How does culture impact pedagogical reforms?

In teaching and learning, culture influences the purposes of education, how teachers perceive their roles, structure their classroom interactions, and implement pedagogical reforms. It isn’t just a backdrop—without considering the influence of unique cultural factors, efforts to transform teaching and learning will not be relevant and may face resistance or fail to achieve lasting impacts.

On March 11, the SPARKS Project at the Center for Universal Education hosted the second webinar in the SPARKS Webinar Series. Experts from Egypt, India, and Mexico shared personal stories and research insights on how cultural norms, traditions, and values influence teaching and learning and how acknowledging these cultural dimensions can enhance the success of pedagogical reforms. This was the second in a three-part series providing deep dives into the three different categories of invisible pedagogical mindsets and SPARKS research. 

Viewers submitted questions by emailing [email protected] and via X/Twitter @BrookingsGlobal using #SPARKSWebinarSeries.