Background of the Study
SECTION 1 INTRODUCTION
While eighty-three percent of elementary school teachers in America are White and female, more and more communities of color, across the country are calling for better schools and more highly qualified teachers (Kunjufu, 2008). Just as the demand for more accountability in our nations schools continues to be at the forefront of school reform, there has been a 66 percent decline in African American teachers and only six percent of Americas teachers are African American, and only one percent males. Harris and Associates (1998) shared that the turnover of teachers of color is significantly faster than white teachers. In general, 40 of minority educators report that they are likely to leave the profession within the next 5 years. This is in stark contrast with the 25 non-minority teachers who have expressed the same sentiment. Teachers of color in the private education sector leave at a rate of 21.4 between the years 1987 and 1988, while the rate of turnover in the public sector is much lower at 4.4 (Bobbitt, Leich, Whitener, Lynch, 1994). Consequently, the education of children of color mostly lies in the hand of White female teachers (Epstein, 2005).
School districts across this nation are jostling to meet federal guidelines and develop systems of accountability in which students in third through eighth grades face assessments in mathematics and reading. No Child Left Behind demands that all students be proficient by 2013 as well as, has raised the issue of racial achievement gap (Peterson, 2006). States have begun to develop plans and pass legislation to encourage schools to close the achievement gap. Urban schools with high minority student population face an even more momentous task. The challenge of meeting NCLB, on top of not having adequate resources in the form of funding and teachers equipped with the skills to teach children of color has created problems for many local school districts (Weiner, 2005).
The achievement gap, which is a matter of race and class is one the most pressing educational policy challenges that states currently face (Howard, 2006). Schools that have not closed the achievement gap are considered to be unsuccessful. Thus, the public, as well as school leaders are looking for answers. More than fifty years after Brown versus the Board of Education, we are still looking for answers as to how to improve our public education system with closing the achievement gap between African American and White students being a main priority.
The issue of how to effectively teach African American students is apparently still not seen as a major trend in need of reform, for most scholars and researchers. Most of the literature available covers what to teach and not how to teach African American students (Thompson, 2004 Cooper, 2003 Perry et. al., 2003 Gay, 2003). Consequently, the intent of this study is to explore an issue that many in the Black community whisper about for whatever reasons but refuse to address through open and honest dialogue (King, 1994).
A major issue is whether teaching practices utilized by non-African American teachers that teach African American students, may have contributed to the achievement gap between African American students and White students through the lack of awareness or practice of cultural relevant teaching. For instance, Thompson (2004) exposed stereotypes that can be confirmed in classrooms during her personal experience at conducting an in-service in which most of the teachers were White. The mindset of these teachers, and the assumptions and beliefs they held about African American students was also scrutinized. Dovidio Garner (1986) proposed that the assessment of racial minorities is distinguished by Whites implicit negative attitudes towards minority groups. Aversive racism, in contrast with conventional racism, is described as hatred and ostracism of out-group minorities which are manifested through complicated and ambiguous attitudes.
This study will contribute to the body of knowledge needed to address the problem and satisfy Waldens mission for social justice by establishing whether there is a relationship between ethnicity and cultural awareness. This study will examine if a teachers cultural awareness improves student learning. It shall also investigate if the perceived barriers to using cultural relevant teaching influence the use of such these practices. Comparisons between the perceptions of non-minority and minority teachers shall be undertaken. Chapter 2 provides a more detailed discussion of the literature that pertains to this problem.
Problem Statement
The problem, specifically, is fifth grade African American and Hispanic students in Littleton ISD, an urban school district located in East Texas with an enrolment of 8,259 students, are consistently not performing as well on the high stakes math, and science tests as their White peers (Littleton ISD, 2009 Academic Excellence Indicator System Report). Currently, vertical alignment meetings with elementary schools are ongoing and the district has hired Math and Reading Specialists at the campuses that are at risk of going into school improvement. However, African American and Hispanic students performance on the high stakes tests continue to be one of the causes for the schools low performance rating (Littleton ISD, 2009 Academic Excellence Indicator System Report). This problem affects fifth grade African American and Hispanic students because all fifth graders must pass the state standardized reading and math tests in order to advance to the next grade level. There are many observable outcomes of this deeply rooted problem, including the overall achievement gap that exists between African American students and White students (Howard, 2006) African American students being more than twice as likely to be held back as White students and African American boys twice as likely as girls (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006) and culture sensitivity having an impact on the academic success of African American students (Epstein, 2005).
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of my research option doctoral study is to help close the achievement gap between minority and White students, as well as address the need for identifying and raising the awareness for the need of teaching strategies that are more sensitive to students cultural and divers needs. My personal belief is that most teachers that teach children of color genuinely care about their students, but do not know how to integrate culture into their lessons, which is supported by a wealth of research (Gay, 2000 Ladson-Billings, 1994, 2008 Thompson, 2007). Likewise, research also supports my belief that the lack of cultural awareness affects a teachers ability to provide effective instruction to minority students (Ladson-Billings, 1995).
The first hypothesis is that there is a significant difference in the utilization of relevant teaching strategies between minority and non-minority teachers. This shall demonstrate the influence of ethnicity on the understanding and use of cultural relevant teaching practices. It is likewise hypothesized that cultural understanding integrated into teaching will have a significant effect on student achievement. This will give credibility to the significance of the concept of cultural relevant teaching as described and devised by Ladson-Billings (2008). Cultural relevant teaching refers to recognizing, respecting, and celebrating other cultures and integrating this knowledge into daily lesson plans and teaching (Thompson, 2007). The research shall also ascertain whether there are significant differences between the perceptions of non-minority and minority teachers as regards the barriers that prevent them from using cultural relevant teaching, using a qualitative approach. Moreover, there is an intention to establish a relationship between perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant practices and the use of such teaching strategies. Overall, this study will address some major concerns as to how to some contributing factors to the achievement gap between children of color and their white peers.
Nature of the Study
The current study adopts a quantitative approach. The researcher will collect two sets of data. The first set of data will include teacher survey results as adapted from Ladson-Billings (1994) study. The survey is designed to measure cultural belief and determine to what extent teachers integrate cultural relevant teaching practices into their daily lessons and to ascertain their perceptions of the barriers that prevent them from using cultural relevant teaching strategies. The study shall also collate students achievement scores on a standardized test, the Woodcock Johnson III Test of Achievement. This is to establish relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement, through Pearsons correlation coefficient. Finally, the relationship between barriers to cultural relevant teaching and use of these practices shall also be determined through qualitative means, through a thematic analysis of teachers and students responses to an interview.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
The following research questions seek to examine this problem of the achievement gap at the elementary level in Littleton Independent School District as well as the lack of cultural awareness in teaching practices and its impact on student achievement
To what degree are minority teachers in Littleton elementary integrating and implementing cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching
To what degree do non-minority teachers in Littleton elementary prefer to integrate and implement cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching
Is there a significant relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement
What are the perceived barriers that prevent teachers from using cultural relevant teaching strategies in daily lesson planning and teaching
In relation to the foregoing research questions, the following hypotheses are put forth
There is no significant difference between the use of cultural relevant teaching practices between minority and non-minority teachers.
There is a significant correlation between the use of cultural relevant teaching practices and student achievement.
All but research question 4 shall be assessed through quantitative means. The last objective shall be assessed through interviews with selected teachers. Thus, there is no statistical hypothesis for this research question.
Theoretical Base
The theoretical basis for this study is centered on two concepts cultural relevant pedagogy also known as cultural relevant teaching (Ladson-Billings, 1995) and cultural responsive teaching (Gay, 2000), the terms are used interchangeably, and the cultural reflection theory (Tate, 1995 Davis, et. al. 2008, Ladson-Billings, 2008, Howard, 2003, Gay, 2000). Cultural relevant pedagogy is an effort to integrate the students culture into the teaching process which allows the students to grasp, appreciate, and transfer the learning in different ways. Students feel at ease at taking risks and sharing their perspective and interpretation of the learning. By introducing students to a culturally responsive classroom, they learn different ways of knowing, understanding, and presenting information. The students are also exposed to different points of view, introduced to new and diverse interpretations and perspectives. Students are challenged to critical think in a non- threatening and comfortable environment which, smoothes the progress of the developing of new talents. Furthermore, students are more inclined to make the connection between home culture and school culture in a cultural responsive classroom (Richards, Brown, Forde, 2004).
Culturally responsiverelevant teaching, according to Gay (2000), is a multidimensional approach. This includes not only the learning context, but the classroom climate, relationship between studentteacher, materials being used for instruction and performance assessment. Gay (2000) also asserts that the cultural responsiveness looks not only at the childs culture, but prior learning, orientation, and learning styles of children of color and then incorporate all of this into the lesson cycle to improve their academics. A wide rage of cultural knowledge needs to be tapped into in order for this to be successful. Cultural responsive pedagogy focuses on the cultural socialization fundamentals that will affect the student learning the most. When teachers use cultural strategies, this helps the students to apply real world situations to the school curriculum. In other words, the curriculum becomes more relevant to the students and increases their academic performance (Hollins, 1996 Gay, 2000).
Ladson-Billings (1995) used the term cultural relevant teaching as opposed to cultural responsiveness used by Gay (2000). Ladson-Billings (2008) believed that teachers must realize that students that are racially diverse tend to bring cultural assets to the classroom that is different from what they are accustomed to particularly, because most of the teachers of African American and Hispanic children are Anglo and female (Reed, 1998 Kunjufu, 2008). When teachers integrate a childs culture and race in to the teaching, this motivates the child to perform to a higher standard of academic achievement. Students that are treated competently will perform to high standards of academic achievement (Anderson, 1998 Brown, 1994 Cohen, 2001).
Ladson-Billings (1994) posit that there are three areas that should be essential components toward culturally relevant teaching (1) teachers need to be aware of deficit-based notions of diverse students in order to not reinforce prejudice behavior hence, teachers must believe that students from culturally diverse and low income backgrounds can achieve at the same level as the White peers (2) culturally relevant pedagogy recognizes the importance of the students culture as an asset not a detriment to their school success and (3) teachers are mindful of how traditional teaching reflects middle-class values. Teachers can correct this by infusing a wide range of diverse and exciting teaching practices.
Definition of Terms
Achievement gap. This pertains to a perennial and substantial difference in the educational attainment among student groups, as evaluated through standardized assessments. An analysis stratified by race and ethnicity, data suggests that marginalized and minority groups do yield lower academic achievement outcomes compared to middle to upper class and non-minority counterparts (Public Schools of North Carolina, 2010). Academic achievement shall be measured in terms of Littleton Independent School District 5th grade students or scores in math and science.
Ethnicity A persons geographic origin or national identity (York, 2003, p. 262). This is operationally defined as white or non-white in the current study.
Cultural relevant teaching. This refers to recognizing, respecting, and celebrating other cultures and integrating this knowledge into daily lesson plans and teaching (Thompson, 2007). This is measured through the responses to the questionnaire of Ladson-Billings (1994)
Pedagogy. This pertains to the study of teaching methods, including the aims of education and the ways in which such goals may be achieved. The field relies heavily on educational psychology, or theories about the way in which learning takes place. ( HYPERLINK httpwww.britannica.comcitations httpwww.britannica.comcitations).
Assumptions
One assumption in the current study is the veracity of the responses that shall be given by the teachers and principals on the Ladson-Billings (1994) questionnaire. It is assumed that they will give candid responses instead of socially desirable ones. Consistent with the assertions of Dovidio Gaertner (2004) on aversive racism, discriminatory attitudes of Whites may not be explicitly expressed. The validity of the results and the corresponding recommendation shall rest on the authenticity of the primary data gathered. Moreover, only one standardized test, the Woodcock Johnson III Test of Achievement will be used to gauge student achievement. Another assumption of the researcher is that Littleton Independent School District teachers and principals are a representative population in so far as the use of cultural relevant strategies is concerned that is, it does not present any peculiar characteristic in its history that gives the researcher reason to believe that precludes it from using such strategies.
Limitations
One limitation of the study is the exclusive use of a mixed methods approach. The systematic structure of a survey questionnaire will allow for more expeditious data gathering however, an interview lends itself to probing questions which will allow teachers and principals to more freely share and expound on their experiences in so far as cultural relevant teaching is concerned. Another limitation of the study is the fact that it is a cross-sectional research, which measures the variables of interest at one point in time (Trochim, 2006). Thus, the longitudinal effects of using cultural relevant teaching will not be addressed. One other limitation which may have an impact on the validity of the results are the differences in the sample sizes of minority and non-minority teachers. The power of the t-test is diminished when sample sizes are unequal (Trochim, 2006). A related limitation is the total sample size of teachers and principals who shall be enlisted in the current research. These shall have implications on the validity and generalizability of the research outcomes. Moreover, the responses of both principals and teachers are assumed to be candid and reflective of their true opinions on the use of cultural relevant teaching practices.
Delimitations
The research is delimited to the investigation of cultural relevant teaching strategies and barriers in Littleton Independent School District. Thus, it does not intend to encompass all school districts to study the phenomenon at hand. Teachers and principals are the respondent samples that shall be targeted as respondents. The study shall not gather the perceptions of students nor of their parents on the variables being investigated. In addition, the study also chose Ladson-Billings (1994) framework as a theoretical anchor for the study and thus all variables that will be measured shall be in accordance with the constructs put forth by this framework. Yet delimitation is related to the variables that will be investigated. The use of cultural relevant teaching practices and barriers to the use of such practices shall be focused on. Comparisons between the perceptions of minority and non-minority teachers shall be carried out, as well as between the perceptions of teachers and principals. Correlations shall be established between the use of cultural relevant teaching practices and student achievement, as well as between perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant teaching and the use of cultural relevant teaching practices. The studys data and subsequent analyses and recommendations shall concentrate only on these research objectives.
Significance of the Study
The current study is an acknowledgment of the need to alleviate the achievement gap, which is influenced by race and ethnicity. This is among the most problematic areas that education policy is currently confronted with (Howard, 2006). The researcher intends to help Littleton Independent School District find means for improving the academic performance of its African American and Hispanic students in standardized math and science tests. In carrying out the research, the school districts teachers shall be more keenly aware of how to be more effectual in using cultural relevant pedagogy.
The current research puts forth that the lack of cultural relevant teaching strategies by non-African American teachers may influence academic achievement of minority students. In pursuing this empirical study, the awareness that such a problem exists is already an important step towards a paradigm shift in using teaching strategies that are dovetailed towards minority students needs.
Culturally relevant teaching may only be possible if teachers engage in honest, critical reflection that challenges them to see how their position, belief, values and norms, influence their students in either a positive or negative way (Delpit, 1995). The survey that shall be administered to teachers and principals, in itself, can raise awareness on the impact of cultural relevant teaching. The results of the study shall assist teachers in critical self-reflection as regards cultural sensitivity. Such critical reflection should include an examination of how race, culture, and social class shape students thinking, learning, and various understandings of the world. Teachers will need to reflect on their own self-reflection in order to seek a deeper level of self-knowledge and acknowledgement of the universal view in order to shape students conceptions of themselves (Fernandez-Balboa, 1998 Moore Whitfield, 2008). Brookfield (1995) maintained that a good place to start, as learners and teachers, is by considering our own pasts. Reflecting on the beliefs, knowledge and values that we have developed from our experiences. With teachers are acting as reflective practitioners, they explore the process of teaching students who come from different racial and cultural backgrounds than their one. Reflection is crucial because it measures the teachers level of concern and care for their students. Teachers must be willing to ask themselves some tough self-reflection questions. This study shall assist them in engaging in self-reflection.
The formation of a culturally relevant teaching paradigm becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible, without critical reflection. The nature of critical reflection can be an arduous task because it forces the individual to ask challenging questions that pertain to ones construction of individuals from diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds. While posing these questions proves difficult, honest answering of such questions becomes the bigger and more difficult hurdle to clear. Yet, the stakes for teachers are too high not to engage in this process. As the teaching profession becomes increasingly homogeneous, given the task of educating an increasingly heterogeneous student population, reflections on racial and cultural differences are essential. In order to become a culturally relevant pedagogue, teachers must be prepared to engage in a rigorous and oftentimes painful reflection process about what it means to teach students who come from different racial and cultural backgrounds than their own
A teachers willingness to ask tough questions about his or her own attitudes toward diverse students can reflect a true commitment that the individual has toward students academic success and emotional well-being. A number of scholars have included the concept of care as a critical component of effective teaching (Gay, 2000 Howard, 2001 Valenzuela, 1999). Gay (2000) maintains that one of the most fundamental features of culturally responsive teaching is the power of caring. She states that caring is frequently manifested through teacher attitudes, expectations and behaviors. Nieto (1999) posits that the way students are thought about and treated by society and consequently by the schools they attend and the educators who teach them is fundamental in creating academic success or failure (p. 167).
Moreover, apart from the pragmatic benefits that may be garnered by the school district, the study shall also contribute to the dearth of empirical knowledge on the relationship between ethnicity and cultural awareness. On this basis, improvements may be made towards culturally sensitive pedagogy.
Summary and Transition
Chapter 1 presented a backdrop of the study, citing that a majority of elementary school teachers are White and female, while the number of students of color are increasing. The study therefore aims to alleviate the achievement gap by determining whether the lack of cultural relevant teaching practices contributes to this pressing problem. The framework of Ladson-Billings (1994) shall be utilized to ascertain the perceptions of teachers and principals on the use of cultural relevant teaching practices. The research also attempts to establish a correlation between the use of such practices and student achievement on one hand and the perceived barriers to using these practices and the actual use of practices. The researcher intends to compel teachers to engage in critical reflection, with the outcomes of the study as a starting point. Awareness is the first step towards a paradigm shift in enhancing pedagogy to be more sensitive and inclusive of minority groups needs.
The remaining chapters of the study are organized as follows. Chapter 2 shall discuss in detail the empirical studies related to the topic, which shall also be the bases for analyses following primary data gathering and statistical analyses. Chapter 3 shall present the methodologies that shall be utilized in the research, including the research approach, research design, sampling, procedures for data gathering, and method of data analysis. Chapter 4 shall present the statistical results garnered from the accomplished survey questionnaires, and collated and analyzed through statistical software. Finally, Chapter 5 shall present the conclusions and recommendations of the study focusing on the enhancements which may be used to dovetail teaching strategies minority students needs.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW
The review of the literature indicates that that there may be multiple pathways to teaching African American students (Cooper, 2003 Love Kruger, 2005). Cooper (2003) and Love and Kruger (2005) ascertained that how African American students are taught is just as significant as to what they are taught. Other researchers argued that because of the demands of NCLB, the focus has shifted more toward what to teach rather than how to teach (Landsman, 2009). Cooper and Love and Kruger, although their research yielded some similar findings, different approaches were unveiled as to how best to meet the needs of African American students. On the other hand, their most common themes were centered on assessing and analyzing teachers of children of color cultural beliefs and teaching practices.
Prior to researching this topic, I had never heard of the concept culturally relevant teaching. Nor was I familiar with its implications. My inquiry and concern for the academic progress of African American students because of the high dropout rate and disproportion prison population sparked my passion. I asked myself, how do you reach them Why arent they motivated As I looked back over my 21 years of experience in dealing with school age children, I felt the answer was staring me in the face relationships, relationships, and relationships Young adults need to connect with their teachers in a more personal manner. Teachers must love them, mother them, defend them, chastise them, and adopt the attitude of failure is not an option. What could be any more poignant than to show students that they are somebody and are valued than through recognizing, respecting, and celebrating ones existence and culture Can this be accomplished through an integration of culturally relevant teaching (Howard, 2006) My definition of culturally relevant teaching encompasses knowing the whole child, his background, his family, his interest, and his aspirations. One must use this knowledge to hook the child academically, socially, and emotionally. Thus, being a social justice advocate for children as stated by Marshall Olivia (2006).
The literature that I have read, thus far, consisted of both primary and secondary sources. The common features throughout the research were (a) closing the achieving gap between African American students and Whites, (b) changing demographics in the public schools of America, (c) finding practical solutions to the academic underachievement of African American students by assessing instructional strategies and teaching methods, (d) most teachers are operating out of their beliefs and assumptions they have about African American children, and (e) a substantial number of non-African teachers are lacking in the pedagogical skills needed to effectively teach African American students.
The following is a critical review of literature, linked to each of the hypotheses presented in the study.
There is a significant difference between the use of cultural relevant teaching practices between minority and non-minority teachers.
Across the United States, schools do not offer the same quality education for minority students as they do for their White counterparts (Lunenburg Ornstein, 2004 Marshall Olivia, 2006). Children of color bear the brunt of many other school practices that are administered unfairly such as suspensions, retentions, and expulsions (Landsman, 2009 Kunjufu, 2008 Thompson, 2007).
As explained by Talbert-Johnston, C. (2004), the under achievement of African American students and the shortage of teachers who were well- trained to effectively teach African American students is evident in our inner-city schools. To eradicate such inequities in practice, Talbert-Johnston (2004) called for a transformation of teacher education programs and staff development. Transforming these areas will improve the academic performance of African American and poor students in urban America. Talbert-Johnson further hypothesized the long-term ramifications society will endure if more and more African American and poor students do not partake in the institution that is backbone of our nation. .
Unheard and forbidden in public school classrooms are stereotypical remarks that demean and scar children in some cases, beyond repair. Until experiencing this deplorable behavior first hand, Thompson (2004) was compelled to express her dissatisfaction with the mindset of teachers who engaged in this despicable behavior by analyzing why they felt this way. One can only imagine the nervous tension that permeated through the walls where molders of future minds engaged in staff development that is debatable but obviously indispensable.
