Research suggests that culturally responsive programs can embody practices that ensure successful learning outcomes for African American students. These studies indicate that successful schools for minority students integrate aspects of students' culture, history, and experiences in their programs. Research exploring the cultural mismatch between home and school culture, culturally responsive teaching, culturally responsive pedagogy, cultural awareness, and teacher expectations all suggest that these conditions are important elements in the development of culturally responsive learning environments. (See, for example, Banks, 2007; Gay, 2003; Nieto, 1999;Ladson-Billings, 1994). Despite the plethora of studies that address culturally responsive programs as viable alternatives for poor and minority students, however, the idea of culturally responsive programs still remains vague. While cultural responsiveness has been defined, questions remain about the degree to which all elements described in the literature are essential to its success. This study used a survey instrument to assess the key elements of cultural responsiveness described in the literature and to investigate if and how teachers and students perceive the dimensions of cultural responsiveness. Data were collected from 152 students and 34 teachers across three programs that exhibited unusual levels of success with African American students. Multiple survey items were combined to create indicators of cultural responsiveness. Descriptive and correlational analyses were performed across the data as a whole and within program units. Findings show that the attitudinal dimensions of cultural responsiveness, including beliefs about cultural identity and the acceptance of cultural diversity, are perceived more frequently than are the curricular and pedagogical dimensions. If students perceived the school to be responsive with respect to the curriculum, they were likely to experience all dimensions of cultural responsiveness. No significant differences were found across schools. Schools continue to enroll students from diverse backgrounds and ask them to be socialized and assimilated into a mainstream system of education that may be insensitive to their experiences, history and language. This study is significant because understanding the dimensions of culturally responsive programs can provide insight into planning programs for poor and minority students. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]