Belonging Through a Culture of Dignity: The Keys to Successful Equity Implementation
While efforts to achieve equity in education are prominent in school districts across this country, the effective implementation that results in meaningful change remains elusive. Even with access to compelling theories and approaches such as multicultural education, culturally responsive teaching, culturally relevant instruction, culturally sustaining pedagogy, schools still struggle to implement equitable change that reshapes the academic experiences of students marginalized by the prevailing history, culture, and traditions in public education. Instead of getting it right with equity implementation, many schools and districts remain trapped in a cycle of equity dysfunction.
In Belonging through a Culture of Dignity, Cobb and Krownapple argue that the cause of these struggles are largely based on the failure of educators to consider the foundational elements upon which educational equity is based, belonging and dignity. Through this work, the authors make these concepts accessible and explain their importance in the implementation of educational equity initiatives.
Though the importance of dignity and belonging might appear to be self-evident at first glance, it's not until these concepts are truly unpacked, that educators realize the dire need for belonging through dignity. Once these fundamental human needs are understood, educators can gain clarity of the barriers to meaningful student relationships, especially across dimensions of difference such as race, class, and culture. Even the most relational and responsive educators need this clarity due to the normalization of what the authors refer to as dignity distortions. Cobb and Krownapple challenge that normalization and offer three concepts as keys to successful equity initiatives: inclusion, belonging, and dignity. Through their work, the authors aim to equip educators with the tools necessary to deliver the promise of democracy through schools by breaking the cycle of equity dysfunction once and for all.
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As I scanned this manuscript prior to sitting down to read it more thoroughly, I was intrigued by the presence of two words: belonging and dignity. As I proceeded more deliberately through the book, I stopped dead in my tracks when I arrived at the subheading in Chapter 5: "Dignity Is Our Birthright." To that point, I was impressed with the authors' use of their experiences as equity educators to rightfully point out where schools are too often mired in the newest "magic bullets" that don't lead to improved educational outcomes.
Cobb and Krownapple have crafted an extremely useful approach to equity-focused topics that aligns with what we know about schools as learning communities. The content is fresh and relevant in ways that foster individual reflection and provide for faculty and staff dialogue. The authors have woven together vision, inclusiveness, relationships, and organizational culture into a tract that a faculty can use in ways that deepen adult relationships that foster inclusive educational practice in service of students.
Randall B. Lindsey, Cultural Proficiency author and Professor Emeritus, California State University, Los Angeles