A survey conducted by the Indicators of School Crime and Safety in 1999 unveiled that about 13 of students ages 1218 while at school had been called a derogatory word related to their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation (Kaufman et al. 2001). Tatum (2007) responded to this type of intolerance by permitting teachers that engaged in bigotry reflect on why they have difficulty empathizing with particular students. Despite their prejudices, Tatum, (2007) acknowledged that these teachers can still have input in changing a schools culture that would perpetuate an atmosphere of intolerance and bigotry to one that is more tolerant, positive, and inclusive.
The suggestions offered by Thompson (2007) cleverly and succinctly described a variety of practical significant suggestions for improving educational achievement and key aspects of school organization and practices. These strategies were pertinent to overcoming obstacles to achieve equal educational outcomes for children of color. As much as the strategies are pertinent and practical, Marshall and Olivia (2006) on the other hand, posited that school leaders must become activists and social justice advocates if all students needs are to be met (p. 17).
Consistent with the hypothesis presented, there is indeed a significant correlation with regards to the use of culturally relevant teaching practices between teachers from minority groups and teachers who are not (Tatum. 2007). Based on the information presented, teachers are challenged with dealing with some students based on their demographics. This naturally affects culturally relevant teaching practices already, in addition to also affecting the student since the student is not treated the same way by all teachers and all classmates. Students hailing from different backgrounds may also face offensive stereotypical perceptions and remarks from other individuals within the school which may hamper their academic performance. The following section shall explain this further.
There is a significant correlation between the use of cultural relevant teaching practices and student achievement.
Although faced with many challenges such as high student poverty and mobility rates, large numbers of English language learners, and unsafe neighborhoods, many urban schools still continue to provide a high-quality education and produce high-achieving students (Wenglisky, 2004). However, there is a difference between the provision of high quality education and the students being able to reduce high quality academic results as well.
The statistics regarding the performance level of African American students in public schools have become a growing concern for the schools, the students and their families as well. The suspension rates of these African American students are twice as that of European and American students it is also possible for at least 20 of them to drop out of school even before graduation (Wenglinsky, 2004). Educational researchers have been repeatedly comparing African American children to their counterparts in Europe and America and it was found out that they had a lower level of achievement, creativity, and IQ. They also had a more difficult time in reading and writing, as well as in social and cultural practices. Rather than blaming the students, the fault lies in the system of education which does not allow it to adapt and adjust to the differences among the students. Ladson-Billings (1994) has suggested that making use of instructions which are in relation to ones culture can be used in teaching African Americans and improve their performance in school. The lack of understanding on the cultures of students has become a difficulty in allowing culturally diverse students to successfully learn and become educated. When these cultures are not understood, schools will have a difficult time in coming up with teaching methods and strategies in which multicultural students can all understand and relate to. This study of Walker, Haiyan and Shuangye (2007) focuses on the ways on how cultural ignorance can be prevented so students of various races and cultures can be given the opportunity for a better education.
A survey conducted among 340 sixth grade teachers in five public elementary schools in London, England was used in order to evaluate and assess the effects of cultural ignorance on the teaching methods of schools as well as their students, as well as the ways on how cultural awareness can become a solution for the education of students in a culturally diverse community. These five public elementary schools were chosen because of the high level of performance and achievement of students regardless of the cultural diversity that these schools have, with the Whites and the Blacks being predominant. Results have shown that 42 of these teachers made use of literature and writings to which their students can easily understand and relate to, 51 allowed their students to expressively speak and write of their feelings particularly towards important global issues, 48 made use of adequate resources and materials, 37 focused on developing their students technological and social abilities, 29 believed in setting high expectations for students and 79 strongly believed in parent involvement.
Through these findings, it can be implied that students of various cultures can become motivated and encouraged to learn through a number of various factors (Walker et al, 2007). Ignorance of culture can only become a barrier when it is not immediately and properly addressed. Teachers must fully understand their students and their ways of learning as they are grasp subjects and teaching methods. Teachers should also understand how students who come from different cultures and backgrounds can be guided and supported. When the cultures of students are valued and respected, they are given the power and motivation to learn because their negative image is removed. Education for African Americans as well as other cultures must be established upon these individuals positive cultural and community practices as well as promote and support positive social relationships within their family, school, community and race. When these students are able to see the benefits of having an education for themselves and for their community as well, it is more possible for them to become eager participants of a culturally relevant education.
Studies conducted in the field of multiculturalism (Wenglinski, 2004 Thompson, 2004) and its impact on reducing the achievement gap revealed that instructional practices do make a significant difference in the way African American students achieve and learn. Nevertheless, pre-service teachers reported that they do not have a clear definition or understanding of the meaning of multiculturalism, diversity, and equity and nor do they know how to include them in the curriculum (Gayle-Evans Michael, 2006, p. 46.) On the other hand, some educators believe that the information is made available and taught to the pre-service teachers, but they do not use it (Cruz-Janzen, 2000). I am persuaded that even if the information is made available, they do not know how to use the information. Many veteran teachers also struggle with how to reach these students whose language, culture, background, values and beliefs are different from their own middle-class upbringing (Irvine, 2003). Because many students in pre-service teacher preparation programs have limited interaction with African American people, Ladson-Billings (1994) proposed that school districts seriously recruit perspective teachers who have expressed an interest and desire to work with African American students.
Wenglinsky (2004) researched the instructional practices of middle school math teachers and its impact on reducing the achievement gap. He concluded that instructional practices do make a significant difference in the way African American students achieve and learn. Data was analyzed on 15, 000 students who took the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. A multi-level Hierarchal Liner Modelling technique (HLM) was used to study the data. In addition to math scores, other data from the NAEP was also analyzed. This included but not limited to questions with regards to student demographics, classroom practices, and information on teacher background. I feel that this is a viable study because the sampling was substantial and the data used came from a highly reputable organization. On the other hand, this study did not address the ethnicity of the teachers and therefore, limits the scope of data available, for use, for my PASS.
Marzano, Walters, and McNulty (2005) conducted 69 studies about the effects of school leadership on student achievement Based on these 69 studies and a recent survey of more than 650 building principals, they calculated from one of the studies that he average correlation between leadership and student achievement to be .25. In simpler terms, if the leadership practices of a principal improve within one standard deviation from the 50th percentile to the 84th then student achievement will increase 10 percentage points. Further, if the leadership practices of the principal increase two standard deviations from 50th percentile to the 99th percentile, then student achievement would increase 22 percentage points. (p. 32).
Cole-Henderson (2000) studied successful schools in low income urban area that served African American students. This particular study is an analysis of data collected from questionnaires that were mailed to nine principals of highly successful urban public schools. The data collection procedure differed from previous research that I have read, in that, the data about student learning, was collected from principals only. The schools met the challenge faced by so many urban schools i.e., producing African American students who achieved high academic excellence. Despite the academic success of these students, the students success was limited to acquiring basic skills. As for the higher level critical thinking learning, the students did not do as well, per the data. Hence, one may infer that the curriculum was not challenging enough to prepare theses students to go on to higher education, upon graduation. There was no mention of how many of these students went on to college, SAT scores, ACT scores, etc. What was also missing from this research was why. Why were these schools successful Further qualitative study will have to be conducted to understand why some teachers were more successful that others as it relates to teaching African American students.
Additional studies conducted by Osher, Dwyer, and Jackson (2005) ascertained that, minority students from low socioeconomic backgrounds perform better when their teachers tie high expectations with a warm and safe environment and social support. Additionally, administrators and teachers who work to incorporate an understanding of the effects of environment, socioeconomic status of the students, and cultural differences into school improvement, the school at large will experience greater student academic success.
Research conducted by Osher, Dwyer, and Jackson (2005) has identified three essential ways in which successful urban schools support positive behavior and learning in the culture of a school. First, a school should develop caring connections where students know that their teachers care about them, which in return, will motivate them to do their best. Second, there should be positive behavioral supports that place less emphasis on the unsympathetic punitive approach to discipline and more emphasis on preventive measures. Third, students must be taught social and emotional skills which can prevent problem behaviors and promote academic success. Developing these skills gives students the tools they need to less likely to participate in improper behavior and are more able to keep trying regardless of academic challenges. All three of these essential factors are mutually dependent. These factors are especially critical when there are cultural differences between students and school staff members. Additional studies conducted by Osher, Dwyer, and Jackson ascertained that, minority students from low socioeconomic backgrounds perform better when their teachers tie high expectations with a warm and safe environment and social support.
Once a deficiency in the schools culture is identified, Lambert (2003) asserted that teachers should not wait on their principal to initiate change. The necessary dialogue to bring the issue of how best to teach African American students to the forefront does not have to begin with school leadership. Teachers must become advocates for the students they serve (Kunjufu, 2006). Teachers should take the leadership role and do their own research for professional andor personal growth with the ultimate goal of increasing student performance. Galpin (2005) suggested that, because it is difficult to change the basic assumptions and beliefs of the underlying culture, targeting only those components that are most critical for implementing and sustaining the changes is a better approach to affecting positive change. This study leaves no doubt that a major correlation exist between strong school leadership and its impact on student achievement. However, school leaders need to be caution that the opposite also holds true, as warned by Marzano, Walters, and McNulty principals must work smarter by focusing on the right things that improves student achievement.
When one looks at school reform and the teaching practices from the 1960s the focus was on teaching the disadvantage and there was an abundance of information on this topic. As we moved into the 1970s the focus shifted to effective schools. Again, the amount of literature available about this topic was also significant (Ladson-Billings, 1994, p.7). Marzanos (Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study, 2005 ) interpretation on school reform and the problem with the 60s, 70s and 1980s was that there was no clear direction, no blueprint, as to how to implement the proposed changes of the 1960s and 1970s in the schools (p. 157). The fourth and final era, which began in the late 80s and early 90s, according to Marzano, is still in its developmental state, he called it, The New Era of School Reform (p. 158). Marzano shares three principles that
make the New Era of Reform quite different from the three previous eras of reform. The first principle is there is no one size fits all. Each school is viewed as unique and must be allowed to adopt the programs that meet their needs. The schools should consider the research but must look at it with a critical eye and ask the pertinent questions to find answers to whether the proposed programs meet their needs. Second principle, data is king. Data should not only just drive instruction but also to be used to develop intervention strategies and to assess the effectiveness of the strategies. The Third and final principle described by Marzano, goes to the core of the most efficient way to implement change. That is, change executed in small steps would prevent teachers and administrators from getting frustrated and burn-out and would provide better results.
Clearly none of the above educational practices of the 60s, 70s, and 80s address preparing teachers to teach African American students. Even today, there is still a limited amount of literature on how to teach African American students, particularly, at the secondary level, and in the inner-city schools. Ladson-Billings, (1994) feels that the lack of interest about this topic is due to the stubborn refusal in American education to recognize the African American community as a distinct culture (p. 9).
The faculty at Marquette University, Minnesota, Wisconsin revamped their teacher education program to add courses that will prepare their students to teach in urban schools (Pink, 2004). School officials at Marquette University went as far as to hold elaborate and extensive discussions about the meaning of race in a society that is controlled by the privileges of Whiteness (p. 46).The university was also committed to promoting social justice. The primary goal of the university was to change the mindset of the students entering the program to a student well prepared and knowledgeable about how to teach children in urban America. The students perceptions about urban education and the problems that exist in the inner city had to be altered (Pink, 2004).The method used to accomplish this is called communicative competence i.e., understanding the culture and language of the children they will teach (p. 48). Another goal was to help pre-service teachers see themselves as teachers-leaders, with emphasis on becoming change agents. Murphy (2005) posits that teacher education programs do little to prepare pre-service teachers for the role of teacher-leader. Even so, students are encouraged to openly discuss their beliefs and assumptions about minority children as they and their peers, working together, move to social action with the intent of changing the current thinking and practices in schools and connecting institutions (Pink, 2004, p. 53).
Marshall and Olivia (2006) would probably concur with Marquette Universitys inclusion of social justice as a major theme integrated throughout the teacher education program because of their unequivocal stance on, and dedication to promoting equity and social justice to improve school leadership and student performance (p. 8). Marshall and Olivia identified race and diversity as concepts around which social justice is structured (p. 17).
Catapanos (2006) in-depth description and evaluation of the University of Missouri-St Louis (UMSL) service learning model also incorporates the issue of social justice into their teacher education program. The program requires that pre-service teachers receive a full year experience of working in an urban school. Pre-service teachers explore, first hand, issues of social justice by implementing advocacy strategies (p. 83). Pre-service teachers who employ the advocacy strategies learn to look outside their classrooms where their actions will turn them into advocates for systemic changes needed within the school and in society in general (Lane et. al., 2003 Hatch et. al., 2005 cited in Catapano, 2006, p. 89). In addition, Catapano believes that teacher preparation programs should prepare the pre-service teachers by directly addressing the knowledge and skills they need to do their job.
Ogubu (2003), on the other hand, although not opposed to culturally relevant teaching, gives a different perspective about African American student achievement. He believes that African American families must take responsibility for the success of their children. African American parents and students entire attitude about the importance of education must change. In spite of how they are being taught, they must be committed to learning. Teachers normally create and develop learning activities within their classroom communities which become important to the cultural experiences of their students. At the same time, their students are motivated and encouraged to perform better as usual (Jackson and Davis, 2000). This is due to the fact that teachers can establish and control a wide range of teaching resources and approaches so they can reach their students in ways that are culturally appropriate and best suited. Majority of teachers know and are aware of the language and culture of their students they also have a clear understanding of the significant roles that language and culture both play in a persons identity. Continually, these teachers look into the feedback and comments from their students in order to look for signs of either understanding or confusion. However, the success for student achievement does not only rely on teachers as educational leaders. The participation of the parents of these culturally diverse students is extremely necessary in the whole education process. Teachers may implement effective classroom management as well as develop routines and procedures to allow their students of different cultures in working successfully with their classmates. On the other hand, though, Bryke and Schneider (2004) assert that teachers have their own limitations and are in need of all the help and support that they can get. This study of Van Hoose, Strahan and LEsperance (2001) aims to recognize the challenges that teachers face in relation to the personal relationships of their students with their parents despite the use of effective culturally relevant teaching methods.
In a study that was conducted among 95 second grade school teachers in 10 elementary schools in Boston, Massachusetts, questionnaires were handed out among the teacher respondents in relation to their experiences in teaching school communities that primarily holds a cultural diversity. The 95 second grade school teachers consisted of 71 whites, 22 blacks, and 7 for other ethnicities with 67 of the total respondents being females while the remaining 33 were males. Results have shown that only 46 believed that they have effectively implemented culturally relevant training because of the evident positive effects among their students. Out of this percentage who have succeeded in teaching their culturally diverse students, 33 rearranged their classrooms in bright settings wherein students can become more creative and imaginative, 54 encouraged different activities and styles wherein students can freely express their ideas and feelings, and 88 successfully encouraged the parents of their students to become involved in their childrens educational process and become committed to their learning as well. Next, the remaining 54 of all teacher respondents stated that they have not been able to successfully teach and educate their culturally diverse students because 39 out of this percentage did not have the proper teaching tools and resources, 47 lacked the proper styles and approaches in order to properly utilize the culturally relevant teaching, 68 were not able to check on the parents of their students, whether these close relatives were positively involved and committed in the learning process of their students and that 77 believed that majority of the parents of such students did not show interest and concern in the education of their children (Van Hoose et al, 2001).
These findings suggest that there a number of obstacles that culturally relevant teachers may face in educating a school community that is culturally diverse. Effective student management as well as the proper resources and training for teachers are very important in order for both the teachers and students to attain success in their whole education process (Van Hoose et al, 2001). The parents participation, though, has been shown to be an even more significant factor in the schooling of their children and the lack of commitment and participation on the side of these parents will eventually become a challenge that teachers may face while teaching culturally diverse students. Through the findings, it is therefore implied and suggested that an open and constant communication from parents to both their children and the teachers will make room for improvements and allow these parents to become effective partners in the learning and education process of these students and will significantly lessen the burden that culturally relevant teachers have in their teaching experience.
Lastly, apart from the courses pre-service students take, they still must learn how to transfer the book knowledge to the classroom moving from theory to practice (Ladson-Billings, 2000 Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study, 2005 Thompson, 2007 Lambert, 2003 Talbert-Johnson, 2004).
Bringing the issue of whether or not pre-service teachers are entering the schools with the pedagogical skills necessary to teach African American students in the inner city to the forefront, starts with the schools leadership. The principal is to provide much greater structure and take a significantly more active role in leading team conversations and posing questions than usually found in the unfocused discussions characteristic of many team meeting (Thomas, 2003, p. 41). Likewise, the Principals role as the school leader is to promote the success of all students (Lambert, 2003). In order to successfully do this, school leaders must open lines of communication with college officials about what knowledge and skills are needed by pre-service teacher so that they graduate with the ability to teach in urban or inner-city schools. Lambert et al (2002) so eloquently outlines the remuneration of being courageous leaders and having the same beliefs that we hold about children, in that all children can learn, for adults as well. Consequently, a paradigm shift in thinking and practice will have to occur at the secondary and college levels in regard to this issue. I believe a need exist for more non-African American scholars, researchers, and practitioners to write about this issue so that one can get a different perspective.
During the early stages of childhood, these children appear to be driven by their curiosity and their need to explore the environment as well as to interact with it. However, as these children grow, their interest and passion for learning often seems to decline and fall back (Quinn, 2002). In African American students, in particular, more than one in every four of these students leaves school even before graduating. Many of them are physically present in their classroom however, they are mentally absent as they fail to fully involve themselves in the whole learning experience. When students are not motivated to learn, it presents a major concern to teachers as to how they can effectively teach students of different cultures and conditions. A complete knowledge and awareness on the students beliefs and attitudes toward learning as well as the effective ways on facilitating education and learning can help teachers and other educational leaders to reduce the lack of interest of their students and, instead, maintain a high level of enthusiasm among them. This study of Quinn (2002) focuses on how motivation can become an effective way of implementing teaching methods among African Americans as well as the factors that significantly affect motivation.
In a public high school situated in New Jersey, a survey was conducted among 210 students, 67 of whom were Blacks and 33 were Whites. Males were larger in number than females, and records of these chosen students showed that there were more students who had a low performance and achievement level compared to those who were on a satisfactory level. Results have shown that the students who earned lower grades either belonged to a broken home or lived in a dangerous neighborhood. The parents of most these low-performance students were not involved anyhow in any activity or phase of their education and experienced financial difficulties as well. They also believed that their teachers do not believe that they can actually learn anything that is why they have been discouraged to continue to learn. On the other hand, those few who earned satisfactory accomplishments said that they either had an open communication with their parents or they were motivated by rewards and incentives. A very few of them also wanted to learn because they enjoy learning as well as the feeling after being able to accomplish something (Quinn, 2002).
Through these findings, it has been concluded that motivation plays a big part in the achievement of students in school settings and communities. Specific students, particularly those who belong to families of low status and income such as majority of the Blacks in this study, have lost their interest to learn and cooperate with their teachers because of the lack of moral and financial support from their families. Parent involvement and participation is very important in the success of their childrens education as they should be partners of the school in shaping the attitudes of these students, welcoming their questions, encouraging exploration and providing them with tools and resources that can expand their knowledge. However, Sullivan and Glanz (2006) assert that it is not only the parents who should be entirely active in the learning process of students. Teachers do not just have the responsibility of providing their students with information and resources they should also be capable of setting expectations for these students and provide them with opportunities for advancement and improvement. When they show consideration for the culture as well as the overall conditions of students, these learners will become more encouraged to experience and finish the entire education process.
If the theory that all children can learn is true then, there must be a transformation of the teacher preparation programs and professional development. All children deserve the best education possible despite the unfavorable conditions that many students come from and the plethora of criticism from the public.
Therefore, I accept my hypothesis with the modification that colleges and universities must train teachers on how to teach a culturally relevant lesson. Additionally, pre-service teachers must also understand that they too have a responsibility to seek out new and innovative ways to teach these children. I am reminded of the old adage that my grandmother always used, you can lead a horse to the well, but you cant make him drink. Likewise, according to Thompson (2007), when educators possess the correct mind-set and use the right strategies, they can equip African Americans, and other students with the skills that they need to soar academically. As a final point, when pre-service teachers enter their classrooms for the first time as teachers, and the doors are closed, and nobody is watching, what will your students go home and tell their parents about you What kind of teacher do you want your students to remember you as
Judging from such information, it can be seen that the teaching methods or instructional strategies being implemented by educators within the classrooms do not necessarily influence the performance of the students to a significant degree. Based on the studies conducted, it can be seen that the behaviours and attitudes exhibited by the principals and the teachers when it comes to their leadership skills and establishing healthy relationships with their students, do play an important part in encouraging student performance in a positive light. This is not to say that the teaching strategies do not matter. They are equally important as well as the delivery of the information instructed to the students. When it comes to teaching students who hail from different cultures, there is a need for teachers to exert extra effort in order to make sure that their students are able to understand what is being taught. As such, there is a need for teachers to really look into gaining extra training about how they can go about such a task (Catapano, 2006). According to Ogubu (2003), another important factor that plays a part in achieving student progress would be the support that African American families provide their children. It is believed that the families of these children also have a role to play in encouraging success. On the other hand, the students themselves also have to utilize what they have learnt in the most practical way possible. This means utilizing the information that they have received and applying these in their daily lives as much as possible.
In the following section, this writer shall investigate whether there is a difference between the perceptions of the teachers and the principals with regards to utilizing cultural relevant teaching practices in schools.
