The approach draws on research from the 1990s. Scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings introduced culturally relevant pedagogy in a 1995 article. She studied successful teachers of Black students and found they combined academic rigor with cultural competence and critical awareness. Geneva Gay built on that work in her 2000 book Culturally Responsive Teaching.
In practice, it can mean choosing texts by authors who reflect the class, using examples from students' communities, welcoming home languages and changing discipline practices that fall hardest on Black students. It is about how teachers teach, not a separate course.
The approach has become a political target. Since 2021, many states have passed laws restricting how teachers discuss race, and some critics group culturally responsive teaching with critical race theory. In 2025, a federal executive order on K-12 schooling also attacked what it called indoctrination. Supporters argue the approach is simply good teaching. Students learn more when they see themselves in lessons and when teachers expect them to succeed.