Education Commons^™

Leveling The Field Is Not Enough: Promoting Culturally Responsive Pedagogy In Teach For America Through The Evaluation Of Intercultural Competence, Colorblindness, White Racial Identity Attitudes, And The Belief That Culture Matters In Education, Amber K. Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research study examined constructs and beliefs essential to culturally responsive teachers for the purpose of understanding corps members’ needs and promoting culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) in the Colorado region of Teach for America (TFA). This study employed a transformative, sequential mixed methods design with a theoretical lens of CRP and a corresponding framework for preparing culturally responsive educators described by Villegas and Lucas (2002). First, a quantitative phase assessed participants’ levels of intercultural competence, colorblind racial attitudes, and White racial identity attitudes at two times—upon entering TFA (n = 139) and after one year of teaching and training (n …

Arabic Women And English Language Learning: A Case Study, Ream Alkarni

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main goal of this study was to interview Arabic women students at Spring International Language Center to record their perceptions, rationale, goals, stories, and opinions about learning English in a U.S. language school. This research was conducted to understand the purposes and goals of Arabic women who come to the United Stated to study the English language, and the importance of English language proficiency, both within and outside the United States.

The findings of this study are not only relevant to English language centers in the United States, but also those in other countries. The information and methods used …

The Relationship Between Teacher Cultural Competency And Student Engagement, Erin Nicole Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study investigated teachers' cultural competency and their students' engagement within international high schools located in Hong Kong. Cultural competency is defined as a combination of knowledge about cultural groups as well as attitudes towards and skills for dealing with cultural diversity (Betancourt, 2003). The literature indicates that cultural competency will continue to play an increasingly important role in the professional work place as culturally diverse people become more interdependent. When examining the classroom experience, cultural competency equates to a teacher's ability to successfully instruct and engage culturally different students.

The students in this study reported over 30 different …

It's About Access: How The Curricular System And Unequal Learning Opportunities Predict The Racial Test Score Gap In Mathematics, Floyd Cobb Ii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This mixed methods study investigates how the design of the curricular system of one Colorado school district contributes the racial test score and racial college preparedness gaps in mathematics. The researcher examined this issue through a mixed methods design using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as the overarching theoretical framework supported by Yosso's (2002) Critical Race Curriculum. For the quantitative portion of the study the researcher utilized the theory of opportunity to learn (OTL) to test the impact of differential access to advanced mathematics content on test score outcomes on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and the Colorado ACT (COACT). …