There is a significant difference between the perceptions of teachers and principals on the use of cultural relevant teaching practices.
Thompson (2007) maintained that when educators possess the correct mind-set and use the right strategies, they can equip African Americans, and other students with the skills that they need to soar academically. Young adults need to connect with their teachers in a more personal manner. Teachers must love them, mother them, defend them, chastise them, and adopt the attitude of failure is not an option (Blankstein, 2004). What could be any more poignant than to show students that they are somebody than through recognizing, respecting, and celebrating ones existence and culture (Ladson-Billings, 2000). Can this be accomplished through an integration of culturally relevant teaching (Howard, 2006) Landsman and Lewis (2006) challenged and encouraged White teachers to confront their beliefs and perceptions about African American students.
A different posture of leadership expressed by Rubin (2009) emphasized the importance of teachers as leaders. Rubin (2009) makes the argument that public school success is not a top-down endeavor it is a collaborative one. He further emphasized that effective collaboration skills are essential for not just school leaders, but for those teaching in classrooms as well. Rubins position is not only supported by many other theorists (Dunn Brasco, 2006 Lambert, 2003 DuFour, Eaker DuFour, 2005 ), but is also the most popular in public schools today and, is highly recommended for schools that are in school improvement (Walker, 2005 Guy, 2006).
Although it is important to have strong teacher leadership to bring about positive change of the schools culture, the campus principal is still ultimately responsible, in a troubled school community, to jump-start change (Lindsey, Roberts, Campbell-Jones, 2005). The principal is the key figure in determining a schools success or failure (Murphy, 2005). Faced with a colossal task of transforming a culture entrenched with expectations of failure and no vision, the leadership style employed by the school principal will have an effect on student achievement (Blanchard Hodges 2005). Starratt (2004) asserted that leaders have a moral obligation to see that all children receive a quality education. Students must be protected from harmful school policy, unrealistic testing, and labels.
If schools are to be deemed successful, and if school administrators and educators have goals to improve the academic performance of their students, there is a need for collaborative effort between both teachers and principals in order for such goals to be achieved. Such collaboration is characteristic of good leadership skills, and this reflects in the teaching strategies being implemented among classrooms (Rubin, 2009). When it comes to cultural-relevant teaching strategies, it seems that there is no significant difference between the perceptions of both the teachers and the principals regarding this matter. This is because both parties have the same goal for providing the students with quality education. In this context, whatever strategies that the principal implements, the teachers would most likely follow. Indeed, if both parties collaborate when implementing decisions, it is highly likely that such a good leadership style would contribute to further student achievement (Blachard Hodges, 2005).The following section shall discuss whether there is a significant difference in the perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant teaching strategies between both minority and non-minority teachers.
There is a significant difference in the perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant teaching between minority and non-minority teachers.
African American and Latino students will soon be the majority student population in American schools. At present, they are the majority in the urban schools. Despite this reality, they will more than likely have a teacher who is not of the same ethnicity the teaching workforce is predominantly White (Epstein, 2005, p. 90).
In this periodical, Hyland strived to describe the roles four United States elementary White teachers from the same school assumed during and subsequent to a seminar on antiracism teaching. Each of these teachers considered themselves as a good teacher in an African American neighborhood. Hyland did, however, notice that the teachers understanding of the meaning of a good teacher of students of color and that of researchers was incongruent. White teachers of Black children must study their own Whiteness and use effective teaching for Black students these teachers would have to negotiate that Whiteness for the advancement of the students that they teach.
Prior to integration, teachers were active members of their school communities. Parents and community members trusted those teachers and held them in high esteem. These teachers had a vested interest in the students and public school system. Thus, since these teachers were Black themselves, they were automatic members of a marginalized group and understood their responsibility as being emancipator instructors or culturally responsive.
Systematic racism within systems was exemplified in the way the school system implemented their school choice and bussing programs. Although the intentions may have been well-meaning, racial inequalities existed mainly because of the organizations failure to listen to the voice of those who would be directly impacted by these programs African Americans. By ignoring the lived experiences of the Black community, the Office of Civil Rights became involved because of charges filed by members of the Black community because the efforts of the school district were seen as discriminatory and reinforced the ideology that a majority of White students in a school was the ultimate goal by stating that the school must attract more White students. An increase of Black students at that school was not allowed.
This writer agrees with Hylands observation because the purpose of education for African Americans was never meant to be schooling but to train these students to serve, White culture and norms were actively perpetuated in by nature in the education of these students. Therefore, since Whiteness is connected to subordination and oppression of people of colorthe White race consists of those who partake of the privileges of the White skin in this society. White European culture and norms has always been assumed as superior in values, society, etc. In other words, White is always right.
Hyland noted that one of the privileges of Whiteness is that we can choose where to position ourselves once you choose your position, who you are becomes defined around that. Unfortunately since these four White teachers had chose to teach at this school and by that singular action had become labelled as less that acceptable. I understand this way of sorting as an African American educator because regardless of the amount of education a Black person obtains, class status, etc. we are seen as Black first and human lastly. It thus is sad that our country has yet to accept each person as a person of value. If this was evident, White teachers who are effective vessels of culturally relevant pedagogy would readily understand that this is their responsibility to do so. The future of the education of Black children depends on everyone working together to this end. As Hyland concluded that the ways that these teachers understood their roles as teachers of Black students are intimately linked to how closely their practice represented what is known as culturally relevant pedagogy.
After a review of the literature, it cannot be disputed that The cultural gap between children in urban schools and teachers is large and growing and must be addressed. If children are to be effectively taught, teachers must be prepared to address the substantial diversity in the experiences that these children bring with them to school. (Talbert-Johnson, 2004 p. 28)
Fifty three years after Brown vs. the Board of Education, Topeka Kansas, we are still struggling with finding ways to effectively educate African American students in the public schools of America. This may lead one to question, are African-American students not as smart as White students or are the schools just
missing the mark in addressing their educational needs Thompson (2007) calls this the Deficit-deprivation Theory.
Our assumptions about children of color and our assumptions concerning the adults that teach these students must be addressed. As a collaborative unit, all stakeholders must come together and sincerely examine how these students learn best. Teachers have to be prepared to adequately serve these students. Colleges, universities, and schools must provide them the pedagogical skills necessary to teach them. This is not a Black versus White issue but, an American issue. The assumption that a student should learn regardless to teaching style or teacher must be challenged.
Consequently, I believe that what is missing from most teacher education programs is the emphasis on social justice as depicted by Pink(2004). I certainly was never taught to make the connection between student achievement and social justice throughout my teacher education training. By introducing this concept, it helps teachers to keep the focus where it should be, on the needs of their costumers i.e., the children.
Reed (1998) interviewed six successful Anglo-American teachers in the Richmond, Virginia public school system about their experience in teaching African American students. Reed used the data from the interviews to determine common themes and to discuss similarities and differences among teachers (p. 3). Four of the six teachers were middle school teachers. All of the teachers interviewed felt a sense of accomplishment and reward for teaching African American students despite the disapproval of their family and friends. These teachers taught in the inner-city because they wanted to be there. Interesting enough, they all felt that their teacher education program did not adequately prepare them to teach children of color. This leads one to question how you change a teachers belief about African American students when all one sees, on a daily basis, is negative images of African Americans in all mediums. Can colleges and university provide courses to change beliefs and assumptions
Douglas, et. al. (2008) exploratory qualitative analysis of the impact of teacher ethnicity, specifically white teachers, on the achievement of African American students asserted that, for the first time in our nations history children of color are not being educated by teachers who are of their same color or of the same cultural background. Douglas et. al. (2008), explored black students assumptions about their white teachers. The theoretical foundation of the students assumptions was based upon that of Milner (2005) Milners (2005) main assumption about white teachers that teach African American students is also shared by other theorists in African American studies and that is, white teachers of African American students must assess their beliefs about children of color (Thompson, 2006 Wenglinski, 2004 Kunjufu, 2009 Delpit 1995 Landsman, 2009 Howard, 2006 Milner, 2009). Milner refers to this mind-set as deficit thinking, which is another way of describing the stereotypes teachers expressed about children of color. Although, I agree with Milner and Douglas findings, the studies did not provide any practical strategies for teachers of children of color to use in the classroom to improve learning and teaching.
A great deal of the literature available that covers diversity and multiculturalism is geared towards a one size fit all program, to the detriment of poor and minority students (Howard, 2006). If schools are serious about closing the achievement gap for African American students then, they must consider ethnicity and culture when decisions are made about what programs to adopt or what staff development to offer. Likewise, colleges and universities must consider the same when developing courses to prepare pre-service teachers to teach in the inner-city.
Epstein (2005) argued that the problem is not a shortage of minority teachers but the racially skewed selection and hiring process of minorities. Her analysis was based primarily on an examination of various States recruiting and selection programs and their criteria for certification. Although I disagree with Dr. Epsteins assertion about racism being the reason for the shortage of minority teachers, the research would still be of importance because if it is proven that African American students do learn best when taught by African American teachers, a possible solution would be to recommend that school districts hire more African American teachers. I would reserve this study for future reference.
Six Anglo-American teachers in the Richmond, Virginia public school system were interviewed about their experiences in teaching African American students. Reed (1998) used the data from the interviews to determine common themes and to discuss similarities and differences among teachers (p. 3). Four of the six teachers were middle school teachers. All of the teachers felt a sense of accomplishment and reward for teaching African American students despite the disapproval of family and friends. In addition, they all felt that their teacher education program did not adequately prepare them to teach children of color. This primary source is closely related to my PASS from the perspective that these were Anglo teachers, teaching African American students, in an urban school district. Nonetheless, this study did not address the academic achievement of the students. The primary focus of the study was on the professional background of teachers and their personal experiences teaching in an inner-city school system. Another caveat is that this research does not fall within the guidelines of current research as defined by Walden University. Nevertheless, the data could still be of value to my PASS.
Thompson (2004) gives a depiction of her personal experience at conducting an in-service in which most of the teachers were White. Data from previous surveys involving these teachers was used to unveil stereotypes that can be confirmed in classrooms. Dissatisfied with the mindset of these teachers, and the assumptions and beliefs they held about African American students, led to a study of why they felt this way. I find this article to be a mere collection of references, with a very brief description of each and therefore, would be of very limited importance to my PASS.
Based upon my analysis of the literature that I have read, it is apparent that I must examine more relevant research that makes the correlation between teacher ethnicity and student achievement. My methodology for researching my PASS would be to conduct a case study of an urban school district in the state of Texas, where the majority of the students are African American with middle class backgrounds, and a large percentage of the teachers are White. In addition to the ethnicity of the teachers, I will examine test scores from state assessments at two grade levels, ninth and tenth, to track how well these students performed with African American teachers and Anglo teachers. Once the data is collected and analyzed, the results will be used for further study to help determine if there is a significant difference in the academic achievement of African American students when taught by an African American teacher versus a non-African American teacher.
Based on the information provided, it seems that parents are more likely willing to trust teachers who have the same ethnicity as their child. These parents are also more likely willing to trust the entire school system. There is indeed a difference between the perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant teaching between both teachers from minority groups and those who are not. For instance, based on Hylands study, African Americans are usually taught in school how they would be able to serve their Caucasian counterparts by their Caucasian (or White) teachers. Clearly, this builds a cultural gap between the two cultures, that also must be addressed (Talbert-Johnson, 2004). The following section shall discuss whether there is a significant relationship between ones perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant teaching and the usage of cultural relevant teaching practices.
There is a significant relationship between perceptions of barriers to cultural relevant teaching and the use of cultural relevant teaching practices.
Many teachers who work in urban schools have little experience in teaching minority students. In addition to the unfavorable working conditions, they also find these students difficult to reach. Thus, they become frustrated and angry (Kunjufu, 2002). While at the same time, they must meet the demands of the federally mandated school reform law, No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Colleges and universities are also held accountable under the NCLB Act. They must prepare pre-service teachers to work in diverse classrooms with children with whom they have no common cultural values and are, in most cases, from a different socioeconomic background (Pope and Wilder, 2005). Additionally, pre-service teachers indicated in several studies (Banks, 1999 Cruz-Janzen, 2000 Thompson, 2007) that the contents of their teacher education multicultural courses did not prepare them to teach in a diverse setting. How do we help teachers acquire the pedagogical skills necessary to ensure greater academic success for African American students Talbert-Johnson (2005) calls for a transforming of the teacher education programs, as well as examining our in-service and staff development efforts. According to Ladson-Billings (2001), the question is not about curriculum- what we teach, but how we teach (our teaching practices).
The issues of how to effectively teach African American students is apparently still not seen as a major area in need of reform, for most scholars and researchers. Most of the literature available covers what to teach and not how to teach African American students (Thompson, 2004 Cooper, 2003 Perry et. al., 2003 Gay, 2003). Manning (2000) offers a different perspective that is, the issues of race are very sensitive in nature and teachers and other ethnic groups find it very uncomfortable to talk about it (p.78). Ladson-Billings (1994) position is that, there is little interest by scholars as to how to teach African American students because of a calculated refusal to recognize African American as a distinct culture. Ladson Billings, (2004).
Those children whose language and culture are consistent to that of their school clearly have an advantage in their learning process (Perry, Steele and Hilliard, 2003). On the other hand, the children whose knowledge and experiences are not recognized or valued feel separated and do not have the sense of belonging in order to positively go through the learning process. The expectations on individuals to go through learning can possibly differ across cultures and to maximize such learning opportunities, teachers must be able to have a complete understanding and knowledge of the various cultures which are represented in their classrooms and therefore incorporate this information into their teachings and practices. Cultural sensitivity is an important factor for children and students to feel that they belong and fit in just right in their school community. When teachers are culturally sensitive, the learning process of their students will speed up and give them room for satisfactory performance. However, a lack or absence of cultural sensitivity will become a hindrance to the education process that teachers aim to provide their students particularly in school communities that maintain a wide diversity of cultures. In this study (Sulkowski and Deakin, 2009), the focus is on cultural sensitivity and how it can become a barrier to implementing effective student management and culturally relevant teachings among culturally diverse students particularly among high schools in Lamar County.
Among 165 school staff and leaders in Lamar Country public high schools who were asked to bring forth information on their school management and their perceptions on their students, 61 said that a large number of their students who particularly belonged to the Black and Asian ethnicities had a lower academic achievement compared to the Whites. Out of this specific percentage, 24 believed that this low performance level was caused by neglect and abuse in the homes of these that are located particularly in dangerous neighborhoods, 18 stated that these students simply have intellectual disabilities, 54 said that it was the negative attitude towards school while a larger 78 believed that it was the lack of communication between them as school leaders and their culturally diverse students which has not given teachers the opportunity to study the behavior of their students and set up activities in accordance with the cultures of these teens. The remaining 39 of the total percentage admitted that they have stopped encountering challenges in dealing with a diverse school community because they have reshaped their curriculum wherein students are able to control the lessons in a way that they provide their teachers with ideas on the values, beliefs, speech, and lifestyle that they use within their homes and communities. They also believed that an open and proper communication between school staff and students are necessary to encourage students in going to school and learning.
These findings therefore suggest that cultural sensitivity will only become a barrier to teaching and educating culturally diverse students if there is a lack or absence of such feeling and understanding towards the school community (Sulkowski and Deakin, 2009). When cultural sensitivity is used particularly based on the ways of learning and communicating which are familiar to the students, these teens will become more interested and motivated to learn and succeed in the future to come. When there is the presence of cultural sensitivity, it requires teachers to interpret the behaviors of the students within the cultural background of these students. Norton (2008) also assert that when teachers gain a complete understanding of the cultures that are being represented in their classrooms, they are able to develop tasks and activities that will prove meaningful to the students which have been brought about by cultural knowledge.
As African Americans have been viewed as one homogenous group without any considerations to intergroup personality variances not lived experiences, Lynn utilized Charles Valentines notion of the uses and abuses of culture. Lynn, thus, discusses how the concept of culture functions in these works and concludes by highlighting critical race theory (CRT) as a important tool for more clearly examining the conditions under which African Americans are educated and also for suggesting possible solutions to the perennial problems faced by this historically marginalized group. Critical Race Theory emerged as a venue for dialogues regarding schooling and inequality. This writer saw Ogbus study as more of the blame the victim mentality. Ogbu believes that the onus was on the Black American students and their parents to change the way they viewed education and thereby urged them to become more accountable for and active in the educational process. He did note the gap in the academic achievement of middle class students black students with that of their white counterparts.
To engage families in the learning and education of their children is strongly suggested for any setting, though it is particularly essential and often hardest to accomplish in culturally diverse communities where families receive low incomes. Koppelman and Goodhart (2005) believe that the parents in these settings may become fearful of schools because they have experienced difficulties in facing the cultural diversity and the differences in power both when they were as students and now as parents. For the part of the school, they must be capable of guiding and nurturing their students in a manner that goes along well with their relationship with their parents and the school, and promote appropriate behavior. All these concerns become extremely important in the education of young students between the ages of ten to fifteen, or from grades four to nine. This stage of early adolescence is defined by a number of various changes in an individuals physical, social, emotional and psychological state. These changes present a great challenge for these young adolescents as well as their families and educators. Furthermore, many of these pre-teens do not allow their parents to become involved in their school as a way of expressing their independence. This study of Gay (2000), therefore, aims to identify the ways on how family conditions such as poverty and parent involvement have become barriers of great concern to the learning and education process of both teachers and students in culturally diverse communities, similar to that of Jackson and Davis (2000).
In order to gather information, surveys were carried out among 12 middle schools across Hawaii. Hawaii was chosen as the target location due to the fact that a wide variety of multicultural communities lives and resides there. Out of all the schools that were chosen for the surveys, majority of students were Native Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipinos, and of the European and Caucasian ancestry, while the remainder consisted of Chinese, Korean, Latin, African American and other racial groups. Findings show that Filipinos and other Pacific Islander groups among 9 of the schools have the greater possibility of experiencing social and economic problems. They, along with other Asian groups, have been reported to show a low performance level in school compared to those of the Whites or the Caucasian and European ancestry. An estimate of 33 of the students in 8 out of the 12 schools who belonged to minority groups also come from military families and have been experiencing constant parental transfers while about 25 belong to families who received low incomes. 8 of the middle schools that have been taken for survey reported that they first found it very challenging to teach and educate their multicultural however, because of a reshaped curriculum, student and parent orientation, summer schools as well as family and community engagement, their culturally diverse students and their families have done away with stress and anxiety in going to these schools. On the other hand, though, the remaining 4 middle schools achieved a low performance level from their multicultural students over the years as they admitted that they did not pay full attention to the needs and desires of their culturally diverse students. They also lacked orientations, conferences and other activities that will allow both parents and their children to get involved with the school and will motivate the students to strive for a better performance (Gay, 2000).
The state of Hawaii is diverse not just culturally but economically as well. From incredible wealth and privileges to poverty, bad health conditions, violence and substance abuse, all these factors can stop teachers from properly educating their students and prevent these students to get through an adequate learning process this way, a great deal of stress and anxiety can be placed on the students and their families (Gay, 2000). To start a school year successfully is a major concern for all schools and in order to meaningfully teach and educate these students of various races and cultures, schools must be able to come up with strategies on how to prevent poverty from becoming a barrier to student learning and instead make use of parent involvement to motivate and encourage students. The use of orientations as introductory sessions, or forums and conferences in which both parents and their children can become involved will allow these students to successfully settle in their school communities and give them an opportunity to perform well and excel. Saifer, Edwards, Ellis, Ko, and Stuczynski (2005) assert that when schools respect both their students and their families regardless of their wealth and power, cultural knowledge and ways can be incorporated into the learning and lifestyle of the school. Clearly, it is important for schools to effectively work together with multicultural and low-income students and their families, even when the students are early adolescents.
Conversely, I agree with the last two writers of Lynns focus as they saw African American culture as a rich vehicle by which to rethink pedagogy and practice for educating African Americans and thus improve the quality of educational experiences for these children. They spotlighted that the process by which students are forced to learn must be connected to what is happening in the world social, political, and economic arenas. In other words, learning must be relevant for these students. These two works called for a more African-centeredAfrocentric perspective. This enables these students to actively participate in their learning and thus become more academically successful. When students are successful, students have a more positive view of the educational system and more supportive of the learning institution.
Closing the achievement gap between African American students and Whites is a challenge that this nation faces in all schools, across America. Wenglinsky (2004) Cooper (2003) Love Kruger (2005) and Epstein (2003) are in agreement on this issue their approach to how to go about closing the gap differs. No Child left Behind (NCLB) has heightened the popularity of this issue. Since its inception in 2001, school districts are held accountable for the academic success of targeted students in grade 3-8 reading and math. All students evaluated under the NCLB guidelines must show progress annually. As in the words of Dr. Brenda CampbellJones, the high stakes test is the civil rights law for minority and poor children. (Walden University DVD, 2005)
In an effort to assess how African American students are taught, teachers cultural beliefs and teaching practices were analyzed by Cooper (2003) and Love Kruger (2005). They had similar findings but unveiled different approaches to how best to meet the needs of African American students. Information collected from questionnaires, surveys, observations, and interviews was used to support their inquiry. Cooper interviewed and personally observed three white teachers who were very successful at teaching African American students at a Title I one school. My reservation about using this research is the size of the sampling. It would bring in to question the validity and reliability of the findings because of the small sample. Love Kruger selected six urban schools that served primarily African American students. Two hundred and forty-four individuals who worked with students in different roles, such as, teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, counsellors, etc., were surveyed as to their belief regarding culturally relevant practices in the classroom (p. 88). Cooper and Love Kruger found that even though there may be multiple pathways to teaching African American students, African American students are more successful in a classroom setting that lends itself to a more relational, communal environment. African American children learn best when instructions are direct and explicit the students need to know what is expected in an assignment and behavior. Because Cooper and Love Kruger used elementary schools, and my PASS targets secondary schools, my usage of the data, from the research would be inadequate.
