EFFECT OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE INSTRUCTION ON SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND COLLABORATIVE SKILLS OF MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS

India is a treasure house of cultural heritage, reflected in its arts, literature, traditions, languages, and heritage sites. People around the world relate to its richness through tourism, festivals, yoga, classical literature. Vibrant diversity and cultural wealth best encapsulate its uniqueness and appeal at the global level. Every state in India provides an epitome of incredible cultural and linguistic diversity. Bihar, for example is famous for its rich historic contributions to education as displayed by the ancient pedagogical structures of Nalanda University and Taxila University. This study examined the effectiveness of a Culturally Responsive Instruction (CRI) package in enhancing the social, emotional, and collaborative skills of middle school students. Using a pre-test and post-test control group design, the research was conducted with a simple random sample of sixty-two students from two schools in the Gaya District of Bihar, India. Subjects in the study were given instructions to use the CRI package, which is a skill package designed to promote behavioral skills. The control group received instruction regular teaching methods. The outcomes were measured using the data collection tool, the Social, Emotional, and Collaborative Skills Scale (SECS). Statistical analysis by way of a t-test has shown that the experimental group outdid the control set significantly in the areas of social, emotional, and collaborative skills. These findings imply that CRI will better support the middle-grade learner than more traditional strategies, especially when it concerns skills related to interpersonal or intrapersonal development.