Research Report

Culturally Sustaining and Relevant Education for Latinx Students

Nelson Flores and Guadalupe Del Rosario Barrientos
September 2024 | Spencer Foundation

This white paper from the Spencer Foundation highlights the importance of culturally sustaining and relevant education for Latinx students in the United States. It endorses approaches that seek to affirm, build on, and extend the existing cultural and linguistic resources of Latinx students, especially translanguaging pedagogies. The paper criticizes deficit-based models and makes several practice and policy recommendations. On the practical side, the authors suggest that teachers should center Latinx voices and prioritize conversations in which both teacher and student can explore what it means to be Latinx. On the legislative side, the authors make four major policy recommendations: centering racial equity when expanding dual language programs, allocating funding to support educator professional development, diversifying the workforce through comprehensive and affordable preparation pathways, and expanding community partnerships. This white paper is valuable to education stakeholders looking for innovative solutions for addressing inequality in Latinx education.