Talbert-Johnson (2004) examined the underachievement of African American students and the shortage of teachers who where well- trained to effectively teach African American students. The author focused on effective strategies that could be useful for transforming of teacher education programs and staff development. Although a secondary source, Talbert-Johnson gives an adept account of cultural and academic gaps as well as, inequities in practices that are evident in our inner-city schools. The research is extensive and focused on a very important aspect of getting to the root of the problem i.e., teacher preparation programs.
When comparing the achievement of White students versus African American students, output results for African American students are more often negative. African American students are more than twice as likely to be held back as White students and African American boys twice as likely as girls (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006). According to a congressional report, African-Americans accounted for 20.2 of the special education population at the turn of the century (22nd Report to Congress, 2000). The results of a survey conducted by the Indicators of School Crime and Safety in 1999 unveiled that about 13 of students ages 1218 during the previous 6 months while at school had been called a derogatory word related to their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation (Kaufman et al. 2001). Tatum (2007) proposed that teachers that engaged in this type of bigotry should reflect on why they have difficulty empathizing with particular students. Despite their prejudices, these teachers can also have input in changing a schools culture that would perpetuate an atmosphere of intolerance and bigotry to one that is more tolerant, positive, and inclusive (Tatum). Although it is important to have strong teacher leadership to bring about positive change of the schools culture, the campus principal is still ultimately responsible, in a troubled school community, to jump-start change (Lindsey, Roberts, Campbell-Jones, 2005).
Inquiry Statement. Could it be that the lack of understanding of African American students culture by none African American teachers has impeded their academic progress Are the behaviors that represent the general operating norms in the school environment conducive to promoting academic success for all children and are the students voices represented when schools establish processes and systems Do the principals actions or leadership style play a key role in developing and sustaining a positive school culture and climate (Bryke Schneider, 2004) Is it essential for school leaders to spend limited resources such as time and money on assessing the effectiveness of a schools values, beliefs, attitudes, and norms or should the emphasis be on academic success as determined by the results on the high stakes tests These are sometimes difficult decisions to make and questions to answer for school leaders. Particularly for leaders in schools that have a large number of African American students who are traditionally three to four grade levels behind (Kozol, 2006).
In reference to my personal experiences and school leadership, I believe my experience contradicts the premise that there are no significant effects of leadership actions on student learning across the spectrum of schools. When the superintendent charged me with the task of turning around a low performing school, it was based upon his belief in my ability as a leader. I by no means take full responsibility for the schools success however, one cannot discount the effects of a change in leadership and how it impact school culture and student achievement. The school went from one being monitored by the state to a school recognized by the state. This entailed hard work, commitment to excellence, team work, collaboration, and a change in the culture that was permeated with an attitude of they are so low and undisciplined. Whats more, there were times when an autocratic leadership style was needed in a particular situation and time. Existing research also shows that demonstrated effects of successful leadership are considerably greater in schools that are in more difficult circumstances. Indeed, there are virtually no documented instances of troubled schools being turned around without intervention by a powerful leader. Many other factors may contribute to such turnarounds, but leadership is the catalyst. These results, therefore, point to the value of changing, or adding to, the leadership capacities of underperforming schools as part of their improvement efforts or as part of school reconstitution. It is also worth noting that in the face of many challenges such as high student poverty and mobility rates, large numbers of English language learners, and unsafe neighborhoods, many urban schools still continue to provide a high-quality education and produce high-achieving students (Love Kruger, 2005 Thompson, 2007 Epstein, 2005). School districts across America are confronted with a broad range of issues that command their attention as well, as an increasing number of critics who are not satisfied with their performance. High schools, in general, are in crisis. Urban schools continue to struggle with how to close the achievement gap between African American students and White students. African American students continue to lag behind White students when it comes to graduating from high school and college. In general, only about two-thirds of students graduate from high school and only about half of black youths do thus the drop-out rate for African American students is very disturbing. Drop-outs are less likely to be employed, and they make up a disproportion higher percentage of the nations prison and death row inmates (National Center for Education Statistics, 2006).These alarming statistics have captured the attention of our nations leaders governors of many states and the Bush administration. The public is looking for answers. Schon (1983) ascertained that the public has lost confidence in professionals and do not trust their professional judgment.
Delpit (1995), and Thompson (2007) all believe that the African American culture is being denied status as a distinct culture because other theorist and scholars tend to conflate race and culture. Dr. Edith Rusch, (cited in Marshall Olivia, 2006), asserts that it is sometimes difficult to talk about race related problems. She described her experience with working with doctoral students and having them discuss various sensitive issues in this manner As the first course progressed, students became uncomfortable with honest reflection and encountered awkward experiences, when discussing diversity and social justice (p. 23).
Although there are limited amounts of research out there that assess pre-service teachers beliefs and assumptions about diversity, (Pink, 2004 Ladson-Billings, 1994 Banks, 1999 Pope Wilder, 2005), Rao and Sahilia (2005) reported that a persistent minority of student teachers were not satisfied with their teaching practicum because of the unreasonable demands placed on them by their cooperating teachers (p. 83). Rao and Sahilia recommend that multicultural teacher education programs clearly outline program expectations for both pre-service teachers and cooperating teachers, and be concise about details of the field study.
Rao and Sahilia (2005) also believe, as Pink (2004), that the key to meeting the challenges of diversity is changing pre-service teachers beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes about urban schools. Universities and colleges must join forces, in a collaborative effort, to design and develop, in various stages, courses that address how to teach African American students. They proposed a model that consists of three distinct but related phases (p. 281).The model starts with a three credit hour course pre-service teachers take in the final semester of their teacher education program or in their senior year. Phase one two consist of the practicum component (student teaching). Phase three is a yearlong internship as the classroom teacher with continuous support, monitoring, supervision, and feedback. Pre-service teacher must work full-time as an intern to gain hands on experience with interacting with the kinds of students they will eventually teach (p.282).The internship could be with pay or without pay.
In contrast to the belief that there is inadequate amounts of research that assess pre-service teachers beliefs and assumptions about diversity (Pink, 2004 Ladson-Billings, 1994 Banks, 1999 Pope Wilder, 2005) there, however, are no shortages of studies that assess teachers beliefs and assumptions about multicultural issues. When Gayle-Evans and Michael (2006) assessed teachers belief about teaching multicultural educational topics, the teachers indicated how uncomfortable they felt and did not want to deal with diversity issues. These same teachers also felt discomfort in dealing with the different behaviors, customs, language, and attitude displayed by students from diverse cultures.
In another study, conducted by Thompson (2004,) it was revealed that White teachers, although they meant well, and have a positive attitude toward their minority students they had very low expectations and did not challenge them academically. The teachers rationale was based upon what they had always heard about Latinos i.e., they did not get an education pass ninth grade. In addition, they felt sorry for them (Thompson, 2004, p. 1).The teachers watered down the curriculum acting out of their assumptions and beliefs. Sad as this may be for these teachers to feel this way this was a step in the right direction. Beliefs, values, and past experiences cannot be ignored because of they are significant in the learning environment (Lambert, 2002). Beliefs should be dealt with openly. For this reason, educators can learn from each other through meaningful and sophisticated dialogue (Lambert, 2003 Thompson, 2004 Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study, 2005). More to the point, dialogue is the implementation of the first stage of addressing any real issue it is the prerequisite to action and not vice versa. Thus, building a schools capacity to learn is a collective rather than individual task (Dufour et. al., 2004, p. 3).
Besides having misconceptions about minority children and not having a desire to even deal with these issues, teachers of students in the urban areas are also faced with not having the training or skills to effectively teach African American students. Traditionally, more teachers in the schools with high minority and high poverty students teach courses outside their academic major (Ingersoll, 2002). Schools in the inner-city have fewer experienced teachers and more instructors with alternative certification. This should raise some serious concerns for schools in the inner-cities. Since job availability in the inner city is not an issue (Collier, 2002), how do you attract the highly qualified applicants to come to teach under some of the most unfavorable conditions
A great deal of the literature available that covers diversity and multiculturalism is geared towards a one size fit all program, to the detriment of poor and minority students (Howard, 2006). If schools are serious about closing the achievement gap for African American students then, they must consider ethnicity and culture when decisions are made about what programs to adopt or what staff development to offer. Likewise, colleges and universities must consider the same when developing courses to prepare pre-service teachers to teach in the inner-city.
It is apparent from the literature that most colleges and universities are making a rigorous effort to prepare pre-service teachers for multicultural awareness. I, however, do not believe that this is enough. The heart of the teacher education programs should be more than a simple awareness of multiculturalism. With the inclusion of two critical components of their service learning model (1) pre-service teachers must have a change in mindset in order to be successful at teaching in the inner-city, and (2) the idea of being social justice advocates for children, the University of Missouri-St. Louis (Pink, 2004), have elevated their teacher education program to a different level than the traditional teacher education programs found at most colleges and universities, Similarly, Marshall Olivia (2006) declared that, school leaders must become activists and social justice advocates if all students needs are to be met (p. 17). Being an activist for social justice is also being a transformative leader, one who is committed to seeing a greater degree of democracy practiced in school (Marshall Olivia, 2006, p.16) furthermore, when teachers meet student learning needs, student achievement increase.
Since many beginning teachers complain about their college or university not preparing them for teaching in the urban schools, the UMSL model and the Marquette University teacher education model (Catapano, 2006 Pink, 2004) are good examples, in my opinion, for other universities and colleges to consider. Furthermore, what distinguishes the teacher education program described by Rao and Sahilia (2005) from the abovementioned models is the extensive field experience pre-service teachers are required to get. Unlike the traditional student teaching experience, the pre-service teacher must take a yearlong teaching assignment under close scrutiny of an onsite and off site scholar-practitioner and mentor.
Whichever model teacher education programs choose to adopt, there must be a cohesive university-school partnership to make it work. Scholar-practitioners are in agreement that (1) the appropriate pre-service field experience cannot be compromised and is crucial to the pre-service teachers success (2) pre-service teachers should observe diversity in the classroom, and how effective classroom teachers apply multicultural teaching practices (3) to fully meet the pre-service teachers needs, it requires an integration of multicultural education within a quality pre-service program that prepares pre-service teachers for increasing diverse classrooms and (4) the cultural competence of pre-service teachers needs to be assessed i.e., how do they effectively interact with diverse people, adopt behaviors that respects and responds to cultural diversity, and integrate cultural diversity into their teaching (Ladson-Billings, 2004 Thompson, 2004 Thompson, 2007 Delpit, 1995 Landsman Lewis, 2006 Love Kruger, 2005).
Judging from the information just presented, since most educators have had little experience when it comes to dealing with students from other minority groups, it is a given that they would also experience difficulty in teaching these children. Naturally, the lack of experience would result in these teachers becoming frustrated and angry- emotions that only lead to ineffective teaching strategies (Kunjufu, 2002). There are also sensitivity issues that may be considered since some teachers and students would not feel comfortable talking to each other because of their different backgrounds (Manning, 2000). From the information presented above, it can be deduced that ones perceptions regarding barriers of cultural relevant teaching does have an impact on teaching practice itself.
CHAPTER 3
RESEARCH METHOD
Introduction
The current chapter presents the quantitative research approach that will be adopted for the study. It shall also explain the rationale behind the descriptive-correlational approach that will be utilized in the research. The purposive sampling method, which was used for choosing the teacher respondents is explained, specifically the inclusion criteria that have been used for selecting respondents. The two data collection methods, primary and secondary, shall be tackled in the portion on Data Collection. In addition, the Ladson-Billings survey questionnaire which will be used for primary data collection, has also been presented. Finally, the method of data analysis and the methodological limitations are also covered in the current chapter.
Research Design and Approach
Research Approach
This portion of the study distinguishes between the qualitative and quantitative approaches to be able to provide a strong rationale for the use of a mixed methods approach. First, the qualitative approach is explained, followed by quantitative research.
Qualitative research is considered the most time consuming method for data collection (Bernard, 2006). Its components include knowledge of pertinent theories, formulation of the study goals, authorization to access primary data, and obtaining of adequate participants and subjects (Marshall Rossman, 2006). Sources of data vary, from interviews, manuscripts, and observation of the targeted participants (Patton, 2002). The challenges faced during qualitative research include contradictions in the interpretation of data making intelligible the information gathered and ultimately, producing a substantive conclusion that is acceptable. These characteristics of the qualitative approach make it exclusively anchored on the researchers interpretation (Rubin Rubin, 2004 Silverman, 2004).
Furthermore, qualitative research strives to obtain answers to the studys inquiry. In order to do this, a protocol of sorts is followed. Direct observations, tests, or dialogues are done to collect specifics, sequentially leading to discoveries undetermined at the start (Bryman, 2001 Ritchie Lewis, 2003). Ultimately, these new information are incorporated in the studys recommendations, in order to assist further research. Adding to the qualitative methodology, case studies may also be executed (Creswell, 2008). This requires for researchers to perform a comprehensive study on a topic of interest, in order that further inquiry can be done. Open-mindedness is an important virtue to bring, for the researchers to collect as accurate data as possible (Babbie, 2006).
With this, it is evident that qualitative studies focus on the questions that understand the manner by which things come to be, and not only on why they happened. To answer phenomena, correlations between the variables of interest are attempted, and as such, adjustments in procedures or data collection media are also commonplace (Kent, 2008). In particular, questions placed to subjects may be lengthened if initial answers are insufficient, or shortened, in the other hand (Marshall Rossman, 2006). The interview is adjusted depending on the flow of the question-answer exchange, and is in a way repetitive as a means of gaining clearer details for the resolution of the research question (Neuman, 2002).
Now that the qualitative research method has been discussed, the quantitative research method is worth explaining, as this has been the approach chosen in the present study. Quantitative research methods depend on numerical data for inquiries to be analyzed and explained experiments, interviews, and surveying are necessary as methodological tools. It necessitates unambiguous, systematically gathered data from test subjects, to produce statistics that may lead to substantive conclusions (Bernard, 2006). Generalizations and other reports are entirely from the given answers of the participants on the survey questionnaires, and their subsequent interpretation is based on statistical analyses (Bryman, 1992). Hypotheses are conceived about the study, from the significance of statistical measures employed (Punch, 2005).
Furthermore, quantitative research methods are interested in the systematic description of phenomena, and it is used to describe traits that make a population distinct (Gliner Morgan, 2000). A particular sample of the population is selected to reflect the features that researchers are interested in investigating, and assessments are given to measure the behavior of the chosen sample (Arquette, 2006). The instruments utilized are also more rigorous than the interviews employed in a qualitative approach, and the study protocol followed is more straightforward (Fowler, 1997). Answers given by the participants do not cause changes in the surveys used, and the methods are similar across the entire sample population. This is to result in deductions that are supported by statistical analyses that lend itself to replication (Bernard, 2006).
The current research thus focuses on the use of a mixed methods approach in addressing the following research objectives 1) determination of the degree to which minority teachers in Littleton elementary integrating and implementing cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching 2) the degree to which non-minority teachers in Littleton elementary prefer to integrate and implement cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching 3) ascertaining if there is a significant relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement and 4) the perceived barriers that prevent teachers from using cultural relevant teaching strategies in daily lesson planning and teaching. The first three objectives are answered through the use of quantitative methods, while the last question shall be answered through qualitative means. Specifically, a survey questionnaire shall be used as a quantitative methodology, while an interview shall be utilized for the qualitative portion.
Surveys are designed to provide definitive relationships among variables of concern, and are useful in setting benchmarked parameters to allow methodical comparisons (Kent, 2008). Following this, comprehensive inquiries and variable frequency can be made, making it easier to identify correspondence among the variables. It is an approach that has been well-tested, given its existence for more than a century, and so it remains a method that is preferred by many (Schwab, 1999). The research design can be modified until it is most advantageous for a selected sample size, and its results will maintain its impartialness and reliability. It also allows researchers to exclude variables that are unnecessary, and to only zero in on factors that they would like to define in the population (Brace 2008).
The benefit of such approach is that the absence of human interpretation makes results majorly valid. Unimpaired primary data allows researchers to pull apart intricate problems in a manner that each of its elements can be separately studied instead. This results to a more efficient way at looking at the inquirys problem, with less probability of making mistakes given statistically valid results (Hardy Monge, 2000). It is for these reasons that it is a technique widely used in studies, as its impartialness is a feature most researchers desire for. Also, the capacity to design surveys in order to remove extraneous factors, is something valuable too (Brace 2008).
Nevertheless, some drawbacks are still present in the quantitative technique. For one, with such a rigid design, researchers have not much hold on the quality of their sample population. Participants have control on the data they are prepared to give, and so researchers are faced with the challenge of finding people that will be honest in answering the questionnaires (Kent, 2008). This is particularly a methodological limitation in the current study where a culturally sensitive issue is tackled. Moreover, it may difficult to employ a survey method, if the researcher lacks the resources, i.e. time and people, to reach the necessary sample size of the population (Neuman 2002).
On the other hand, there is also some benefit in the use of interviews. Qualitative methods are exhaustive and allow the participant to elaborate a response in greater detail than what is allowed in survey methodology (Kent, 2008). Reports from quantitative studies are mere presumptions of a certain feature of the population, producing the supposition that the said trait is representative of the whole (Friedman, 1999). To sum up, mixed methods that shall be used in the current study these are deemed appropriate to gather data as a take off point for a more detailed account of culturally relevant practices, which may be pursued in future studies, using a qualitative approach.
Research Design
The current study adopts a descriptive, correlational research design. A descriptive study is one in which the variables of interest are observed, measured, and described as they occur (Bernard, 2006).
In the context of the current study, the researcher intends to describe the extent to which minority and non-minority teachers use cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching. The measures through which cultural relevant teaching strategies shall be measured shall be from 25 out of the 48 statements that have been used in the Ladson-Billings (1994) research, which was adapted from the item selection and identification of Love Kruger (2005) in their study on Teacher beliefs and student achievement in urban schools serving African American children. These selected statements are relevant to cultural teaching practices, and are clustered into the following categories 1) knowledge 2) students race, ethnicity, and culture 3) social relations in and beyond the classroom 4) teaching as a profession 5) teaching practice 6) students strengths and needs.
Moreover, the study is also said to be correlational because there is an intent to correlate the degree to which teachers use culturally relevant practices and the academic achievement of their students.
Ethics
The main objectives of all research inquiries are first, to increase understanding of a subject matter, second, to seek verity, and lastly, to steer clear of errors (Israel Hay 2006). This calls for the abiding by certain ethical protocol when performing research.
At first contact, the researchers relayed the background and the objectives of the study to the principals and teachers that were enlisted for the research. Before survey deployment, the teachers were asked for explicit consent by appending their signatures on a consent form. Similarly, the students who were asked to take the some scales of the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement were asked to have consent letters signed by their parents before participation to the study.
Instructions regarding the surveys were also given, and the teachers were assured of the privacy of information and the anonymity of the surveys. The privacy of the respondents was of utmost importance, and no names were obtained, and all other information were solely utilized for the studys goals.
The protection of confidentiality is to be maintained from the beginning when trust is established. Researchers must make certain that the volunteers he has obtained will know that all the information trusted to him will be protected. If the researcher wishes to share more private details of the respondents, consent must be secured from each person (Elliot Stern, 1997).
Rapport has been established with the participants from the beginning until the end of the research process. Even with the personal survey method utilized in this study, it is not only in qualitative researches where a sense of good rapport is helpful when the researcher selects his respondents (Elliot Stern 1997). Thus, prior to giving out the survey forms, a comfortable mood must first be ensured, before allowing the potential respondent to answer the questions. This gives a more relaxed environment, allowing for better understanding of the survey questions. Ultimately though, the establishment of trust can further support the datas validity and quality. Also, as majority of communication, even if done personally, is non-verbal, it would be helpful for researchers to observe the body language of their participants. Distressed acts may indicate that the respondent is uncomfortable with the study tool, thereby affecting the information that is given.
According to Sales Folkman (2000), taking complete command over the entire surveying process is one easy mistake to make the respondents uneasy. First impressions greatly matter, so a pleasing personality should be showed, but also keeping in mind to maintain professionalism. Researchers must be able to listen diligently and be most sensitive when the respondents want to speak up, as this is the least they can do in exchange for the time they are taking out from the lives of the participants (Ritchie Lewis, 2003). In addition, fairness and open-mindedness are important too, so that all respondents are treated the same way. They must also be able to carry an analytical temperament, above being aggressive, expressive, or passive, as this will help them to establish amicable relations with their respondents, and avoid giving criticisms or arguing with them (Diamante, 2003) this is specially critical in the current study in which a sensitive issue related to culture is tackled.
During the survey deployment proper, the teachers were instructed about what needs to be done on the survey forms. Moreover, they were assured of the readiness of the researcher to answer any clarifications the sample may have. These were done to establish the researchers credibility and to build rapport with them. They were also made aware that they may opt not to finish the questionnaire, and they will not be reprimanded for choosing such an option.
