to briefly describe below.
Asset-based Pedagogies are also known as Resources Pedagogies or Strengths-Based Teaching
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy includes five assumptions about student achievement: 1) culture counts; 2) conventional reform is inadequate; 3) intention without action is insufficient; 4) cultural diversity is a strength; and 5) test scores and grades are symptoms, not causes, of achievement problems.
Culturally Responsive Teaching by Culturally sustaining/revitalizing pedagogy (CSRP) addresses the sociohistorical and contemporary contexts of indigenous communities in North America. CSRP includes three components: 1) Indigenous education sovereignty, 2) reclamation and revitalizing language (as a result of colonization), and 3) community-based accountability (respect, reciprocity, responsibility, and caring relationships).
