Education Commons^™

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In High School Science: Assessing The Implementation In Title 1 Classrooms, Micah Ducre

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is defined as, using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively (Horowitz et al., 2018). Building relationships with students to understand their backgrounds and experiences to implement the best teaching practices such as accessing prior knowledge and making connections is imperative in a culturally diverse school with students with various learning styles, abilities, and interests. Moreover, the state of Georgia requires teachers to implement instructional practices relevant to students’ culture and learning abilities to receive proficient scores on their yearly evaluations. However, the state must provide its …

Unlocking Passion And Setting Students Free: The Impact Of Culturally Relevant Writing Instruction In A Middle School English I Classroom, Adam Whitaker, Trina J. Davis, Mónica V. Neshyba

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Culturally relevant writing instruction has the potential to validate the voices of students often not heard. Documented disparities in student writing proficiency in grades K-12 indicate a pressing need to employ more effective approaches in facilitating writing instruction. This paper presents the findings of a mixed methods research study that explored eighth grade English I students’ middle school reading and writing preferences, writing experiences, and the impact of culturally relevant writing instruction. Data were gathered from 63 students via reflective journals, writing interest forms, learning logs, and writing artifacts collected throughout a 3-week writing unit. Our findings reveal that writing …

A Case Study On Critical Consciousness In Dual Language Bilingual Education, Caroline A. Hesse

Theses and Dissertations

This ethnographic case study explores how dual language bilingual education (DLBE) educators understand, enact, and acquire their perceptions of and tools to educate for critical consciousness, especially in relation to culturally and linguistically diverse students who are often labeled as “emergent bilinguals”, “native Spanish speakers” and/or “ELLs”. The present study responds to Cervantes-Soon’s (2014) call for attention to critical consciousness in DLBE. Hence, the purpose is to gain insight into the role of critical consciousness in DLBE educators’ work. The findings inform practitioners’ as well as scholars’ work, and lend insight for those who study critical consciousness, …

Reconceptualizing Mathematical Word Problems To Reflect Social Justice Principles And Culturally Relevant Teaching, Michelle Aryam Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

As currently developed and written, mathematical word problems lack cultural relevance for an increasingly culturally diverse population in elementary schools in the United States. The design and context of mathematical word problems promote the norms, values, and beliefs of the dominant culture while potentially negatively influencing students from non-dominant culture engagement and achievement in mathematics.

The purpose of this sequential, explanatory mixed-methods study was threefold: to (a)examine in-service teachers’ preexisting beliefs about the relevance of social justice and culturally relevant teaching related to their mathematics instructional practices before receiving a synchronous online professional development program; (b) assess the impact of …

Meeting The Demands Of Elementary Black Students With Special Needs: Warm Demanders - A Culturally Responsive/Relevant/Sustaining Pedagogy, Deanna Hunt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This is an inquiry into the counterstories of two Black special education teachers teaching Black elementary students with special needs in Georgia. Theoretically building upon culturally responsive (Gay, 2000/2010, 2002), relevant (Ladson-Billings, 1994/2009, 2014), and sustaining (Paris, 2012; Paris & Alim 2017) pedagogy; warm demanders (Kleinfeld, 1989; also Irvine & Fraser, 1998); and Disability Critical Race Theory (DisCrit) (e.g., Annamma, Connor, & Ferri, 2013, 2018; Baglieri, 2016), I examine the challenges of intersectionality on Black students with special needs. I also explore the use of warm demanders as a teacher strategy for supporting the learning of Black students with special …

Implications Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Online Environments Where Emergent Bilinguals Participate, Myrna Rasmussen

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative case study aimed to better understand if culturally relevant pedagogy practices are happening in an early childhood dual-language classroom, and what knowledge does a bilingual teacher have of culturally relevant pedagogy. The theoretical framework is guided by the landmark theory of culturally relevant pedagogy by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995). The research questions that guided this study were: (1) To what extend was culturally relevant pedagogy practices happening in an early childhood dual-language classroom? (2) What is the level of an early childhood bilingual teacher’s knowledge of culturally relevant pedagogy? The findings in this study suggest that the teacher, who …