Setting and Sample
Population
The population of interest is composed of minority and non-minority teachers teaching in urban public schools. However, for pragmatic reasons, only a sample of this population shall be surveyed using the Ladson-Billings (1994) questionnaire for culturally relevant practices. For the current study, the urban district that has been purposively chosen is Littleton ISD. It is an urban school district located in East Texas with an enrollment of 8,259 students (Littleton ISD, 2009). All 10 of the Littleton schools enlisted in the study offered free or discounted meals to their students and faculty.
Sampling Method
The sampling method used is purposive sampling, in which the teachers enlisted in the study must meet certain criteria for inclusion into the sample (Levy Lemeshow, 2009). This non-probability sampling technique is an acknowledged methodological limitation of the current research, having implications on the representativeness of the sample gathered.
Characteristics of the Selected Sample
In general, the sample of teachers who were asked to participate in the study consisted of 125 teachers and principals within Littleton District, who have had at least a year to 35 years of experience in teaching. Teaching experience mainly pertains to classroom instruction. To allow for a statistically viable comparison between the two groups, 150 respondent teachers were enlisted into the study, with 75 teachers being Caucasian, and the rest belonging to minority groups.
Based on the demographic information indicated by the teachers, their ethnicities are as follows Caucasian (__) African American (___) Latino (__) Hispanic (___) Indian (__) Asian ___) and Others (___). 80 of the respondents are female, while the rest are male. The average age was ___ years, with a minimum age of ___ years and a maximum of ___ years. In terms of number of years of teaching experience, the average was ___ years, while the median is at ___ years. On educational attainment, the minimum level was some college while the highest level was a doctoral degree.
Eligibility Criteria for Participants
Specifically, the following inclusion criteria were used in selecting teacher respondents 1) must have taught within a school in Littleton District for at least a year 2) the teacher must teach at least an African American students in a reading or a math class 3) is currently teaching K8 students and 3) has explicitly expressed consent to participate in the research, including answering the Love Kruger (2005) abridged questionnaire adapted from Ladson-Billings (1994) and administering two scales of the Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement to her students.
On the other hand, the inclusion criteria for the students who will answer the WJ III ACH are as follows 1) must be enlisted under a K8 class of a teacher who participates in the study 2) must be African American and 3) must submit a signed parental consent form.
Sample Size
Tabachnik Fidell (1989) prescribed a ratio of 5 participants for each survey item as a recommendation for sample size. Given this guideline, the researcher considered that there were 25 out of the 48 questions from the original Ladson-Billings (1994) questionnaire which were adapted by Love Kruger (2005). This necessitates garnering a total of at least 125 teachers for the research. A total of 150 teachers were enlisted 75 were Caucasian, while the remainder 75 were minority teachers. Correspondingly, since the study involves bivariate correlation, each teacher shall be asked to invite one African American student to take the WJ III ACH. Pearson r requires an analysis of a pair of variables thus, each teacher score on use of cultural relevant teaching strategies must have a corresponding student achievement score to permit this statistical analysis.
Description of Treatment if Used
There is no treatment used since the study is non-experimental the basis for stratifying the groups for comparison was ethnicity. This has two levels, 1) minority and 2) non-minority teachers, who shall then be compared in terms of the extent to which they integrate culturally relevant teaching practices in classroom teaching.
Data Collection and Analysis
Descriptive Analyses
For statistical analysis, the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 15.0 was used. In carrying out this analysis, the alternative hypothesis is that there is a significant, positive relationship between use of cultural relevant teaching practices and student achievement. An alpha level of .05 was utilized for all inferential statistical tests.
The following demographic variables were asked of teachers in the survey questionnaire. These are gender, age, educational level, raceethnicity, and years of teaching experience. These demographic variables were analyzed through measures of central tendency, such as the mean and median. Frequency and percentage distributions were likewise presented as applicable.
Love Krugers (2005) adaptation of Ladson-Billings (1994) instrument were also analyzed using descriptive statistics. The means and standard deviations for each of the following dimensions and their corresponding statements were also computed. These dimensions are 1) knowledge 2) students race, ethnicity, and culture 3) social relations in and beyond the classroom 4) teaching as a profession 5) teaching practice 6) students strengths and needs. The total score across these dimensions shall be divided by six, to get an index of use of cultural relevant teaching strategies.
In effect, descriptive statistics were partly be used to answer two of the 4 objectives of the study, as follows 1) determination of the degree to which minority teachers in Littleton elementary integrating and implementing cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching and 2) the degree to which non-minority teachers in Littleton elementary prefer to integrate and implement cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching.
Inferential Analyses- nature of scale of variable, hypotheses for each research question, description of stat tool used
To fully answer the first two objectives of the study, the t-test for two independent groups were utilized to determine if there are significant differences between minority and non-minority teachers in their use of cultural relevant teaching strategies in their classroom instruction. T-tests shall be analyzed for comparisons of the two groups along the 6 dimensions of the Love Kruger (2005) questionnaire, and for the overall score on use of these teaching strategies. In undertaking these comparisons, the alternative hypothesis being tested states that there is a significant difference between minority and non-minority teachers in their use of cultural relevant teaching strategies.
The third objective of the study is to ascertain if there is a significant relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement. To address this, the Pearson correlation coefficient was utilized the latter is used to determine the strength and direction of relationship between two variables (Der Everitt, 2008). Proximity to 1 demonstrates a positive correlation between two factors, while -1 points to a strong negative relationship. A weak or insignificant association between variables is signified with values close to 0 (Punch, 2005).
The fourth objective of the research is to determine the perceived barriers to the integration of these practices to classroom instruction. This shall be addressed through interviews with teachers and principals.
Description of Data Collection Process
Gathering of data was a two-part process in this study. Secondary data collection was performed in the formation of the literature review. Online articles, scientific journals, and books related to cultural relevant teaching practices and barriers were reviewed. These allowed for an insightful analysis of the outcomes of the current study in relation to the results of previous empirical research.
The survey questionnaire of Love Kruger (2005) was one of the bases for primary data collection. The instrument was first shown to a subject matter expert to ensure that the instrument is content valid. Content validity ensures that instrument is able to measure what it has set out to assess (Crotty, 1998). Following the checking of face validity and content validity, the researcher sent out letters to principals of the schools within Littleton District to ask for permission to conduct research. Of the schools who affirmed the request, the researcher proceeded with questionnaire deployment, which was carried out during teacher meetings. They were first asked to sign a consent form, before answering the survey questionnaire. The consent form likewise included a description of the objectives of the study the participants involved and the need to help in the administration of the WJ III ACH to their African American students.
The protocol for the teacher survey began with the distribution of questionnaires after each faculty meeting. Only those teachers who met all inclusion criteria were enlisted in the final sample. During instruction giving and in the consent form, respondents were informed that they are free to withdraw participation at any time and to approach the research for any clarifications. Handing out the forms in person encouraged a higher return of surveys, and respondents were also more comfortable in addressing clarifications they had on the questionnaire. Participants were also more relaxed since they were able to communicate openly with the researcher (Elliot Stern, 1997). Teacher participants were thanked by the researcher after they hand in the accomplished survey sheets.
For the administration of Woodcock Johnson Test of Achievement for the African American students shall be done with the help of the teacher concerned. The teachers were asked to submit to the researcher a list of names of African American students in either their reading or math classes. The researcher randomly picked a name from each list and endorsed a letter of consent to each teacher, to solicit the permission of at least one parent. Once the parental consent forms were received, the schedule for test administration was arranged in coordination with the teachers. The reading fluency scale was administered to African American students whose teachers taught reading, while the math fluency scale was administered to those whose teachers instructed them in math. This matching increases the likelihood that the achievement score is due to the teacher instructing the subject and teaching practices which they experience within the teachers class.
Description of Pilot Study if Used
A pilot test has been carried out for Love Krugers (2008) adaptation of Ladson-Billings (1994) questionnaire, although Cronbachs alpha for the cultural sensitive teaching strategies is at 0.85, which is acceptable based on Nunally Bernsteins (1994) cut-off. The pilot test was conducted with 30 teachers and served several purposes. First, it was meant to 1) gather data on the reliability of the adapted instrument 2) ensure that the statements are understandable and 3) ascertain the length of time required for survey completion.
A pilot test increases response rate. This is made possible with changing confusing statements, shortening excessive questions, and modifying the list of choices, which all contribute to a highly efficient survey design. This ultimately saves valuable resources such as time, effort, and materials (Creswell, 2008). Nevertheless, several restrictions arise from the conduct of pilot studies. First is the availability of funding to enforce such preliminary studies. Moreover, it is probable that biases may arise based on the initial data (Surhone et al, 2010).
A predicament also brought about is whether or to allow the pilot respondents to participate in the actual study afterwards. It would be advantageous in that the participants may be more proficient in answering the questionnaire, however, they may also answer differently since they already know what will be asked. To address this problem that is usually present where the samples are in clusters, or common locations, a sensitivity analysis must be conducted too. Its purpose is to see the magnitude of the pilot study procedure and its repercussions on the expanse of the intervention effect (Surhone et al, 2010).
Instrumentation and Materials
Name of instrument
The processes for assessment of reliability and validity of the instrument(s)
the processes needed to complete instruments by participants
There are two instruments used for the current research. The first is an adapted version of the original instrument of Ladson-Billings (1994). It was used in a research to describe the beliefs and teaching practices of teachers who were evaluated as exceptional by their superiors, colleagues and parents of the African American students whom they have taught. The typology of Ladson-Billings (1994) classified the items of the questionnaire into two general groups 1) culturally relevant teaching strategies, and 2) assimilationist beliefs. The first group of items reflects high regard for students collaboration and cooperation among students and those whom they immediately interface with the key role of the community a strong sense of vocation for teaching in urban schools an acknowledging the critical role of race and culture in effective pedagogy (Love Kruger, 2005). Sample statements for this first group are as follows My purpose for teaching is to give something back to the community in the same way I was given an education. and Students responses determine where I go with a lesson I just cannot put a time limit on good teaching. (Love Kruger, p. 91). All statements are measured through a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strong agreement to strong disagreement.
In contrast, the second cluster, assimilationist beliefs pertain to an environment where there is little consideration of cultural and racial nuances. These are the 23 statements which were not used in the current study. Examples of these statements are as follows Teaching is like paying my dues to society. When Im through paying my debt, Ill probably retire or change professions. And Students who fail usually do so because they dont try hard enough likewise, students who succeed do so because they put forth the effort (Love Kruger, p. 91). Cronbachs alpha is a measure of internal reliability, and it was at .86, which suggests acceptable reliability based on the .80 cut off set up by Nunnally Bernstein (1994).
The second instrument that has been used in the study is the Woodcock Johnson III - Tests of Achievement (WJ III ACH) Form A, which is a typical test of achievement. The assessment may be administered from 2-90 years old. Administration time for the whole test is an hour to an hour and ten minutes (citation).
There are four main areas that are measured by the WJ III ACH and these are reading, math, oral language, and written language. For the purposes of the current study, only two subscales of the test shall be used, namely those subscales that measured reading and math fluency. The raw scores, age equivalents, and grade equivalents of each minority student were also noted. The individual reliability coefficients of the subscales of WJ III ACH are at least .80 (citation, year).
The Concepts Measured by Instrument
Love Kruger (2005) further classified the culturally relevant teaching practices group into 6 dimensions. These are 1) knowledge 2) students race, ethnicity, and culture 3) social relations in and beyond the classroom 4) teaching as a profession 5) teaching practice 6) students strengths and needs.
Briefly, these dimensions are described. Knowledge pertains to schemas about knowledge. For instance, the knowledge that is built between the synergy of teacher and student. One example of a statement under this dimension What I learn from my students is as important as what they learn from me. There are 2 statements under Knowledge. The second dimension refers to the acknowledgment of racial and cultural nuances in teaching. An example of a statement classified under this dimension is as follows Every child is a unique composite of his or her racial, cultural, home, and peer experiences. There are 4 statements under this dimension. Moreover, the third dimension evaluates cognitive ideas on relating with students optimizing learning from others in the classroom and the engagement of parents in student learning. A statement under this category is I expect my students to work as a team if one person slacks off, it is the others responsibility to help this student get back on track. Four statements make up this dimension. Dimension 4
Dimension 5 measures ideas about pedagogical practices an example is My underlying reason for using peer-learning strategies is to prepare my students for collective thinking, growth, and understanding. There are also 4 statements that make up this subscale. Lastly, the sixth dimension pertains to the degree to which the strengths and improvement areas of students are considered by the reaching in planning effectual sessions. Six statements were used to measure this cluster.
How scores are calculated and their meaning
The computation of scores for the Love Kruger (2005) questionnaire is straightforward. The teachers marked the number which corresponded to their level of agreement to each statement. The scores for each of the six dimensions of cultural relevant teaching practices are added and averaged to come up with an overall average on the use of such practices. Since a 5-point Likert scale has been used, the interpretation of the scale is as follows 1.00-1.49 Strongly Disagree 1.50-2.49- Disagree 2.50-3.49 Neutral 3.50 4.49 Agree and 4.50 5.00 Strongly Agree.
On the other hand, standard scores on the WJ III ACHs reading and math fluency subscales were directly used for the correlational analysis. Each of the raw scores in either subscale of the WJ had corresponding age and grade equivalents. These were likewise encoded for descriptive purposes. The standard scores are interpreted as follows (District of Colombia Public Schools, 2009)
131 and aboveVery Superior Range
121-130Superior Range
111-120High Average Range
90-110Average
80-89Low Average Range
70-79 Low Range
69 and belowVery Low Range
A detailed description of data that comprise each variable in the study
The instrument adapted from Love Kruger (2005) shall measure the main variable of use of culturally relevant teaching strategies. This variable was measured as an average of the scores on 6 dimensions 1) knowledge 2) students race, ethnicity, and culture 3) social relations in and beyond the classroom 4) teaching as a profession 5) teaching practice 6) students strengths and needs.
In the current study, Knowledge was measured by Items 5 and 16 of the survey questionnaire. Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture was evaluated by 7, 11, 13, and 18 of the instrument. Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom were measured by the following items in the instrument 1, 4, 9, 19, and 25. Teaching as a Profession has been assessed through items 6, 8, 14, and 21 , while Teaching Practice has been evaluated through statements 3, 10, 15, and 17 of the instrument. The last subscale of the instrument, Students Strengths and Needs, was evaluated through statements 2, 12, 20, 22, 23 and 24 of the survey questionnaire. The 25 items were randomized to minimize bias (Diamante, 2003). The scores on all subscales were added and divided by the number of dimensions to get an average score, which represents the average use of teaching strategies by each teacher.
When this scoring procedure as described is done, Objectives 1 and 2 of the study shall be addressed Objective 1 To what degree are minority teachers in Littleton elementary integrating and implementing cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching Objective 2 To what degree do non-minority teachers in Littleton elementary prefer to integrate and implement cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching Moreover, the scores on the use of teaching strategies shall be statistically compared through the t-test for two independent samples, to fully address the foregoing objectives.
The third objective aims to ascertain if there is there a significant relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement. Student achievement has been measured through two subscales of WJ III ACH, namely, reading fluency and math fluency. The standard scores are measured through the number of correct responses for each scale. With a teacher having a single index of use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and a single student score for either reading fluency or math fluency, the computation of Pearsons correlation coefficient is possible.
The final research objective on the perceived barriers that prevent teachers from using cultural relevant teaching strategies in daily lesson planning and teaching was answered through qualitative data from interviews with principals and teachers from Littleton District.
Where the raw data are or will be available (appendices, tables, or by request from the researcher
All raw data will be made available by request from the researcher.
Dissemination of Findings (optional, but recommended)
Researchers should be forthcoming, as in the sharing of information, results, concepts, and techniques, so that aside from the dispersal of new knowledge, improvements on ones own methods can be suggested for the betterment of future endeavors (Oliver, 2010). This is the great responsibility that comes with the recognition of being published to share information, and to accept criticism gracefully. This is an aspect of developing ones competence in the field of research, whereby the researcher must provide his information in order for credibility to be given to his study (Shamoo Resnik, 2009).
The results of the study shall be disseminated through one of the Universitys poster sessions, during which the researcher shall present the results to fellow students and teachers. If possible, the outcomes of the study may also be presented to the principals and teachers of the schools who participated in the study, to serve as input for enhancing pedagogy through cultural relevant teaching practices.
Chapter 4
Findings and Discussion
Results
Table 1. Frequency breakdown by race.
CaucasianAfrican AmericanLatinoAsianTotalNon-minority7500075Minority05020575Total7550205150
The foregoing table shows the frequency breakdown of the teacher respondents by ethnic affiliation. It shows that 50 or 67 of the non-minority teachers are African American. 27 are Latino, and 7 are Asian.
Table 2. Frequency breakdown by educational attainment.
Some CollegeBachelors DegreeSome Masters unitsMasters DegreeDoctoral DegreeTotalNon-minority0352510575Minority5402010075Total57545205150
Among the Caucasian teachers, 35 or 47 have Bachelor degrees. 33 or 25 teachers have some Masters units, wheareas 8 have Masters degrees. 4 of non-minority teachers hold doctoral degrees. In contrast, 40 or 53 of minority teachers have Bachelor degrees. 27 or 20 minority teachers have received some Masters units. 8 hold Masters degrees, and 4 have had some college. In total, exactly half or 50 of the respondents have Bachelor degrees. 30 or a third of the total sample have some Masters units. 13 hold Masters degrees 3 each have Doctoral degrees, or some college, respectively.
Table 3a. Descriptive statistics Age and teaching experience.
MinimumMaximumMeanStd. DeviationAge24.0056.0032.307.68Non-minority24.0056.0032.877.86Minority24.0054.0031.737.51Teaching experience1.0035.007.907.49Non-minority1.0035.008.008.14Minority2.0030.007.806.83
In terms of age, the mean age of the sample is 32.30 years (sd7.68). Non-minority teachers mean age is 32.87 (sd7.86), while that of minority teachers is 31.73 (sd7.51). Moreover, in terms of teaching experience, the average for the entire sample is 7.90 years (sd7.49). Non-minority teachers hold an average of 8 years of teaching experience (sd8.14), while their minority counterparts have a mean of 7.80 years (sd6.83).
Table 3b. T-test Age and teaching experience.
tdfpAge0.90148.000.37Teachexp0.16148.000.87
When the mean ages of non-minority and minority teachers are compared, no statistically significant differences are garnered (t.90, p.37). Similarly, there are no significant differences in terms of teaching experience between the two teacher groups (t.16, p.87). This test had to be carried out to establish that age and teaching experience were not extraneous variables which may affect the academic performance of their students thus, whatever results are garnered from research may not be attributed to either variable.
Objective 1 To what degree are minority teachers in Littleton elementary integrating and implementing cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching
Table 4. Descriptive statistics on Ladson-Billings statements Overall sample.
The table below shows the means of the various statements presented in Ladson-Billings instrument. The following score ranges have been used to substantively interpret each one 1.00-1.49 Strongly Disagree 1.50-2.49 Disagree 2.50-3.49 Neutral 3.50-4.49 Agree and 4.50-5.00 Strongly Agree. Scores on negatively stated items have already been reverse scored (and are thus interpreted as positively phrased statements.
DimensionStatementMeanStd. DeviationKnowledgeOne of the key elements that guide my teaching of the content is that students have got to learn what to think critically rather than just memorize facts. 4.230.67What I learn from my students is as important as what they learn from me. 4.500.62Teaching PracticeA good lesson is only tentative. 3.970.71Sometimes, I play the role of student and allow my students to teach the class. 3.970.75Students responses determine where I go with a lesson I just cannot put a time limit on good teaching. 3.930.73Teaching is like an art it involves dramatizing from the concrete experience to the conceptual level of understanding. 4.200.66Social Relations in and Beyond the ClassroomI expect my students to be responsible for one another. 3.600.76I expect my students to work as a team if one person slacks off, it is the others responsibility to help this student get back on track. 3.700.74My underlying reason for using peer-learning strategies is to prepare my students for collective thinking, growth, and understanding. 3.800.75One students success is success for the whole class, and one students failure is failure for us all. 3.070.86Testing is an individual assessment however, test results of an individual reflect on the groups efforts toward helping the individual learn, as well. 3.370.95Students Race, Ethnicity, and CultureEvery child is a unique composite of his or her racial, cultural, home, and peer experiences. 4.330.65I view my students identities as rich with color and culture. 4.370.61It is part of my responsibility to make connections between what happens in the world and who my students are. 4.070.86The cultural background of my students plays an important part in my teaching. I bring their backgrounds (race, culture, heritage, etc.) into my lesson planning. 3.770.81Students Strengths and NeedsEvery child that comes to me, no matter how poor, is brilliant. 3.330.91Every student I encounter is successful at something. 3.300.78Excellence is a standard that exists independent of individual differences. 3.730.51I work with some of the most important people in the world, my students. 3.600.99The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons.3.670.79The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons. 3.730.68Teaching as a ProfessionI teach in an urban public school because I want to. 3.630.75My purpose for teaching is to give something back to the community in the same way I was given an education. 4.130.81Teaching is where I belong I know it and the students know it too. 4.200.70Teaching urban children in public schools is where I belong. 4.230.56
The first dimension that has been presented to the teachers is Knowledge. The first statement asks whether they agree to the idea that one of the key elements that guide their teaching of the content is that students have got to learn what to think critically rather than just memorize facts, which yielded agreement. The second statement expresses that what teachers learn from their students is as important as what they learn from me, which garnered strong agreement.
