Embracing complexity while deconstructing Eurocentric ideologies within classroom practices: reflecting on culturally responsive teaching

Abstract

This research examines the complexities of teaching via culturally responsive practices in an Indigenous classroom in Saskatchewan. Through critical discourse analysis, I argue that culturally responsive teaching became more effective when I refuted my preconceptions that my pedagogy would be accepted by the Indigenous community. This research questions my practice as an educator and reveals how I reconciled with the community as I negotiated my identity as an educator and my perceptions about teaching in this context. Through critical reflective analysis, I explore the challenge of deconstructing hegemonic ideals and structures in the classroom. This study suggests the hoped-for transformation is possible. It occurred when students and I began to look inward through radical contemplative practices while relying on anti-oppressive theories. We learned to critically examine the oppressions of past generations to move forward. My research demonstrates that daily reflection allowed change and the creation of an anti-oppressive culture, although the process was complex. Keywords: anti-oppressive, auto-pilot, culturally responsive teaching, contemplative pedagogy, embodied, Eurocentric, oppression, whiteness.