2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Research shows that teaching practices that are more contextual and inclusive of students’ cultural backgrounds and experiences enhance students' learning. Culturally sustaining pedagogy (CSP) is one such example of an asset-based approach to teaching. The CSP framework has been used extensively in K-12 STEM education in the United States. In contrast, the STEM education literature in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) adopts a deficit-based approach to research that focuses on pedagogical challenges. This theory study, therefore, serves as preliminary work to ease the transition from a deficit-based to an asset-based approach to STEM education in SSA.
To achieve the purpose of this study, firstly, a research synthesis was conducted to investigate how prior research work has used the CSP framework. Secondly, a framework for the use of CSP in praxis and research within the SSA context is proposed drawing on Onwuegbuzie et al.’s (2012) methodology literature analysis. Findings present an adapted CSP framework for SSA, comprising 11 tenets for asset-based research. They highlight CSP’s adaptability across contexts, underscoring its importance in SSA STEM education.

Keywords: culturally sustaining pedagogy, asset-based education, exemplary teaching, inclusion, transferability, Sub-Saharan Africa