The next dimension is teaching practice. The first statement asks agreement on a good lesson being tentative positively stated, this translates to a good lesson having long-lasting rather than ephemeral effects. The second statement says that the teacher sometimes plays the role of student and allows their students to teach the class. Next, they are asked about students responses determining where the teacher goes with a lesson and not putting a time limit on good teaching. The next statement queries about teaching being like an art involving dramatizing from the concrete experience to the conceptual level of understanding. All of these statements have been agreed upon by the respondent teachers.
The next dimension is called Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom. The first statement asks about expecting ones students to be responsible for one another. Next, they were also asked about expecting students to work as a team that is, if one person slacks off, it is the others responsibility to help this student get back on track. The next statement says that the underlying reason for using peer-learning strategies is to prepare students for collective thinking, growth, and understanding. All these have been agreed to by the sample. However, there are two statements which were rated neutrally. These are One students success is success for the whole class, and one students failure is failure for us all and Testing is an individual assessment however, test results of an individual reflect on the groups efforts toward helping the individual learn, as well.
The next dimension is tagged, Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture. They were asked of their opinion on every child being a unique composite of his or her racial, cultural, home, and peer experiences. Another statement is viewing students identities as rich with color and culture. The third statement under this dimension is It is part of my responsibility to make connections between what happens in the world and who my students are. They were also queried about their agreement about the cultural background of students playing an important part in their teaching and bringing their backgrounds (race, culture, heritage, etc.) into their lesson planning. All statements these have been agreed upon by the sample.
The next dimension is called Students Strengths and needs. The first statement under this dimension is the belief that every child that comes to the teacher is brilliant. Yet another item says that there is a standard that exists independent of individual differences. Another statement is the belief that one is working with some of the most important people in the world, who are students. Moreover, another statement says that the individual needs of children are an important part of ones lesson planning. This item has been repeated for checking consistency. All these statements have been agreed upon
Another statement expresses that every student that the teacher encounters is successful at something, which has been rated neutrally.
The last dimension is called Teaching as a Profession. The first item aimed to measure ones agreement ton teaching in urban public school because one wants to. Yet another statement is My purpose for teaching is to give something back to the community in the same way I was given an education. A third statement measures the belief that teaching is where one belongs, and this is something known both to the teacher and to her students. The last statement under this dimension is
Teaching urban children in public schools is where I belong. All the statements have been agreed upon by the teachers. All were agreed to by the teacher respondents.
Table 5. Descriptive statistics on Ladson-Billings statements Minority teacher sample.
DimensionStatementMeanStd. DeviationKnowledgeOne of the key elements that guide my teaching of the content is that students have got to learn what to think critically rather than just memorize facts. 4.270.68What I learn from my students is as important as what they learn from me. 4.600.49Teaching PracticeA good lesson is only tentative. 4.200.75Sometimes, I play the role of student and allow my students to teach the class. 4.400.62Students responses determine where I go with a lesson I just cannot put a time limit on good teaching. 4.400.62Teaching is like an art it involves dramatizing from the concrete experience to the conceptual level of understanding. 4.400.62Social Relations in and Beyond the ClassroomI expect my students to be responsible for one another. 4.070.58I expect my students to work as a team if one person slacks off, it is the others responsibility to help this student get back on track. 3.930.78My underlying reason for using peer-learning strategies is to prepare my students for collective thinking, growth, and understanding. 4.270.58One students success is success for the whole class, and one students failure is failure for us all. 3.330.88Testing is an individual assessment however, test results of an individual reflect on the groups efforts toward helping the individual learn, as well. 3.930.86Students Race, Ethnicity, and CultureEvery child is a unique composite of his or her racial, cultural, home, and peer experiences. 4.400.49I view my students identities as rich with color and culture. 4.470.50It is part of my responsibility to make connections between what happens in the world and who my students are. 4.600.49The cultural background of my students plays an important part in my teaching. I bring their backgrounds (race, culture, heritage, etc.) into my lesson planning. 4.200.66Students Strengths and NeedsEvery child that comes to me, no matter how poor, is brilliant. 3.800.66Every student I encounter is successful at something. 3.730.58Excellence is a standard that exists independent of individual differences. 3.730.45I work with some of the most important people in the world, my students. 4.200.75The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons.4.070.68The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons. 4.000.64Teaching as a ProfessionI teach in an urban public school because I want to. 3.730.68My purpose for teaching is to give something back to the community in the same way I was given an education. 4.270.68Teaching is where I belong I know it and the students know it too. 4.130.72Teaching urban children in public schools is where I belong. 4.200.55
For the first dimension, Knowledge, the following are the statements One of the key elements that guide my teaching of the content is that students have got to learn what to think critically rather than just memorize facts and What I learn from my students is as important as what they learn from me. The second statement received strong agreement, while the former was agreed upon.
The next dimension rated by the minority teachers is Teaching Practice. The following statements have been rated A good lesson is only tentative Sometimes, I play the role of student and allow my students to teach the class Students responses determine where I go with a lesson I just cannot put a time limit on good teaching and Teaching is like an art it involves dramatizing from the concrete experience to the conceptual level of understanding. All these received agreement from the minority teachers.
The third dimension which was gauged is Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom, for which the following statements were rated I expect my students to be responsible for one another I expect my students to work as a team if one person slacks off, it is the others responsibility to help this student get back on track My underlying reason for using peer-learning strategies is to prepare my students for collective thinking, growth, and understanding Testing is an individual assessment however, test results of an individual reflect on the groups efforts toward helping the individual learn, as well. All these statements have been agreed to by the minority teachers. There is one statement though which has been neutrally rated, as follows One students success is success for the whole class, and one students failure is failure for us all.
Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture is the next dimension, with the following statements Every child is a unique composite of his or her racial, cultural, home, and peer experiences I view my students identities as rich with color and culture The cultural background of my students plays an important part in my teaching. I bring their backgrounds (race, culture, heritage, etc.) into my lesson planning. All these have been agreed upon by the minority respondents. One statement, It is part of my responsibility to make connections between what happens in the world and who my students are was strongly agreed with by the minority respondents.
Students Strengths and Needs is the succeeding dimension. The statements evaluated in this dimension are as follows Every child that comes to me, no matter how poor, is brilliant Every student I encounter is successful at something Excellence is a standard that exists independent of individual differences I work with some of the most important people in the world, my students The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons and The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons. All the statements under this dimension were agreed upon by the minority teachers.
Teaching as a Profession is the last dimension, which has the following statements I teach in an urban public school because I want to My purpose for teaching is to give something back to the community in the same way I was given an education Teaching is where I belong I know it and the students know it too and Teaching urban children in public schools is where I belong. All these statements garnered agreement from the minority teachers.
Objective 2 To what degree do non-minority teachers in Littleton elementary prefer to integrate and implement cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching
Table 5. Descriptive statistics on Ladson-Billings statements Non-minority teacher sample.
DimensionStatementMeanStd. DeviationKnowledgeOne of the key elements that guide my teaching of the content is that students have got to learn what to think critically rather than just memorize facts. 4.200.66What I learn from my students is as important as what they learn from me. 4.400.72Teaching PracticeA good lesson is only tentative. 3.730.58Sometimes, I play the role of student and allow my students to teach the class. 3.530.62Students responses determine where I go with a lesson I just cannot put a time limit on good teaching. 3.470.50Teaching is like an art it involves dramatizing from the concrete experience to the conceptual level of understanding. 4.000.64Social Relations in and Beyond the ClassroomI expect my students to be responsible for one another. 3.130.62I expect my students to work as a team if one person slacks off, it is the others responsibility to help this student get back on track. 3.470.62My underlying reason for using peer-learning strategies is to prepare my students for collective thinking, growth, and understanding. 3.330.60One students success is success for the whole class, and one students failure is failure for us all. 2.800.75Testing is an individual assessment however, test results of an individual reflect on the groups efforts toward helping the individual learn, as well. 2.800.66Students Race, Ethnicity, and CultureEvery child is a unique composite of his or her racial, cultural, home, and peer experiences. 4.270.78I view my students identities as rich with color and culture. 4.270.68It is part of my responsibility to make connections between what happens in the world and who my students are. 3.530.81The cultural background of my students plays an important part in my teaching. I bring their backgrounds (race, culture, heritage, etc.) into my lesson planning. 3.330.70Students Strengths and NeedsEvery child that comes to me, no matter how poor, is brilliant. 2.870.89Every student I encounter is successful at something. 2.870.72Excellence is a standard that exists independent of individual differences. 3.730.58I work with some of the most important people in the world, my students. 3.000.82The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons.3.270.68The individual needs of the children are an important part of my planning effective lessons. 3.470.62Teaching as a ProfessionI teach in an urban public school because I want to. 3.530.81My purpose for teaching is to give something back to the community in the same way I was given an education. 4.000.90Teaching is where I belong I know it and the students know it too. 4.270.68Teaching urban children in public schools is where I belong. 4.270.58Both statements under the knowledge dimension were agreed upon by the Caucasian teachers. This suggests their belief in critical thinking rather than mere memorizing being a key guideline in teaching and the importance of what the teacher learns from ones students.
Similarly, the dimension Teaching Practice has 3 statements, all of which were also agreed upon by the White teachers. This indicates their belief that a good lesson is lasting in terms of effect and the utility of allowing their students to teach in class. They also use the responses of their students to direct them about the direction of their lessons. There is also a belief that teaching is an art.
The third dimension is Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom, where all statements were rated with neutrality by the White teachers. These suggest that they are uncertain about expecting students to be responsible for one another and expecting them to work as a team. Moreover, they are also ambivalent about using peer learning strategies to prepare students for collective thinking and growth as well as treating the success of failure of an individual to be success or failure for the last. Finally, they neither agree nor disagree with testing being reflective of the groups efforts to help the individual learn.
Three out of four statements under the dimension Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture have been agreed upon by the White teachers, indicating their belief in the uniqueness of the child viewing students identities as rich with color and culture and acknowledging ones responsibility to make connections between what happens in the world and who ones students are. Placing premium on their students background as an important part of teaching has only been evaluated neutrally.
Five out of the six statements under the dimension Students Strengths and Needs were assessed with neutrality by the students. These indicate that they are not sure about agreeing that every child that approaches them is brilliant or successful at something. Moreover, they are ambivalent about their students being the most important people in the world, and considering individual needs in effective lesson planning. The lone item which received agreement is excellence being a standard that exists independent of individual differences.
All of the statements under the dimension Teaching as a Profession yielded agreement. These suggest that the teachers teach in an urban public school because they want to, and their belief that they are giving something back to the community since they were given an education. These also indicate that they believe that teaching as a profession is where they belong, and that teaching urban children in public schools is their calling.
Table 6. Descriptive statistics Actual age and age equivalents of Reading and Math Fluency scores in WCJ III-A.
MeanStd. DeviationActual Age13.640.43Reading Age Equivalent12.580.93Math Age Equivalent12.900.59The average actual age at the time of test taking is 13.64 years (sd.43). In contrast, the reading age equivalent is 12.58 years (sd.93), while the math age equivalent is 12.90 years (sd.59).
Table 7. T-test Actual age and age equivalents of Reading and Math Fluency scores in WCJ III-A.
TSig. (2-tailed)Reading12.53.000Math12.44.000When the t-test for matched samples has been used to compare the two groups in terms of actual age and age equivalents, it has been found that there are significant differences in both reading (t12.53, p.00) and math (t12.44, p.00). This suggests that the students age equivalent scores are significantly lower than their actual ages, indicating underperformance.
Table 8. Descriptive statistics Reading and Math Fluency scores in WCJ III-A.
GroupMeanStd. DeviationReadingNon-minority 52.402.79Minority 56.073.98MathNon-minority 86.955.50Minority 88.875.29The mean scores of students taught by non-minority teachers are 52.40 (sd2.79), and 86.95 (sd5.50), in Reading and Math, respectively. The students taught by minority teachers garnered 56.07 (sd3.98) and 88.87 (sd5.29) in Reading and Math, respectively.
Table 9. T-test Reading and Math Fluency scores in WCJ III-A.
tSig. (2-tailed)Reading raw scores-6.530.00Math raw scores-2.180.03
When the two groups are compared, there are significant differences found between the raw scores of students taught by minority and non-minority teachers in Reading (t-6.53, p.00), and Math (t-2.18, p.03). In both instances, the students of minority teachers garnered significantly higher raw scores.
Table 10. Descriptive statistics Reading and Math Age Equivalent scores in WCJ III-A.
GroupMeanStd. DeviationRead Age EquivalentNon-minority12.140.66Minority13.020.96Math Age EquivalentNon-minority12.760.61Minority13.030.54
For the Age Equivalent scores of the students, students taught by non-minority teachers garnered averages of 12.14 (sd.66) and 12.76 (sd.61), in Reading and Math respectively. In contrast, students instructed by minority teachers garnered AEs of 13.02 (sd.96) and 13.03 (sd.54) in Reading and Math.
Table 11. T-test Reading and Math Age Equivalent scores in WCJ III-A.
tSig. (2-tailed)Reading AE-6.540.00Math AE-2.910.00There are significant differences in the age equivalents of the two groups in Reading (t-6.54, p.00) and Math (t-2.91, p.00). This indicates that the students taught by minority teachers yielded higher AE scores compared to their counterpart students in classes taught by non-minority teachers.
Table 12. Descriptive statistics Reading and Math Grade Equivalent scores in WCJ III-A.
GroupMeanStd. DeviationReading Grade EquivalentNon-minority6.770.69Minority7.680.99Math Grade EquivalentNon-minority7.350.61Minority7.550.61The average GE of students taught by non-minority teachers is 6.77 (sd.69) and 7.35 (sd.61), in Reading and Math fluency tests, respectively. Students instructed by minority teachers, on the other hand, garnered 7.68 (sd.99) and 7.55 (sd.61) GEs in Reading and Math. Similar to raw scores and AEs, students taught by minority teachers seem to have yielded higher GE scores.
Table 13. T-test Reading and Math Grade Equivalent scores in WCJ III-A.
tSig. (2-tailed)Read GE-6.530.00Math GE-2.030.05
When the two groups of students are compared in terms of grade equivalent, significant differences were found between them in Reading (t-6.53, p.00) and Math (t-2.03, p.05) GE.
Objective 3 Is there a significant relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement
Table 14. Correlation Reading and Math Grade Equivalent scores in WCJ III-A vs. Total score in Ladson-Billings instrument (Overall).
Reading raw scoreMath raw scorePearson Correlation.617.174Sig. (2-tailed)0.000.03significant at the .05 alpha level
significant at the .05 alpha level
When the total scores for use of culturally relevant teaching strategies have been correlated with reading and math fluency raw scores, significant, positive relationships were yielded at r.617 (p.00) and r.174 (p.03), respectively. This suggests that as the cultural relevant teaching practices are used in teaching minority students, they are likely to achieve more academically.
Table 15. Correlation Reading and Math raw scores in WCJ III-A vs. Ladson-Billings cultural relevant teaching practices (Overall).
Reading raw scoresPMath raw scorespKnowledge.049.556.067.413Teaching Practice.446.000.098.233Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom.183.025.244.003Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture.323.000.005.947Students Strengths and Needs.610.000.104.207Teaching as a Profession .380.000.095.246
The dimensions of 1) knowledge, 2) social relations in and beyond the classroom, 3) students race, ethnicity, and culture, 4) students strengths and needs, and 5) teaching as a profession are positively and significantly correlated with reading fluency raw scores. In addition, social relations in and beyond the classroom is also significantly and positively correlated with math fluency raw scores.
Table 16. Correlation Reading and Math Total scores in WCJ III-A vs. Total score in Ladson-Billings instrument (Non-minority).
Reading Fluency Math FluencySumPearson Correlation.533-0.08Sig. (2-tailed)0.000.50significant at the .05 alpha level
significant at the .05 alpha level
For the students taught by non-minority teachers, there was a significant, positive correlation between total score on culturally relevant teaching practices as measured by Ladson-Billings, and reading fluency. There was no such significant correlation with math fluency scores for the sample taught by non-minority teachers.
Table 15. Correlation Reading and Math raw scores in WCJ III-A vs. Ladson-Billings cultural relevant teaching practices (Non-Minority Teachers).
Reading raw scoresPMath raw scorespKnowledge-.018.877-.022.854Teaching Practice.073.534-.060.611Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom-.048.681.166.156Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture.016.888-.050.673Students Strengths and Needs.622.000-.284.014Teaching as a Profession .367.001.243.036
Specific to the sample being taught by non-minority teachers, scores on reading go up correspondingly with increases in practices related to students strengths and needs, and teaching as a profession. Moreover, teaching as a profession was significantly and positively correlated with math fluency raw scores.
Table 16. Correlation Reading and Math Total scores in WCJ III-A vs. Total score in Ladson-Billings instrument (Minority Teachers).
Reading raw scoresMath raw scoresSumPearson Correlation.4050.20Sig. (2-tailed)0.000.09N7575significant at the .05 alpha level
significant at the .05 alpha level
As regards students taught by minority teachers, it was significantly and positively correlated with reading fluency raw scores (r.405, p.00) but not with math fluency raw scores (r.20, p.09).
Table 17. Correlation Reading and Math raw scores in WCJ III-A vs. Ladson-Billings cultural relevant teaching practices (Minority Teachers).
Reading raw scoresPMath raw scorespKnowledge.194.095.259.025Teaching Practice.358.002.051.667Social Relations in and Beyond the Classroom-.340.003.178Students Race, Ethnicity, and Culture.274.017-.286.013Students Strengths and Needs.357.002.349.002Teaching as a Profession .413.000-.079.500
The Ladson-Billings dimensions positively correlated to reading fluency scores include 1) teaching practice, 2) students race, ethnicity, and culture, 3) students strengths and needs, and teaching as a profession. Knowledge and students strengths and needs were positively correlated with math fluency scores.
Objective 4 What are the perceived barriers that prevent teachers from using cultural relevant teaching strategies in daily lesson planning and teaching
For the fourth objective, 5 principals, 3 Caucasian teachers, and 2 African American teachers were interviewed. The first question in the interview asked the respondents if they found it difficult to discuss or mention topics that are culturally sensitive. All of the respondents expressed some form of difficulty in being culturally sensitive. There are a lot of issues that are considered in ensuring that content, materials, and teaching methodology are inclusive that is, apt for children of color. The second interview question asks if there are policies and practices of the school jeopardize cultural diversity. All respondents acknowledged that there are still school policies that are either ambivalent or discouraging of inclusion and diversity. Some examples were concretely pointed out. Next, they were asked their thoughts about implementing a culturally diverse curriculum. All of the respondents said that there are attempts to get this started, but there is still a long way to go to make it a reality. Moreover, they express that good will on the part of policy makers is key to realizing this thrust. The fourth interview question asks how they show culturally relevant teaching practices in their daily teaching. Of the 5 teachers, all have cited trying to use examples that are relevant to students of color. They also try to customize their materials so that they reflect the experiences of colored children. They were then asked, What can you say about the recruitment and selection process of minority teachers All teachers concur that there remains to be discrimination in the recruitment of minority teachers, and that this may be another obstacle towards the overall effectiveness of culturally relevant teaching practices for African American children.
Discussion
The study involved equal numbers of minority and non-minority teachers. The former are predominantly African Americans composing nearly 70 of the minority teacher sample. Close to half of the respondents from each group have at least Bachelor degrees, and an average of between 7 to 8 years of teaching experience. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age and teaching experience.
Objectives 1 and 2 To what degree are minority and non-minority teachers in Littleton elementary integrating and implementing cultural relevant teaching strategies in their daily lesson planning and teaching
Overall, knowledge teaching practice students race, ethnicity, and culture and teaching as a profession were all agreed upon by the respondents. There were some statements in the two clusters of students strengths and needs and social relations beyond the classroom, which were rated neutrally. Another statement expresses that every student that the teacher encounters is successful at something, has also been rated neutrally. Minority teachers ratings were all in agreement or strong agreement.
In contrast, neutral ratings have been given by non-minority teachers to all statements under social relations in and beyond the classroom. One statement under students race, ethnicity, and culture has been rated neutrally, that of placing premium on their students background as an important part of teaching has only been evaluated neutrally. Five out of the six statements under the dimension students strengths and needs were assessed with neutrality by the students. All of the statements under the dimension Teaching as a Profession were met with agreement.
It was found that the minority students overall were underperforming since there were significant differences between their actual age and their age equivalents in both reading and math. While both groups were underperforming based on their age, the scores of students taught by minority teachers were significantly higher in both subjects. Similar patterns were found for grade equivalents.
These results indicate that teachers of color seem to be keener about using culturally relevant teaching strategies compared to Caucasian teachers. This difference is important, owing to the reality that differences exist with the treatment of colored and non-colored children in educational institutions. Studies indicate that minority students are given a dissimilar quality of education than White students (Lunenburg Ornstein, 2004 Marshall Olivia, 2006), and that they are the majority of targets of unfair school policies like suspension, expulsion, and retentions (Landsman, 2009 Kunjufu, 2008 Thompson, 2007).
Thompson (in Kaufman et al 2001) further indicates witnessing accounts wherein teachers gave derogatory and stereotypical remarks to minority students, and articulated her frustration upon these mentors. This was affirmed by a 1999 survey made by the Indicators of School Crime and Safety, which showed that 13 of 12-18 year old students have been given negative remarks relating to their race, ethnic background, religious belief, disability, gender, or sexual orientation (Kaufman et al. 2001).The current study show that minority teachers express greater agreement to culturally relevant teaching practices compared to their non-minority counterparts.
Because of Thompsons (2004) disappointment upon such mentors, she explored the reasons why teachers were compelled to act and feel such way to minority students. Meanwhile, Tatum (2007) allowed educators who give out derogatory remarks to think about reasons for not being able to empathize with students of different cultural background as theirs.
