Amidst the ethnic and linguistic diversity in adult English language classes, there is heightened importance to using culturally responsive teaching practices. However, there are limited quantitative examinations of this approach in adult learning environments. The purpose of this investigation was to describe patterns of culturally responsive teaching practices of adult ESOL teachers and to establish the psychometric properties of the Culturally Responsive Teaching Survey (CRTS), a newly-developed self-assessment survey. Based on Ginsberg and Wlodkowski's Motivational Framework for Culturally Responsive Teaching [1], this 17-item online survey establishes patterns of teaching praxis appropriate for adult English language classrooms. Findings revealed a trend of regular to frequent use of the majority of the culturally responsive teaching practices indicated in the CRTS. In addition, analyses demonstrated that the CRTS is a reliable, uni-dimensional scale which yielded positive correlations with multi-cultural knowledge and teaching skills. Thus, the CRTS provides a useful tool for examining the praxis of culturally responsive teaching in adult, second-language classrooms. These findings will lead to improved understanding of how adult educators incorporate culturally responsive teaching practices in ethnically and linguistically diverse learning environments, in addition to supporting the use of this instrument in future research studies.

For adult English language learners, the English language classroom provides a space for students to examine cultural as well other identities. However, discussions often center on racial, rather than sexual identities. In addition, attention to how adult English language instructors engage in classroom practices that focus on sexual identities is often limited. This article examines how adult educators in English language classrooms feel regarding the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Queer (LGBQ) topics and materials into their curriculum and instruction. Through a web-based survey, teachers described their beliefs, practices, and challenges in creating lessons and responding to student questions in ways that broke down heteronormativity in the adult English language classroom. Findings add to the limited knowledge of how teachers in post-secondary, English language classrooms create and support a culturally responsive learning environment regarding sexual identities.

The concept of culturally responsive teaching has long been associated with the traditional, face-to-face classroom. However, the growth of distance education has meant that traditional classrooms are being replaced by online courses, and educators who were used to teaching in face-to-face classrooms now find themselves in a very different situation of teaching online. Culturally responsive teaching is important in all classrooms, and it can be done online. This article examines basic principles of culturally responsive teaching in the context of elearning. It focuses on practical ideas for instructors interested in developing their own culturally responsive online teaching skills.

Communities thrive when individuals work together to share knowledge and resources. This phenomenon, social capital, is widely understood as the access and proficiency individuals have to knowledge and networks that facilitate acquisition of economic resources and social well-being (Putnam, 2000). This paper presents findings from data collected in the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) related to three elements of social capital. Community involvement, political efficacy, and social trust were explored as they relate to age, educational attainment, and time of residence in the United States. Key results include low levels of all social capital variables and differences by age and educational attainment. Findings add to the understanding of the ways in which sub-groups of U.S. communities engage with their social networks.

In recent decades, educational research has strongly supported the incorporation of culture and cultural identities into adult learning environments. However, much of the literature about culturally responsive teaching, a well-established framework in multicultural education research, has been conducted in the K-12 setting, leaving one to question how adult education researchers and practitioners utilize these approaches. This article describes research conducted from a culturally responsive framework in various adult learning environments. In general, many studies eschewed the complete culturally responsive framework, choosing selected aspects commonly identified with sociocultural theory. The most commonly used tenets were: the importance of learners' cultural identities, the need for adult educators to explore their own cultural identities, and the role that diverse curriculum and materials play in establishing an inclusive learning environment.