The COVID-19 Pandemic and Emerging Cultural Assets

ABSTRACT

In an attempt to name challenges and envision possibilities facing educators during the COVID-19 pandemic, this article asks, what are examples of culturally relevant pedagogy emergent from forced distance-learning that promote and foster students’ cultural assets? The authors present a model for identifying cultural assets and reflect upon and share three examples from their teaching at the onset of the pandemic: (1) The Corona Chronicles, a showcase of personal editorials created by fourth graders, (2) QuaranTeen, a podcast created by eleventh graders to explore and learn from one another amidst distance learning, and (3) Ecological Asset-Mapping, a pedagogical tool for pre-service teachers to reflect upon their own—and learn from their K-12 students’—cultural assets. These pedagogical examples are portrayed and discussed in ways to foster student, family, and community cultural assets as foundations of meaningful learning.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Noah Borrero

Noah Borrero’s research and teaching are grounded in the belief that the cultural strengths of communities provide unique opportunities for learning, teaching, and social transformation. He is a teacher, teacher educator, and scholar dedicated to the exploration of these strengths—cultural assets—as educational and pedagogical opportunities.

Christine J. Yeh

Christine J. Yeh’s research and teaching focus on development, implementation, and evaluation of school and community-based programs that are theoretically grounded in Yosso’s () model of community cultural wealth and foster students’ social connectedness, cultural identities, educational engagement, and cultural empowerment.2005

Gabriel Dela Cruz

Gabriel Dela Cruz’s research and teaching focus on culturally relevant and responsive teaching. Through this approach he hopes to inspire young people to (re)discover their cultural identities, explore their passions, build community, and see themselves as agents of change.

Teresa Collins

Teresa Collins’ teaching and research are rooted in bell hooks’ (1994) assertion that education is a practice of freedom. Through engaging, culturally relevant, holistic pedagogical practices, she hopes to humanize the schooling experience and assist youth in (re)discovering their own brilliance so that they come to recognize themselves as agents of change within their own communities.