The Implementation Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And Socratic Seminar: The Effect On African American Students’ Reading And Their Critical Thinking, Amy Christina Waddell

Theses and Dissertations

Achievement gaps have been an ongoing issue among African American students for years. The continuation of low achievement scores has been the downfall of African American student success throughout their educational history (Royle & Brown, 2014). So much time has been spent helping students achieve grade-level mastery, while little was being done to ensure continuous academic growth for students that were already reading on-grade level. Over time, these on-grade level students remained stagnant or tended to regress. This research study presented two instructional intervention strategies that demonstrated how critical thinking could improve the growth in reading, among rising sixth-grade on-grade …

What Would Gloria Ladson-Billings Do?: A Pedagogical Framework That Moves, Dominique Modory

SPACE: Student Perspectives About Civic Engagement

During my time as an elementary education major at Loyola University Chicago, I was offered a position as a K-2nd grade dance instructor at McCutcheon Elementary. After some students expressed disinterest in dance, I turned to culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), a term that is coined by pedagogical scholar Gloria Ladson-Billings, to engage, educate, and inspire my students. I explain the criticality of practicing introspection on one's biases that may unconsciously hinder a student's academic growth. Further, one must brainstorm on how to insert education into the context of students' cultures. In the article, I ruminate how, through CRP, cultural competency, …

Elementary Content Teacher Perceptions Regarding Their Ell Instructional Practices, C. Wesley Owens, Steve P. Wells

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore the instructional practices of elementary English language learner (ELL) teachers and how those practices are perceived by the teachers to be aligned with improved ELL academic performance. The study is grounded in Ladson-Billings’ theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, which holds that student academic achievement and cultural identity should be affirmed. The research questions focused on exploring instructional practices used by teachers to support ELL learning and the teachers’ perceptions of how their practices are aligned with improved ELL academic performance. The qualitative descriptive study was limited to three elementary schools …

A Quantitative Evaluation Of A Culturally Relevant Reading Intervention Program On Academic Achievement And Reading Self-Perception In An Urban High School In New Jersey, Jessica Urban

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The purpose of this study was to understand the possible effects that participation in a culturally relevant reading intervention program had on students’ reading growth and reading self-perception, when compared to students who did not participate in the program but demonstrated similar prior academic achievement. To assess the relationship between program participation and reading achievement, students’ scaled score growth and student growth percentile on the STAR Reading Assessment were compared and analyzed across 3 school years. In each sample, there was no evidence to suggest that the program influenced students’ scaled score or SGP. The multiple regression models revealed that …

“So, How Real Can I Get?": Opportunities And Obstacles For Teacher Learners Enacting Culturally Responsive Pedagogy., Jonathan P Baize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study examines the experiences of three alternative certification teachers (teachers who begin teaching as they worked to complete teacher education courses for initial certification) whom I call “teacher learners” (Jacobs & Low, 2017) as they try to enact culturally responsive practices while navigating their first-year of teaching. The teacher learners worked to develop their understanding and capacities to enact a culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) even as they were faced with the obstacles inherent to shifting teaching practices in K-12 schools. Through these challenges, they still furthered their conceptualization of CRP, as evidenced by, and in some ways guided …

Student Perceptions Of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy And The Impact On Teacher-Student Relationships, Robert Louis Harris

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how six eighth-grade Magnet Program students perceive their teacher-student relationship through the teacher’s use of culturally relevant pedagogy. This case study provided information that guides a classroom teacher in the implementation of culturally relevant pedagogy that helps develop and maintain teacher-student relationships. The resulting analysis and interpretation provided major themes that developed regarding the use of culturally relevant strategies in the classroom.

