Education Commons^™

Meeting Their Fullest Potential: The Beliefs And Teaching Of A Culturally Relevant Science Teacher, Charlease P. Kelly-Jackson, Tambra O. Jackson

Faculty and Research Publications

As elementary and middle school children of color continue to score poorly on science standardized tests, culturally relevant teaching has been shown to be an effective approach to addressing the social and academic needs of students from diverse backgrounds. This article illustrates how the theory of culturally relevant pedagogy is embraced in the teaching beliefs of a sixth grade science teacher in a rural, low socioeconomic, predominantly African American school. The findings from a qualitative case study reveal beliefs and teaching practices consistent with three major tenets of culturally relevant pedagogy: conceptions of self and students; social relations; and perceptions …