To support expanding culturally relevant instructional practices, which approach would best help the faculty?

• A. Offering professional development to build knowledge of the cultural backgrounds reflected in the student population
• B. Mandating a fixed curriculum regardless of culture
• C. Focusing solely on standardized tests
• D. Hiring more staff only

Answer: (A)

Understanding students' cultural backgrounds and weaving that knowledge into teaching is central to culturally relevant instruction. Providing professional development helps faculty learn about the cultures represented in the classroom, so they can design lessons, discussions, and assessments that connect to students’ experiences and funds of knowledge. This kind of ongoing learning gives teachers concrete strategies—like selecting diverse texts, using culturally responsive examples, and building strong family and community partnerships—to make instruction more meaningful and inclusive.

Other approaches don’t fit as well because a fixed curriculum disregards students’ cultural contexts, focusing solely on standardized tests narrows the aim to test performance without relevance to students’ lives, and simply hiring more staff without targeted development doesn’t change how teaching happens in the classroom.