This study informs educators in the profession about the extent to which students perceptions impact their relationship with the teacher. Findings could be used by teachers and administrators to advocate …

Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Teaching Proficiency Through Reading And Storytelling, Jing Gao

Chinese Language Teaching Methodology and Technology

When the demographics in American public schools becomes more diverse, educators have been challenged how to be prepared to work with diverse student learners. In education field, culturally relevant pedagogy has been widely recognized as an effective practice for teaching about diversity and used across different school subject areas. This article discusses four aspects that teachers can implement culturally relevant pedagogy in TPRS language classrooms, including a caring learning community, establishing meaning, story asking, and story reading. Teachers can include and empower students by validating them as learning subjects and engaging them in knowledge creation and representation in curriculum and …

A Case Study Of Elementary Teachers’ Critical Understanding Of Culturally Relevant Science Education: Mexican American Teachers Of Mexican American Students, Nora Alicia Luna

Theses and Dissertations

There is much research on White teachers’ negative assumptions and biases about their students of color. Less is known about Mexican American teachers. It is often assumed that there exists a strong understanding of culturally relevant science when both teachers and students are of similar cultural backgrounds. Through the conceptual frameworks of culturally relevant pedagogy and LatCrit, this investigation gave insight into, not only the ways the Mexican American teachers conceptualized culturally relevant science as part of their pedagogy, but also the struggles they experienced with the Spanish language. This study added insight by exploring the interactions of Mexican American …

Culturally Responsive Teaching And Learning For Success, Fred A. Hunter

Dissertations

The enduring gap between White and Black student achievement has challenged our educational systems for decades. This study evaluates an instructional pedagogy that values and embraces students’ culture and experiences. Participants in this study include one teacher trained to implement culturally relevant instruction, her middle school students, and teacher leaders at the school where I served as principal during the time of the study.

The results of this study reveal the positive impact that a culturally relevant teacher yields for students and teacher. Students receiving an affirming instructional pedagogy benefit from improved academic outcomes. Teachers embracing this method of teaching …

Why Trouble Sel? The Need For Cultural Relevance In Sel, Julia Mahfouz, Vanessa Anthony-Stevens

Occasional Paper Series

With regards to efforts to imagine more equitable spaces of learning for all students, we are compelled to ask: How can SEL programs address the needs of marginalized, minoritized, and/or historically under-resourced students without deeply considering the cultured context of social interaction and school learning? Although evidence shows SEL programs yield benefits in multiple domains, most programs are based on monolithic approaches that often do not consider dynamics of power and oppression in the context of schooling. In this paper, we discuss the crucial role of culture in SEL frameworks. We propose adopting an interdisciplinary lens to integrate culturally relevant …

Navigating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy: The Jumpstart Hartford Model, Mabel Silva

Senior Theses and Projects

Culturally responsive pedagogy attempts to dismantle the racist structures that uphold the educational system. It acknowledges that the experiences, cultures, and traditions of marginalized communities are often missing from schooling, and tries to incorporate them by altering curriculum and day-to-day classroom practices (Ladson-Billings, 1995). However, little research has examined whether and how teachers of color utilize culturally relevant pedagogy. Jumpstart is a national program that seeks to equalize educational opportunity in pre-kindergarten by providing language and literacy services as well as social and emotional development (Jumpstart, 2019). I, therefore, posited the following research questions: How does Jumpstart Hartford utilize culturally …

Culturally Familiar Texts To Improve Reading And Writing Outcomes For High School English Language Learners: An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Study, Taryn Courtney Robertson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research suggests that culturally relevant pedagogical strategies are essential for improving culturally and linguistically diverse student achievement. However, there is little research about which specific strategies provide the largest impacts. And there is even less research on which strategies help LatinX English Language Learners achieve academic success in the areas of reading and writing. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of utilizing culturally familiar text, as compared to culturally unfamiliar text, on reading comprehension and summary writing outcomes for secondary LatinX ELL students. This study sought to determine if there were statistically significant differences in reading …