In answer to their findings, studies, including the two stated above, recommended that staff development and conversion of teaching programs is highly needed in educational institutions. Thompson (2004) considered staff development a vital step in the attainment of educational progress of African American children even though the process is a controversial suggestion. In light of this recommendation, Tatum (2007) affirmed that these teachers are capable of changing their schools atmosphere to one that is more accommodating and positive of students whose cultural background belongs to the minority. Meanwhile, Talbert-Johnston (2004) believed that the combination of staff development and conversion of teaching programs is a stepping-stone to garnering better achievements for urban Americas colored children and poor students. His study related the poor performance of African American students in school and the lack of teachers skilled in efficiently educating these young minds. If educational institutions do not start transforming their programs and staff and these children do not identify themselves with good education, long-term negative consequences would result.
These recommendations are important in limiting the obstacles that prevents equity between colored and non-colored childrens academic results. They impart valid and sound ways on enhancing major areas of schools organization and systems and on how to improve African American childrens educational performance. Nonetheless, Marshall and Olivia (2006) also emphasized the transformation that should happen among school leaders too for equality to happen among students. Principals and administrators must be advocates of social justice so that each students needs are answered (p.17).
With this said, a noteworthy connection exists between teachers from minority groups who use culturally relevant educational practices and teachers from non-minority groups (Tatum, 2007). As seen above, educators have a hard time relating to students of diverse backgrounds. Consequently, this avoids them from using culturally relevant teaching methods, which in turn causes them to treat students differently from others, and thus affects culturally different students. In addition to this, the performance of culturally different students in school may also be affected by the disturbing and discriminatory remarks blurted upon them.
Objective 3 Is there a significant relationship between the use of cultural relevant teaching strategies and student achievement
The correlations confirmed further that the use of culturally relevant teaching practices was positively correlated with both reading and math fluency scores.
The poor academic performance of a majority of African American students is a great issue for schools, students, and parents. Comparing African American students to European and white American students, Wenglinsky (2004) found out that suspension rates doubled for the former and that 20 of them were most likely to drop out of school. Moreover, African American students had less garnered achievements than their counterparts. They also had lower IQ scores and had a harder time to read and write. Compared with the other students too, African American children had poorer creativity skills, and they had difficulty in learning social and cultural norms.
Despite these growing concerns, the same study found out that a lot of schools in urban places gave out good-quality education and molded high achievers even though these areas faced large student poverty and mobility rates, language differences among students, and security issues on its neighborhoods. Nevertheless, these two aspects are not significantly associated with each other (Wenglinsky, 2004).
In relation to this, Cole-Henderson (2000) studied public schools from low income urban areas that were able to produce academically excellent African-American students by mailing out questionnaires to nine principals. Even if a lot of African-American students had high marks, the results indicated that they were only successful with basic skills, while they were poor on higher level critical thinking. This gave a notion that the schools curriculums were not suitable enough for students to precede to higher education. However, the study did not mention SAT and ACT scores as well as percentage of students who continued college education. It did not also talk about the reasons behind the schools success. And so, given these studies and limitations, what then is the key to better academic performance of African American school children
Teaching practices is the answer given out by most researchers (Wenglinski, 2004 Thompson, 2004). In Wengliskys 2004 study on the influence of teaching practices of middle school math educators on lowering the achievement gap among multicultural students, there was a significant correlation between the teachers teaching practices and African American students levels of achievement and learning. Fifteen thousand students were asked to take the 2000 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics. Besides this, student demographics, teaching practices, and the teachers backgrounds were also studied. Results were analyzed suing a multi-level Hierarchal Liner Modelling technique (HLM). The sample size of the study was significant and the data was from a reputable organization. However, the scope of data given was limited since it did not talk about the teachers cultural background.
Ladson-Billings (1994) agrees with this in that the key to better performance is teaching instructions that adapt to the culture of African American students. Children should not be blamed rather it is the rigid educational system that is at fault. By failing to recognize the diversity in cultures among students, schools are preventing minority children from learning. This is due to the fact that rigid teaching practices make it difficult for culturally diverse students to understand and associate with their lessons.
Grounding this conclusion more is the study of Walker, Haiyan and Shuangye (2007) on how cultural ignorance can be avoided to provide culturally diverse students of a better education. Walker et al. surveyed 340 sixth grade teachers from five London public schools known for their students excellent performance and high achievements even if the schools have culturally diverse populations. The survey sought to see the effects of cultural ignorance on the teachers instructional practices and on their students and to check the benefits of cultural awareness on the education of students belonging to multicultural communities. Results showed that almost half of the teachers used proper resources and teaching materials including literature and writing that students can easily relate to, and they allowed their students to freely express their feelings through speaking and writing. A fraction of the teachers, 29, set high expectations for their students, while 37 were adamant in developing the technological and social abilities of students. However, majority of the teachers had strong positive feeling about parent involvement. Walker et al.s results showed that various factors motivate multi-cultural students to learn.
These three studies indicated the importance of cultural acknowledgement on students learning. They showed how cultural ignorance is a barrier for the learning of minority students. Walker et al. (2007) recommended that teachers must learn how to understand their students and their diversity in learning. They must know how culturally different students can become motivated to learn. They must acknowledge that respecting students cultures makes them comfortable in class by removing their negative images thus, it encourages students to do well academically. Teachers must have positive outlook on students cultural and community beliefs and on their social connections as well with their family, school, community, and race. Seeing a kind of education that caters to their beliefs and culture allows children to become active in their education.
But besides acknowledging the diversity of childrens cultures, Osher, Dwyer, and Jackson (2005) also justified the use of allowing teachers to have high expectation on their students. Various teaching methods were successful in increasing academic performance of students from minority background. One of which was allowing teachers to have high expectations for their minority students and communicate these expectations in a comfortable, safe, and supportive educational and social atmosphere. Second was letting teachers and administrators to include provisions on the effect of environment, socioeconomic status of students and their cultural backgrounds on the schools plans for development. In relation to this, Osher et al. summarized three points from successful urban schools for allowing positive behavior and learning in the schools culture. One was for schools to encourage caring student-teacher relationships that are greatly felt by the student. This would motivate children to do better in class. Second was for decreasing the focus on penalizing children for disciplinary errors, and giving more focus on positive behavioral supports by preventing disciplinary cases. Third was teaching social and emotional skills that aid in preventing demeaning behavior and in encouraging better academic performance. These skills are keys for students to close mind sets on negative behaviors and open a more persevering outlook during academic challenges. These three points are mutually dependent, and are helpful in academic institutions that have cultural diverse students and staff. Osher et al. viewed greater student achievement if these suggestions are considered.
Apart from teaching practices, Marzano, Walters, and McNulty (2005) also acknowledged effective school leadership in having strong correspondence to students achievements. In the 69 studies and around 650 surveys they conducted, they found a 0.25 average correlation between school leadership and student achievement. This meant that an improvement of a principals leadership by one standard deviation or from 50th to an 84th percentile would increase student achievement by 10 percentage points. A leadership increase by two standard deviations or from 50th to 99th percentile would mean an increase of 22 percentage points on student achievement. Given this, school leaders should give attention to the specific aspects that need to be improved on their students performance.
But besides looking out for their students, leaders must still coordinate effectively with their staff. Contrary to what normally occurs in administrative meetings, principals must provide a stable structure for staff coordination and have a significantly active role in leading team meetings and in posing questions during these meetings (Thomas, 2003, p.41). To allow for better teachers who can improve students academic performance, principals should also communicate with university officials regarding the knowledge and skill that needs to be developed in pre-service teachers so that they have the proper training in teaching at urban or inner-city schools after they graduate (Lambert, 2003). Administrators must be courageous leaders, and should have the same belief for both teachers and students in that both groups could learn. With regards to this, changes in teachers thinking and practices must start at their secondary and college levels. However, more studies by non-African American scholars should be done more regarding the issue to get more opinions on the matter.
It is assumed that school leadership only involves administrators. Contrary to this, teachers are a big part of school leadership. Three studies showed significant connections between strong school leadership by teachers and student achievement. Besides better administrators, teachers should also take initiative in effecting changes in school practices when they have seen problems in the culture of their school (Lambert, 2003). As advocates of students, teachers must make their own effort to grow professionally by researching on more effective ways in reaching out to their students and in improving their students performance. It is those directly involved with the students, the teachers, which need to effect improvements (Kunjufu, 2006). Allowing teachers to take initiative is vital in school administration because of the difficulty in changing assumptions and beliefs of the current school culture. The most critical aspects for implementing and sustaining changes in the schools culture needs to be the main focus, as it is a more efficient approach in bringing improvements (Galpin, 2005).
Despite these successful findings on teaching practices that are culturally considerate and on more effective school leadership, implementing them was a difficulty among teachers and administrators. Gayle-Evans Michael (2006, p. 46.) found out that teachers do not understand multiculturalism, diversity, and equity, and how to incorporate them to the schools curriculum. A majority of veteran teachers were having difficulty reaching out to students with cultures and beliefs different from their own (Irvine, 2003). Also, pre-service teachers do not commonly use skills on culturally relevant teaching that were taught to them (Cruz-Janzen, 2000). Limited interactions with African American students during the pre-service teachers preparation made it difficult for them to adjust. This paved way for Ladson-Billings (2004) proposal to let school districts hire teachers with high interest and motivation in teaching African-American students.
Poor implementation had been evident since the 1960s. Marzano (Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study, 2005) pointed out that information regarding school reform and teaching practices have been abundant since then. The 1960s had a lot of articles regarding teaching the disadvantaged. Then the subject changed to effective schools during the 1970s (Ladson-Billings, 1994, p.7). However, Marzano observed that the literatures from the 1960s to the 1980s did not give any detailed steps on how to implement the studies recommendations for the school (Marzano, Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study, 2005, p. 157). The New Era of School Reform, which covered the late 80s until the early 90s, was the transition period for clear-cut steps. Three new viewpoints were observed during the era. First, no one size fits for all. This saw the uniqueness of the various school populations, and recommended that each school should adopt their own programs that suit their schools needs. Findings of researches bear a lot of positive suggestions and comments, but schools must be critical in selecting the programs that addresses their schools needs and problems. Second, data is king. Research data should not be considered as a mere repository of suggestions rather they should also be looked as criteria for checking the effects of the recommendations and as tool for developing intervention plans. The last principle considers how to bring out the most effective way to implement change. It states that change should be done in small steps to prevent frustration among teachers and administrators. This too would give out more successful results.
These three points are not specific to teaching African American students. Until now, there are limited sources on the topic, specifically for African American students in the secondary levels and inner-city schools. This lack of interest, according to Ladson-Billings (1994, p.9), is caused by the American educations failure to recognize the distinct culture of the African American community. However, even with this notion, several schools have started to add and implement cultural teaching courses and social justice themes in the curriculums of their teacher education programs.
In Marquette University, Minnesota, Wisconsin, courses that would prepare their education students to teach in urban schools were added to their teacher-education program. One class was intended for elaborate lectures on the definition of race in a white-privileged society. Social justice was also a promoted aspect in the programs new curriculum since one of the schools goals was to prepare their students and relay ways on how to teach urban American students by altering their views to a more diverse teaching method. The university believed that the false perceptions of their students regarding urban teaching and the problems of the inner city had to be changed. The school created the method communicative competence to put their goal into effect. It was about allowing future teachers to comprehend the culture and language of their soon to be students. Besides establishing cultural empathy, the programs goal was also establishing a teacher-leader mindset among its students, and for them to be agents of change in their respective schools (Pink, 2004). Despite this goal, Murphy (2005) pointed out that teaching programs does not prepare their students well in becoming teacher-leaders. However, Pink (2004, p.53) related that the university does its best for their students to relate their beliefs and opinions regarding minority students to their peers. By working as a group, the students are encouraged by the school to move into social action and change the predominating views and practices in schools and institutions.
Besides Marquette, the University of Missouri-St Louis (UMSL) also integrates social justice in their teacher education program. In a 2006 study by Catapano, the UMSLs service learning model was specifically described and evaluated. The program consisted of pre-service teachers working in an urban school for a whole year. From here, they garner a first-hand experience of social justice issues, and tackled it by using advocacy strategies (p.83). Using these strategies develops future teachers to look for places where they could be agents of systemic changes that are important for their school and society (Lane et. al., 2003 Hatch et. al., 2005 cited in Catapano, 2006, p. 89). Teacher preparation programs must prepare its students by teaching them the proper knowledge and skills that are needed for their roles as teacher-leaders (Catapano, 2006).
Social justice is a big part of Marquette Universitys and UMSLs curriculum. In line to this, Marshall and Olivia (2006) highly encourage social justice to be included in other American universitys teacher education programs. They believed that school leadership and student performance would improve if the school has a clear stance on promoting social justice and equity and is dedicated to it (p.8), with social justice being grounded on race and diversity (p.17). However, it is still a noteworthy fact that the programs success still lies on the ability of pre-service students to put into action the theories they have learned in class (Ladson-Billings, 2000 Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study, 2005 Thompson, 2007 Lambert, 2003 Talbert-Johnson, 2004).
Despite having teacher-leaders, the success of the whole education process also relies on the support given by African American childrens parents. Implementing effective teaching methods would only be successful if it is continued and supported at home. Teachers may do well in managing their classrooms and in establishing activities that allow culturally diverse students to work together (Jackson and Davis, 2000) however, teachers still face limitations which necessitates the need for help and support by other close social institutions, such as the family (Bryke and Schneider, 2004). Ogubu (2003) agreed to this by stressing the importance of students and parents outlooks on education. For him, African American families must be responsible for their childrens success, and students need to be dedicated to learning despite the teaching styles of their teachers. Parents and students must have an attitude that gives importance on education. Teachers are willing to think and implement activities that are important for their students cultural experiences since they have the knowledge and capability to apply various teaching techniques that reach out to culturally diverse students. Teachers may also be knowledgeable of their students language and culture, and how these factors play in their students identity. But if students are not encouraged to participate in class and perform better, then the efforts of the teacher are put to waste. Students must be active participants since it is through their feedbacks and comments that teachers see signs of understanding or confusion (Jackson and Davis, 2000).
The role of students and parents are as important as the educational systems role in establishing an effective learning process. But it is still the duty of teachers to encourage the parents to become active participants in their childrens education. Given this, Van Hoose, Strahan and LEsperance (2001) studied the issues of teachers that were brought about by the personal relationships of parents and students even if the teachers are implementing effective culturally relevant teaching methods. Ninety-five grade school teachers from 10 elementary schools in Boston, Massachusetts answered a questionnaire about their experiences in a school with a culturally diverse population. The demographics of the subjects included 71 whites, 22 African-American, and 7 belonging to other cultures. Sixty-seven of the responded were female teachers, while 33 were males. Of the 95, 46 said that they used their skills on culturally relevant teaching effectively since they saw positive effects among their students. From this 46, 33 brightened their classrooms by rearranging its set-up since it gives a more creative and imaginative atmosphere 54 used diverse teaching methods that allowed students to express their ideas and feelings freely and 88 persuaded parents to be active and committed in their childrens education and learning. The 54 of teachers who did not thought they were successful in relaying culturally relevant teaching methods had various reasons for saying it. Thirty-nine percent of the group said they lacked the proper tools and resources for implementing such methods 47 found it hard to integrate culturally relevant teaching methods in their own instructional styles and approaches 68 did not check the relationship between the students and their parents, such as if the latter were involved in the formers learning process and lastly, 77 of the teachers stated that their students parents did not show interest and effort in the learning process of their children. These results showed the various problems that teachers face in implementing culturally relevant teaching practices in a culturally diverse school setting. Educational success involves efficient student management and proper resources and training of teachers. But as the findings present, parents participation was still a more crucial aspect in their childrens schooling. Hence, parents lack of commitment and participation on their childrens schooling is an issue that teachers must aid in resolving. In conclusion to the study, an open and constant communication between parents and their children and between parents and the teachers of their children are needed to improve childrens educational well being. Parents must be effective partners to their childrens teachers in becoming agents of learning. This would ease out the obstacles culturally relevant teachers face.
Implementation is truly a big problem with culturally relevant teaching since it does not only involve teachers self-development, but teachers needing to develop the views of students and parents too. In a study by Quinn (2002), the effectiveness of motivation on implementing various teaching methods to African American children was assessed together with the factors that affected motivation significantly. The early stages of childhood are characterized by curious children and their need to explore and interact with their surroundings. But as children grow older, their curiosity and interest in learning starts to decline. With regards to African American students, this observation holds true since more than a quarter of African American schoolchildren drops out of school. For those physically present in school, most students are mentally absent preventing them to participate in the learning process. The lack of motivation among students is a great concern for teachers and makes them wonder on the proper way to effectively teach their culturally diverse students. A full awareness of students attitudes toward learning and sufficient resources on efficient teaching methods aid teachers in lowering students lack of interest and in improving enthusiasm among the class.
Given this background, Quinn surveyed 210 students from a public school in New Jersey to see the effects of motivation on their performance. A majority of the respondents performed poor in class and had low achievement levels. There were more males than females, and 67 were colored, while 33 were whites. The survey showed that the students who did not perform well in class belonged to a broken home or lived in an unsafe community. The parents of most of these children did not participate in any phase of their education, and the parents were financially burdened. These children also thought that their teachers had low expectations of them in terms of learning. This had caused children to adopt the same mentality as their teachers, and thus allowed them to not take their schooling seriously. In contrast to these children, the students who had satisfactory results and garnered academic achievements shared that they had an open relationship with their parents, while some students had been positively motivated through rewards and incentives. Very few members of the group also expressed their desire to learn since they enjoy the activity and the feeling of accomplishment in the end. Quinn concluded that motivation has a big impact in boosting students academic performance. From the survey, it was seen that students belonging to families with financial difficulties, like most of the African American students in the study, were not interested in learning and participating in class activities due to the poor moral and financial support given by their parents to them.
Quinn (2002) had given importance to parental involvement and participation to the educational success of their children. He identified that parents must be the schools active partners at home by molding their childrens mind-set and disposition, being open to answering their childrens questions, encouraging inquiry and curiosity, and providing them with the resources for developing their childrens knowledge. Despite this, teachers should still not forget their roles as knowledge givers to their students. As secondary parents, they must still tie high expectations to their students and give them opportunities for academic development. They must continually encourage each of their students by accepting and acknowledging their students culture and background (Sullivan and Glanz, 2006).
Since children have the ability to learn, they should be provided with the most proper and excellent education regardless of any unpleasant backgrounds they may belong to and negative assumptions and opinions from society. Given this, teaching education programs and teachers professional development strategies must be improved and be updated with current researches regarding more efficient teaching and leadership.
In conclusion, the hypothesis is acceptable. There is a substantial correlation between using cultural relevant instructional strategies and a better student academic performance. However, it should be noted that teaching methods and practices implemented in classrooms are not the only tools for building students with higher levels of academic performance and achievement. The studies above also indicate the influence of school leadership, administration, and parents in students school performance. The leadership skills of teachers and principals together with their disposition and mind set regarding establishing stable personal relationships with the students can positively motivate students to perform better in class. This is equally important to the teaching strategies and practices that are implemented by teachers. Besides school leaders, parents also have an active role in their childrens educational success. African American families must support their children in all aspects of their education, and they must be encouraging to their children and motivate them to success (Ogubu, 2003). Lastly, the students themselves also have a big role to play in attaining success. They need to learn how to properly apply the knowledge and skills they garnered in class in their everyday lives.
But regardless of these things, teaching methods still have a role to play in students performance. Given this, for culturally relevant teaching to be implemented properly, college and universities should train their education students on the practices and methods of culturally relevant teaching. Moreover, education students must instill within themselves the value of self-improvement. They need to be responsible in garnering and reading current researches on new and effective teaching styles and strategies. They need to undergo post-educational training and attend seminars for their professional growth (Catapano, 2006). Especially when it comes to teaching students with a diverse set of cultures and background, teachers must give extra effort in adapting their teaching styles to their students needs and beliefs so that children can understand the lessons they are teaching. Also, they need to be critical on selecting the right and efficient instructional strategies that their students need. If teachers have the appropriate resources and if they can implement teaching practices successfully, they can surely give out African American students the proper skills they need to be successful in their academics (Thompson 2007). As the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to the well, but you cant make him drink. Lastly, teachers must always think how they want to be remembered by their students. What do they want their students to tell their parents about them This is a good motivation for all teachers.
Objective 4 What are the perceived barriers that prevent teachers from using cultural relevant teaching strategies in daily lesson planning and teaching
Numerous studies have tackled the success of white and colored teachers in instructing African American students. Are white teachers equipped with the proper tools for teaching African American students Are African American teachers successful in teaching students who have the same culture as theirs These questions are important since African American and Latino children are the majority population in urban schools today. In the near future, it is assumed that these students would be the majority population in American schools.
However, even if these were true, Epstein (2005, p.90) believed that these students would not have teachers with the same cultural background since American teachers are predominantly white. By analyzing the criteria for selection of teachers and the hiring process of various states schools, Epstein found out that the root of the matter is not a shortage of minority teachers, but it is the discriminatory selection and hiring process given to minority applicants. This theory may not hold true in most cases, but the findings are still relevant. If African American teachers were proven to teach African American students best, then an appropriate recommendation would be to hire more colored educators. And so, this requires asking again which kind of teacher best instructs African American students
African American instructors are considered more successful in teaching students with the same culture as theirs. They were highly trusted and praised by the parents of their students and by community members. It is assumed that their success in being active participants of their school community is due to their color. Since they have the same background as most of their students, they can easily understand and empathize with their students.
