within a unique context; however, there are common aspects to most
teaching experiences. The authors in this text address both common and
unique aspects of particular contexts in terms of learning to identify
important factors that lead to pathways of success for students from diverse
backgrounds. The authors in Pathways to Success in School present ways of
understanding one's own thinking (metacognition) and ways of thinking
about teaching and learning situations and identifying productive strate-
gies. Each teacher must learn about the context in which he or she will
practice, understand key aspects of the students' cultural and experiential
background and learning preferences, and explore ways to bring these
factors together in framing and selecting meaningful curriculum content
and learning experiences.

Teachers must attend to diversity within and across cultural groups. The
classroom is a place for all students to learn about other cultural heritages
and to share their cultural heritage with other students. Teachers should
validate cultural knowledge acquired outside of the classroom rather than
dismiss it as inconsistent with value perspectives of the predominant group.
This book is intended to assist teachers in understanding their own thinking
and in identifying ways to draw from their students' experiential back-
grounds and learning propensities to develop meaningful classroom learn-
ing experiences.

This book is organized into three interrelated parts: Part I-- Becoming an
Expert Navigator, Part II--Using Culture as a Compass, and Part
III--Drawing on the Landscape. In Part I, the authors describe two ap-
proaches to becoming a competent practitioner. The first is intuitive, based
on an awareness of the culture shared by the teacher and his or her students
and the ability of the teacher to draw from the culture to develop a
comfortable and supportive learning context and meaningful curriculum
content and pedagogy. The second approach to becoming a competent
practitioner involves deliberate and systematic inquiry and reflection using
specific tools to enhance professional growth.

In Part II, the authors present approaches to developing and using
culturally responsive pedagogy. Perspectives presented include those of
preservice teachers reflecting on their elementary and secondary experi-
ences in learning mathematics compared to those at the college level and
those of two inservice elementary teachers, one using a culturally based
approach and the other using an experiential approach. Part II also presents
research conducted by an ethnographer demonstrating how to identify ways
to make linkages between school learning and the home culture, and
principles for implementing culturally responsive pedagogy.

In Part III, the authors address curriculum content and design. The
factors influencing curriculum content and design include teachers' biases,
cultural perspectives, historical traditions, educational and social purposes,

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