Student Voice In A Participatory Design Process Focused On Developing Equity-Based Stem Teaching Practices, Frank Heimerdinger

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study with second grade students in a mid-sized city in the Northwest was to examine an equity-based STEM teaching practice and design process that builds on student's voice in the context of an elementary school. Teaching practice innovations were designed using a participatory process drawing on student voice and experience, culturally responsive pedagogy, STEM content, and teaching practices. The students collaborated with the teacher to design and enact equity-based STEM teaching practice innovations and gave necessary and appropriate feedback regarding its efficacy in creating equitable and empowering learning experiences from their own perspective. A specific goal …

Toward Critical Counseling: A Content Analysis Of Critical Race Theory And Culturally Relevant Pedagogy In Community College Counselor Education, Lyman A. Insley

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Prior to the early 1990s, most counselor preparation programs did not have multicultural competencies. Therefore, a call was made for the use of multicultural competencies in counselor preparation programs. Yet, the popularization of multicultural competencies of this time in education had a Eurocentric bent, a kind of colorblindness

More recently, scholars confirmed that these Eurocentric multicultural competencies had become the primary template from which counselor preparation programs taught culturally responsive and relevant pedagogy. Therefore, a call was made for the use of critical race theory (CRT) in counselor preparation programs to challenge and change Eurocentric cultural competence.

Purpose: This …

Successful Instructional Reading Practices For African American Male Third-Grade Students, Kimberly D. Whaley, Steve Wells, Nancy Williams

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

African American male third graders in U.S Title I schools frequently fail to read on grade level. However, in three Title I schools in East Texas, this demographic demonstrated exceptionally high reading ability. This explanatory case study investigated the instructional strategies and practices linked to high reading achievement for these students. The study is grounded in Ladson-Billings’s theory of culturally relevant pedagogy and supported by Vygotsky’s theory of social and cognitive constructivism. The research questions were used to examine the instructional strategies and practices used on each campus that may have resulted in such high reading achievement. This study engenders …

White Pre-Service Teachers’ Perceptions And Their Development Of Culturally Relevant Literacy Practices, Lakia M. Scott, Elena Venegas

Journal of Multicultural Affairs

Existent literature purports that providing White teacher candidates with increased exposure to urban schools in order to create culturally competent educators has failed. These findings reflect the notion that teacher ideologies and overall perspectives about working with diverse student groups must be harnessed in a genuine ethic of care and intentionality for students of color. However, few studies have taken the approach of examining the development of culturally relevant pedagogy through context-specific field experiences using content-specific courses. This study examines the perspectives of twenty-five White pre-service teachers from a predominately White, private university regarding their initial perceptions and gained conceptual …

Lesson Plan, World History, 10th And 11th Grade, Brenda Hernández

Summer Institute June 2019

TEKS: WH15B, 16A, 18B (S) 1A, 2A, 2B, 2C, 15C, 18A, 19B,26A

Lesson objective(s): 1-The Learner will (TLW) interview family members as to how they came to the Rio Grande Valley (RGV). 2- TLW create a half poster of the interviews according to P-politics, E-economics, R-religion, Ssocial, I-intellectual, A=arts (PERSIA) 3-TLW be able to identify the components of P.E.R.S.I.A.

Differentiation strategies to meet diverse learner needs: Interview family members, Take pictures of family /close friends

The Impact Of Attending An Equity-Based Conference On One Teacher Educator: Five Pedagogical Changes Of Practice, Rebecca Smith

Northwest Journal of Teacher Education

This article is a reflective overview of five pedagogical practice changes that one teacher educator made after attending a multicultural education conference. The article integrates current research to highlight the educational benefits of innovative, equity-based instructional strategies. The pedagogical changes are explored through the theoretical lens of culturally relevant pedagogy (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Gay, 2010) and culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris & Alim, 2017) and include: diversifying curriculum, engaging with community partners, collaborating with K-12 practitioners, innovative technology, and self-reflection.

