Exploring Culturally Responsive Teaching Clusters in Indonesian Higher Education EFL Contexts: Patterns and Students’ Perspectives
Abstract views: 16
,
PDF downloads: 15
Abstract
Numerous studies have indicated that Culturally Responsive Teaching promotes inclusivity, increases student engagement, builds learners’ confidence, and fosters meaningful EFL learning. This study examines the implementation and impact of Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) in Indonesian EFL classroom focusing on identifying specific CRT clusters. The research aims to determine the types of CRT clusters manifested in classroom practices and to analyze students’ perceptions and responses toward CRT Practices over one semester. Employing a qualitative-dominant mixed-methods design, the study integrates descriptive quantitative analysis with in-depth qualitative inquiry. Quantitative data were derived from 20 students’ reflective journals by calculating the frequency of CRT practices and categorizing them into Clusters A, B, and C. Qualitative data were collected through semi-structured interviews from 12 participants and journal analysis to explore students’ experiences on Culturally responsive teaching. The findings reveal that all three CRT clusters were meaningfully implemented, with Cluster B—creating an inclusive, safe, and supportive environment—emerging as the most dominant. Overall, CRT positively enhanced students’ confidence, engagement, and comprehension in English Learning.
Downloads
References
Abdalla, H., & Moussa, A. (2024). Culturally responsive teaching: Navigating models and implementing effective strategies. Acta Pedagogia Asiana, 3(2), 91–100. https://doi.org/10.53623/apga.v3i2.432
Akmalia, R., Situmorang, M. S., Anggraini, A., Rafsanjani, A., Tanjung, A., & Hasibuan, E. E. (2023). Penerapan pembelajaran berbasis budaya dalam meningkatkan mutu pendidikan Di SMP swasta Pahlawan Nasional. Jurnal Basicedu, 7(6), 3878–3885. https://doi.org/10.31004/basicedu.v7i6.6373
Alt, D., Raichel, N., & Naamati-Schneider, L. (2022). Higher education students’ reflective journal writing and lifelong learning skills: Insights from an exploratory sequential study. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.707168
Ashrafova, I. (2024). Culturally Responsive Teaching: Strategies for promoting inclusivity in the classroom. Global Spectrum of Research and Humanities, 1(1), 100–110. https://doi.org/10.69760/gsrh.0101202409
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide. SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69909-7_3470-2
Chang, W.-C., & Viesca, K. M. (2022). Preparing teachers for Culturally Responsive/Relevant Pedagogy (CRP): A critical review of research. Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education, 124(2), 197–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/01614681221086676
Chen, D., & Yang, X. (2017). Improving active classroom participation of ESL students: Applying culturally responsive teaching strategies. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(1), 79–86. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0701.10
Creswell, J. W., & Clark, V. L. Plano. (2018). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. SAGE.
Eden, C. A., Chisom, O. N., & Adeniyi, I. S. (2024). Cultural competence in education: Strategies for fostering inclusivity and diversity awareness. International Journal of Applied Research in Social Sciences, 6(3), 383–392. https://doi.org/10.51594/ijarss.v6i3.895
Hidayati, A. F., Yuliati, Y., & Hutagalung, F. D. (2024). The implementation of culturally responsive teaching in ELT classrooms within the concept of emancipated curriculum. ELT Forum: Journal of English Language Teaching, 13(2), 150–162. https://doi.org/10.15294/elt.v13i2.7731
Ibrahim, S. N. A., & Mohd Matore, M. E. E. (2025). The validity of the Malaysian teachers’ global competency level instrument using Cohen Kappa, content validity ratio and content validity index analyses. Journal of Applied Science, Engineering, Technology, and Education, 7(1), 82–93. https://doi.org/10.35877/454RI.asci3848
Liao, H., & Li, L. (2023). Facilitating EFL learners’ intercultural competence through culturally responsive teaching in oral English classrooms. System, 115, 103070. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103070
Lo, S. (2023). Pedagogical translation for vocabulary learning: the parallel-text approach. Taiwan Journal of TESOL, 20(2), 97–135. https://doi.org/10.30397/TJTESOL.202310_20(2).0004
Malik, M., & Imtiaz, A. (2025). Voices from the classroom: Pakistani ESL teachers’ experiences with culturally responsive pedagogy. International Journal of Linguistics and Culture, 6(1), 9–28. https://doi.org/10.52700/ijlc.v6i1.284
Meihami, H. (2023). Culturally responsive teaching in TEFL programs: Exploring EFL teachers’ experiences. English Teaching & Learning, 47(1), 119–144. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42321-022-00108-7
Mocanu, V. (2022). English as a lingua franca and European identity – parallelisms in their development. Journal of English as a Lingua Franca, 11(1), 25–41. https://doi.org/10.1515/jelf-2022-2074
Nurbatra, L. H., & Masyhud, M. (2022). Infusing culturally responsive teaching in higher education: Insights for multicultural education in Indonesia. Journal of Innovation in Educational and Cultural Research, 3(4), 722–730. https://doi.org/10.46843/jiecr.v3i4.321
Nurraida, N., Islami, C. M., & Daulay, S. H. (2024). Enhancing educational factors to address language dilemmas in the ELT class. PEBSAS: Jurnal Pendidikan Bahasa Dan Sastra, 2(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.61721/pebsas.v2i2.377
Olateju Temitope Akintayo, Chima Abimbola Eden, Oyebola Olusola Ayeni, & Nneamaka Chisom Onyebuchi. (2024). Cross-cultural instructional design: A framework for multilingual and interdisciplinary education. International Journal of Frontiers in Science and Technology Research, 6(2), 060–070. https://doi.org/10.53294/ijfstr.2024.6.2.0038
Oliveira, M. M. de. (2024). English as a lingua franca and interculturality: navigating structure- and process-oriented perspectives in intercultural interactions. Language and Intercultural Communication, 24(2), 105–117. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2023.2254285
Patras, Y. E., Rahmawati, Y., Japar, M., & Hidayat, R. (2024). Today and future of Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) : Indonesia needs it. Jurnal Kependidikan: Jurnal Hasil Penelitian Dan Kajian Kepustakaan Di Bidang Pendidikan, Pengajaran Dan Pembelajaran, 10(4), 1652–1664. https://doi.org/10.33394/jk.v10i4.12985
Sutrisno, D., Abbas, A., & Muhammad. (2024). Enhancing writing skills through cultural integration: Exploring the impact of culturally-responsive writing instruction in diverse EFL classrooms. Global Synthesis in Education Journal, 2(3), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.61667/rpm4cp30
Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. L. (2016). Introduction to Qualitative Research Methods: A Guidebook and Resource. In Revista Brasileira de Linguística Aplicada (Vol. 5, Number 1).
Tohri, A., Rasyad, A., Sururuddin, M., & Istiqlal, L. M. (2022). The urgency of Sasak local wisdom-based character education for elementary school in East Lombok, Indonesia. International Journal of Evaluation and Research in Education (IJERE), 11(1), 333–344. https://doi.org/10.11591/ijere.v11i1.21869
White, A. L. (2022). Reaching back to reach forward: Using culturally responsive frameworks to enhance critical action amongst educators. Review of Education, Pedagogy, and Cultural Studies, 44(2), 166–184. https://doi.org/10.1080/10714413.2021.2009748
The journal uses an Open Access policy under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.













