Cultural congruence
indicates a teacher's respect for the cultural background of his or her students.
Zeichner (1995) emphasizes that in order for a teacher to implement the principle
of cultural congruence, he or she must have knowledge of and respect for the
various cultural traditions and languages of students in the classroom. Teachers
need general sociocultural knowledge about child and adolescent development;
about second language acquisition; about the ways that socioeconomic circumstances,
language, and culture shape school performance. Finally, teachers should develop
a clear sense of their own ethnic and cultural identities in order to be able
to understand and appreciate those of their students. This will help them understand
how their own cultural biases may influence judgements about student performance
and obstruct students' ability to learn.