Instructional Reading Practices For Third Grade African American Males, Kimberly Dawn Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American males often struggle to read on grade level. However, 3 East Texas Title I schools demonstrated exceptionally high levels of reading proficiency with this population. This study addressed the knowledge gap of understanding the instructional practices linked to high reading achievement of third grade African American males in Title I schools in East Texas. Guided by Ladson-Billings's theory of culturally relevant pedagogy, which builds upon academic success, cultural competence, and development of critical consciousness, and supported by Vygotsky's theory of social and cognitive constructivism, the reading instructional practices of the 3 schools were investigated. Research questions focused on …

The Effects Of Academic Parent Teacher Teams On Latino Student Achievement, Barbara Dee Bench

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades of research have noted the importance of parent involvement in students' academic success. Less is known about parent engagement models that aim to increase Latino students' reading achievement. This project study examined the effectiveness of a 2-year parent engagement program implemented to address poor reading achievement of Latino elementary school students in a small urban district. The purpose of this study was to determine disparities in student scores between those parents who participated in the program and those parents who did not participate. The research questions examined parent engagement levels in comparison to increased summative reading scores. Based on …

The Student Centered Approach Storied: What Students Have To Teach Us, Taylor A. Norman

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

In this paper, the pedagogical method known as student centered instruction is storied. Classroom narratives, called pedagogical stories, are shared to inform the collective practice of teaching. Together, stories of classroom experiences speak in one voice (Coles, 2004). A voice that tells preservice teachers stories of what they might encounter when applying their learned methods to classroom practice; stories of classroom situations that aim to inform theory and method with practice. Through the use of classroom narratives, the author suggests that the student centered approach has a responsibility to culturally responsive teaching, especially in the language arts classroom.

Meeting Yourself Without Rose Colored Glasses: An Urban Public School, Shenelle Dubose, Apryll Mendez

Dissertations

The impact of a culturally relevant professional development series on classroom teacher’s cultural lens was determined. Fifty teachers from two different school districts participated in 16 hours of professional development in an attempt to impact their understanding of how culture and instruction are connected.

During the professional development, participants took part in activities, dialogues and reflections designed to impact their cultural competency. The content of the four professional development sessions included (a) videos on culturally relevant teaching; (b) discussion of cultural identity of participants and how it surfaces in the classroom; (c) discussion of the culture, values, and beliefs of …

Critical Analysis Of The Educational Success Of African Immigrants And African Americans In The U.S., Regina J. Giraldo-Garcia, Joshua G. Bagaka's

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Using the cultural-ecological and culturally relevant theory as the theoretical overarching framework, this study works to quantify the high school achievement gap in mathematics and reading IRT scores between immigrants and U.S.-born black minorities as well as between these students and whites. Based on a nationally representative sample of 1,669 black and 8,682 white students from the NCES Education Longitudinal Study of 2002, a hierarchical linear regression model confirmed that the achievement in mathematics and reading was statistically significant and higher for voluntary compared to involuntary black minorities, but with a small effect size of about one-tenth of a standard …

"Let Me Tell You What I See" Creating A Culturally Relevant Arts Based Education Through The Use Of Photography And Storytelling, William Tran

Master's Projects and Capstones

There are many constructs that can hinder the ability of students of color to succeed in a classroom environment. Factors such as the construct of whiteness, microaggressions, the banking method, as well as cuts in arts based classes create a learning environment where oppression occurs on multiple levels. The construct of whiteness creates an environment in which only the ideas, values, lived experiences, and knowledge of whites are considered valid. Microaggressions uphold the construct of whiteness by insulting and invalidating any ideas, values, lived experiences, languages, and knowledge that are outside the construct of whiteness. The constructs of whiteness as …