After you read this chapter, you should be able to

8.1 Assess the demographic mismatch between today’s students and today’s teacher workforce, misconceptions about race, and the implications for teachers’ “cultural competence.”
8.2 Critique how people develop cultural and racial identities that impact their learning; how the theories of white privilege and white fragility challenge white people’s awareness of themselves in the world; and the influence of intersectionality on understanding diversity.
8.3 Clarify the relationship between underrepresented students’ perceptions—including oppositional culture theory, stereotype threat theory, and microaggression theory—and their academic performance.
8.4 Support how teachers using students’ assets (rather than deficits) can improve their teaching effectiveness with all students, especially underrepresented students.
8.5 Argue how teachers can use diverse students’ personal, family, and cultural assets and culturally responsive pedagogy to foster student resilience and success in school.