Going to white teachers, Hylands study questioned four white United States elementary school teachers regarding the roles they took during and after an antiracism teaching seminar. The four teachers belonged to the same school, and this school belonged to an African American neighborhood. Results indicated that the four teachers described themselves as good educators. However, their definition of a good educator to African American students is different from how Hyland defined it. In the end, Hyland recommended that White teachers who teach colored children must be aware of their own culture and how it is different from the culture of their students. This would allow white teachers to identify the aspects in their teaching styles that need to be modified so that it could be appropriate for their colored students learning.
In another study by Reed (1998), six Anglo-American teachers working in Richmond, Virginia public schools were asked about their experience in dealing with African American students. These six teachers, four of which belonging to middle schools, were chosen in the study since they are considered successful in teaching colored children. The study focused on the professional background of these inner-city schoolteachers, and did not mention any of the achievements of these teachers students. From the teachers answers, Reed was able to compare and contrast the teachers and determined common themes in their experiences (p.3). Common to the six was the rewarding satisfaction of being able to teach African American students successfully even though their family and friends were discouraging them from the beginning. They said that, despite their familys dissuasions, they truly wanted to teach in the inner city. However, all of them said that they were not trained well at teaching African American students by their teacher education programs. The difficulty they experienced may be due to differences in assumption about the childrens culture. And so, teaching education programs must include lectures that help future teachers break down their pre-notions about African American students.
However, there are also studies that shift the blame from white teachers to the school system itself. It is not a question whether colored teachers are better than white teachers in instructing African American children. Rather, the questioning should be done on the school system. Are their doors open for adapting to the educational needs of minority children Some studies do not agree since they claim that racism in education institutions was evident on the activities and choices that schools made. Even if these anti-racist choices were well intended, racism still persisted since administrators turned their backs to the opinions of African American students, the recipients of the programs. The continuance of such actions had caused the filing of charges against the Office of Civil Rights by African Americans. The community suspected that they were being discriminated by school districts since they felt that the schools prevented the increase of African American student population. For them, the schools goal was to have a white-dominating student body, and so the schools continually enrol more white students than colored ones.
The observation on racism in the educational system seem to hold true for other researches including Hylands since they saw the American educational system as catering to white culture and norms only, while African American education is intended for service to white people and not for learning. The notion of whiteness as largely associated with cultural hierarchy, with whites and their cultures being on top of the social and value ladder, was highly evident in school systems. One privilege of being white was that they can choose who they want to be. With this notion, Hyland felt that others considered the four teachers included in his study as having unacceptable jobs since they chose to work in an African American dominated community. This feeling of having unacceptable jobs and discrimination is evident even among African American educators themselves. Regardless of the achievements they have attained, their colors are seen first by others before their individuality. Given this, the country needs to change their notion of African Americans. The future of educating African American children successfully depends on how well teachers and institutions work together in changing their systems.
Assessing these studies done regarding the success of white teachers and the education system in instructing African American students, the theme common was about dismantling beliefs and assumption of African American children. It is obvious from these reviews that there is a vast cultural gap present between African American students from urban schools and their teachers. To close this gap, teachers should learn how to address the cultural diversity of their students (Talbert-Johnson, 2004 p. 28). Schools must also take part in this by implementing educational programs and staff development seminar that acknowledges the ethnicity and culture of their students. In addressing multiculturalism and diversity, there is no such thing as a one size fits all program (Howard, 2006). Even colleges and universities must alter their curriculum to accommodate courses that would effectively train pre-service teachers to work with African American children. Given this, Pink (2004) gave an appropriate theme that teacher education programs should consider social justice. It is hard for people to see the correlation between social justice and student achievement. But the theme of social justice allows teachers to concentrate on the needs of their students, including the need to be accepted for who they are.
Acknowledging cultural diversity is, as agreed by most theorists, an effective way to teach children of color. In the study by Douglas et al. (2008), even African American children agreed to this view. Douglas et al. was amazed at the fact that teachers are educating children whose cultural background is different as theirs. But as told by children and theorist especially Milner (2005), teachers should be able to reconsider their beliefs and assumption about their minority students (Thompson, 2006 Wenglinski, 2004 Kunjufu, 2009 Delpit 1995 Landsman, 2009 Howard, 2006 Milner, 2009).
Teachers must be able to remove a deficit-deprivation kind of thinking wherein they create stereotypes for their students (Milner, 2005), and sometimes ask if African American students are just not as smart as their white counterparts (Thompson, 2007). The problem here is not a black versus white issue rather it is a problem that concerns America as a whole. There must be a good collaboration among all the participants of the educational system. This includes students, teachers, parents, institutions, and school leaders. They need to work together to identify the problems that need to be addressed and to see the best methods for teaching students. They need to break down the thinking that the whole responsibility to learn is that of the childs only. However, there is a need for more studies regarding practical methods that teachers can use in class.
Meanwhile, as for African American teachers, these studies showed that African American parents trust colored teachers more. They would also more likely trust the educational system because of their presence.
In conclusion, there is truly a disparity between how white teachers perceive the barriers that they face when using culturally relevant teaching practices and how minority teachers perceive such barriers. There is a cultural gap between white and colored background that must be addressed by educational systems (Talbert-Johnson, 2004). Such as in Hylands study, wherein the concept of whiteness is highly prevalent in that colored students are said to be taught by their teachers how they can serve their white counterparts.
The findings of all these studies points out the need of more research about how teacher ethnicity and student achievement affects each other. For the PASS, a case study of an urban school district in Texas would be initiated. This school is known for a high population of African American students with middle class background, and majority of the teachers here are white. The study would look at teachers ethnicities, and African American students academic performance with white and colored teachers. To do this, the childrens test scores during their ninth and tenth grade would be checked. The results of this study would pave the way for more researches on the effects of white and colored teachers on the performance of African American students.
The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act is a school reform law mandated throughout the United States, and upon its implementation, it has put a lot of demands on teachers and universities. For teachers, the act asks for them to properly educate each student regardless of their backgrounds. The problem with this is that majority of teachers working in urban schools does not have the proper training in teaching minority children, and they have a hard time reaching out to these children. And so, they become irritated and angry (Kunjufu, 2002). But at the same time, colleges and universities are also part of the NCLB act since they are the ones training future teachers to work with children from various cultural backgrounds and who have different values and beliefs as them (Pope and Wilder, 2005). However, colleges and universities do not seem to be doing their work properly since pre-service teachers claim that their multicultural teaching courses were not sufficient to allow them to teach in schools with diverse populations (Banks, 1999 Cruz-Janzen, 2000 Thompson, 2007). And so, it is proper to ask how institutions can help teachers garner the necessary teaching skills so that they could heighten up the academic performance of their African American students. Teaching education programs must be developed, and staff development programs must be assessed (Talbert-Johnson, 2005). The success of educating African American students is not based on the content of the lesson rather it is based on how the lesson is taught (Ladson-Billings, 2001).
Despite this observation, educational institutions do not seem to give much attention to reforming the teaching methods of teachers. Until today, articles still focus more on the ways the curriculum could be revised rather than on instructional methods suitable for African American students (Thompson, 2004 Cooper, 2003 Perry et. al., 2003 Gay, 2003). In defense for this current practices, racial issues are highly sensitive issues to discuss, and so, groups concerned have difficulty in starting such talks (Manning, 2000, p.78). Dr. Edith Rusch (cited in Marshall Olivia, 2006, p.23) agreed to this also. In her experience working with doctoral students, the students had difficulties discussing sensitive issues regarding race. Since the course started, students were uncomfortable and felt awkward talking honestly about their thoughts and experiences regarding cultural diversity and social justice. However, Ladson-Billings (1994) expresses the poor interest of scholars on the topic of teaching methods appropriate for African American students since, as said earlier, the educational systems do not acknowledge the distinctness of these childrens race. Delpit (1995) and Thompson (2007) agreed to this since they believe that scholars and theorists tend to regard race and culture together. And so, when American culture is addressed it tends to regard the culture of the American race, which is predominantly white.
It is truly easy for children with the same language and culture as their school to adapt to the schools learning environment (Perry, Steele and Hilliard, 2003). On the contrary, children with a different set of background and values as their school do not feel connected to it, and thus they do not have the right motivation for learning. Cultural sensitivity is an important aspect of teaching since allows children to feel a part of the school environment. Since each student has a unique learning style, teachers must get to know and respect their students uniqueness whether this individuality stems from the childs culture or language, and be able to incorporate their students background to their teaching styles. If teachers are sensitive to their students culture, children would be motivated to learn, and thus improve their academic performance. On the other hand, a culturally insensitive teacher would prevent students from liking to learn.
The idea of cultural insensitivity and its negative effects on students learning process was confirmed by Sulkowski and Deakin (2009). One hundred sixty-five school staff and administrators from various public high schools in Lamar Country were interviewed regarding their management styles and their assessment on their students. Of all the participants, 61 indicated that their African American and Asian students performed poorly in class compared to their white counterparts. From this percentage, 24 stated that the reason for the students poor performance was due to unfavorable conditions since most of these students lived in dangerous communities, while 18 blamed the mental incapability of the children. Meanwhile, more than half of the percentage believed that these students looked at their school negatively, while more than three quarters indicated the poor collaboration among teachers, students and administrators to be the cause of minority students low achievements. They believed that poor teamwork prevented them from understanding the needs of their students, and thus implement the right activities for the childrens learning. On the other hand, the 39 of all the respondents felt free from obstacles in teaching minority students. Their secret lied on a curriculum that is highly influenced by students, such that their students language, values, culture, and lifestyle are considered. Besides this, they were able to motivate their students to learn through an open communication between them and their students. In conclusion, cultural insensitivity is truly a barrier in educating minority students.
It can be seen from Sulkowski and Deakins study that cultural sensitivity has positive effects on educating children from diverse backgrounds. Cultural sensitivity requires teachers to translate their students cultural background into how they behave. Hence, if this method is used so that students can relate to their teacher well, then childrens interest on learning could be sparked and positive results would be seen on their academic performance. Norton (2008) agreed with this since teachers are able to create learning activities that are significant to culturally diverse students when teachers understand their students wholly.
In light to critical sensitivity, Lynn proposed a similar way of looking at the schooling of African American students and the inequalities that exist within the system. This was termed critical race theory (CTR) and this came out by examining how culture works within the lives of various people. Lynn observed that African Americans are treated as a singular entity, and most people do not recognize the individuality of each person. This caused Lynn to adopt Charles Valentines theme regarding the uses and abuses of culture, and come up with the theory. The CRT allows people to assess in a proper point of view the characteristics of African American education so that efficient solutions can be made to the problems observed. Lynns outlook on the matter of African American education paved way for criticism of Ogubus work (2003). Ogubu was considered to have a blame the victim perspective since he blamed parents on how their children performed in school. For him, it is the role of parents to motivate children to study and be successful in school. Parents need to be active in their childrens education. Although, he still considered the differences between the achievements of white students and that of African American students.
Ogubus analysis is true, in that parents should be active members of the school community. However, this may be difficult to implement especially among financially burdened families, majority of which comes from cultural minority families. Furthermore, these parents may be weary of actively cooperating with their childrens schools due to the cultural difficulties they experienced in the past as students and now as parents. Because of this, schools must learn how to acknowledge this behavior, how to nurture students in a manner that would be favorable with the childrens relationship with their parents and the school, and how to behave properly with parents. These three things are vital to the education of children aged ten to fifteen (grades four to nine), according to Koppelman and Goodhart (2005), since these children are going through difficult times due to physical, social, emotional, and psychological changes. Also, part of these preteens psychological changes is the need for independence, and this has caused them to keep their parents out of their social life, including their education.
Changes in the life of young adolescents should be considered in the teaching styles of teachers, especially how these changes affect childrens relationship with their parents and leaders. In a study by Gay (2000), family conditions like financial status and parent involvement was studied to see its effects on the teaching methods of instructors and on the learning of culturally diverse students. Gay started the project since these conditions have been seen, even by Jackson and Davis (2000), to be barriers to the learning process. In this research, 12 Hawaiian middle schools were surveyed. Hawaii was considered since it is known to contain a culturally diverse population across the various communities. Most of the students in the study were natives, Japanese, Filipinos and whites with European and Caucasian lineage. There were also some Chinese, Korean, Latin, and African American students together with other racial groups. Out of all the cultural communities, it was the Filipinos and students from Pacific islands that suffered from social and economic issues within their families. One-third of students from eight schools are minority children and have a parent working in the military. Because of their parents line of work, they said to be continuously moving from place to place due to the constant transfers. Meanwhile, the families of one-fourth of the children suffered from financial problems. It was the Asian students that were identified to work poorly in school unlike their white counterparts. Teachers from eight middle schools also said that they had difficulty teaching these children at first. But since their schools continually reform their curriculum, conduct students and parent orientation seminars as well as summer schools for children, and engage constantly with families and the community, everything started to work out for them and even for culturally diverse children and parents. According to the teachers, students and their families had become more open and relaxed to attending classes and orientations. But unlike these schools, the other four middles schools had received continuous poor performances from their culturally diverse students. And unlike the other schools, they do not coordinate much with families and students since they do not give out orientations, conferences, and other helpful activities. And so, students were not as motivated to learn than the others, and parents were distant from their childrens education.
Part of Gays study (2000) is the indication of the diversity of the Hawaiis culture and economy. The places in Hawaii experience both great wealth and the lack of it, safe environments and unhealthy ones together with the presences of violence and drugs. These conditions contribute to teachers poor performance, and thus affect the learning process of their students. Also, this places stress upon parents making them unreachable to their childrens schooling. And so, it is difficult for schools to start a school year in great shape. The administrators must think first of ways to address these problems so that children can be able to efficiently receive the education they need. Like the ones used by the eight middle schools, orientations and conferences are effective means of letting students be comfortable in their school communities and be motivated to learn and excel by introducing them to the environment and tracking their needs and problems. According to Saifer, Edwards, Ellis, Ko, and Stuczynski (2005), schools can be able to adapt their curriculum and methods to their students if they understand the culture of students and their families. Collaboration among administrators, teachers, students, and families is truly important in the academic success of children belonging to low-income and culturally different families.
Various cultures are important things to consider when thinking about effective teaching practices. How students are taught must be in congruence to their social, political, and economic experiences. In short, learning should be close to the childrens individuality.
In relation to teaching African American students, the culture of African Americans must be considered when studying the teaching methods that are appropriate for their learning. Teachers must gain an African-centered perspective or an afrocentric one. By having learning styles that African American children can relate to, students can actively participate in class, and thus be taught effectively. In the end, culturally diverse students can excel academically and they can have a rich appreciation of the educational system and be supportive of the institutions behind it.
Currently however, this perspective seems to be lost in most institutions, causing a huge achievement gap between African American students and their white counterpart. Comparison studies done on the two always indicate a more negative performance among African American children than whites. Also, when it comes to graduating from high school and college, African American students continually lag behind white students. Out of all students enrolled, only two-thirds of them graduate from high school, and out of all African American students, only half graduate. The rest of the children usually drop-out, and when the drop-out rates is assessed, the number is quite disturbing. It is important to note that drop-out are unfavored by employers, and they are the majority members of prison and death row inmates. In the comparison made by the National Center for Education Statistics (2006) between the white and African American students, they found out that African American students are more than 50 likely to be outdone by white children. And among this colored group, boys are twice as likely as girls to do poorly in school. In fact, the 22nd Report to Congress (2000) indicated that 20.2 of the students under special education are African Americans.
These alarming numbers are starting to capture the interest of the countrys leaders and the Bush administration. The general public is starting to ask what could have been causing this growing problem, and some have even criticized school districts for not doing their jobs well. In fact, the public has already lost their confidence in school systems, and they do not trust professional judgments of scholars anymore because of this growing issue (Schon, 1983). Urban schools, especially high schools, are truly aggravated right now by their struggles with teaching African American students effectively and with facing the blames thrown out by the general public. Given this evident problem, Wenglinsky (2004), Cooper (2003), Love Kruger (2005), and Epstein (2003) agree that the achievement gap between African American and white students needs to be closed. But their hows differ from each other.
For one, the NCLB act was an appropriate method from closing the achievement gap. This policy, in fact, has become a tool for popularizing the issue. Ever since it was implemented in 2001, schools have become responsible for their grade three to eight students academic success in math and reading. All these students must show progress or else the schools would be held liable, especially if it were the minority and poor children that did not succeed. And so, schools must start finding ways on how they can improve their teaching processes that is why NLCB was an effective way to close the achievement gap between colored and white children. Just what like Dr. Brenda Campbell-Jones said, the high stakes given by the NCLB act to schools is sort of the civil rights law needed by minority and unprivileged students (Walden University DVD, 2005).
Meanwhile, Cooper (2003) and Love Kruger (2005) both analyzed the teaching styles given to African American children, and the background of these teachers by conducting surveys and interviews, handing out questionnaires, and observing the teachers personally. Similar results were garnered by the two studies, but Love and Krugers was more valid to consider. In Coopers observation, there were three successful white teachers from Title I one school that taught African American children. However, the sample seemed small, thus making the finding unreliable. On the other hand, Love and Kruger studied 244 school staff from six urban schools that had dominant African American student population. The staff surveyed included teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, councilors, and others that handle the students. The survey was about culturally relevant practices in the classroom (p. 88). The bigger sample size made this study more reliable as compare to Coopers, but whatever the size, their results were similar to each other. Even if there are a large variety of teaching styles, the one that seemed to be most effective for teaching African American students, according to the teachers, was a style that African American students could easily relate to and understand. It was a style that allowed children and teachers to openly communicate with each other, and that caters to the needs of the student. In short, it was a teaching method that allowed a personal relationship between teachers and students. This style was effective since African American children learn best with direct and explicit instructions by the teachers. They need to be aware of the goals and directions of school activities. And so, the authors recommend an open and personal communication between teachers and students since it is best for the latters learning. However, since these studies deal with elementary schoolchildren, it does not speak much about the current research since the studys scope will be on secondary schoolchildren.
The NCLB act and an open communication seemed to work fine on dealing with the academic performance of school children. But for Talbert-Johnson (2004), it was the teacher preparation programs that needed to be worked on since it seemed to be the root of the underachievement of African American students. Talbert-Johnson focused on the poor performance of African American children in school, and in line with this, he analyzed the lack of well-trained teachers who can teach colored children effectively. His finding came mostly from secondary accounts, but he gave a detailed view of achievement gaps between students of differing cultures and of poor teaching strategies implemented in inner-city schools. His analysis paved way for finding effective ways on improving teacher preparation programs and staff development.
Related to this study, there were some student teachers that reported that their teachers were giving then unreasonable demand during their teaching practicum. That is why they felt poorly trained. And so, Rao and Sahilia (2005) felt the need for multicultural teacher education programs to be detailed in outlining and explaining the programs expectations for both pre-service teachers and their teachers.
Aside from better training, Rao and Sahilia (2005) as well as Pink (2004) also proposed for the changing of the opinions and attitudes of pre-service teachers regarding culturally diverse children since they see this action as a key to solving issues about diversity. Colleges and universities must work together in providing an effective teacher education program curriculum that instructs pre-service teachers how to teach African American children. In fact, Rao and Sahilia (2005, p. 281) went a step further in their study by proposing a three-phase model, with the phases having distinct characteristics but are related to each other. The model involves pre-service teachers needing to take a three-hour credit course during the final semester of their teacher education program or in their senior year. Phase one and two involves their required practicum, which is teaching actual students. Phase three is a one year internship as a classroom teacher, where in the pre-service teachers must work full-time with or without pay. During this yearlong program, the interns would receive continuous support, monitoring, and feedback from their colleges and universities, as well as from the school where they work. This internship program aims for their students to gain proper and sufficient experience and training on interacting and teaching students of various cultures and personality before they start working on their real jobs (p. 282).
But besides addressing the need for a revised teacher education program curriculum, more research should be conducted on pre-service teachers. It is important to note that there are not many researches regarding the beliefs and opinion of pre-service teachers about diversity (Pink, 2004 Ladson-Billings, 1994 Banks, 1999 Pope Wilder, 2005). This should be considered first before taking any actions about revising teaching education programs since it would help address the things that needs to be changed in the programs curriculum.
In contrast to a lack of research on pre-service teachers beliefs on diversity (Pink, 2004 Ladson-Billings, 1994 Banks, 1999 Pope Wilder, 2005), there is a bountiful supply of studies regarding their assumptions on multicultural issues, such as Gayle-Evans and Michaels study (2006) on teachers opinions regarding teaching topics that are multicultural. Same as Mannings (2000, p.78) and Dr. Edith Ruschs (cited in Marshall Olivia, 2006, p.23) findings, teachers felt uncomfortable teaching such topics and were resistant in dealing with diversity issues. They also had difficulties in dealing with the culturally diverse students different behaviors, customs, language, and attitudes.
These findings regarding teacher education programs show the efforts colleges and universities make to allow pre-service teachers to be aware of cultural diversity and how to handle it when they start teaching. However, this does not seem to be enough since there is more to multicultural awareness that would make a successful teacher education programs, as exampled by the University of Missouri- St. Louis service learning model. The two critical components of their service learning model pushed their curriculum to a better one as compared to the learning models of other colleges and universities. These two factors are 1) the need for a change in the assumptions and beliefs of pre-service teachers so that they can be effective in working at inner city schools, and 2) the concept of teachers as advocates of social justice for children (Pink, 2004). Given this, it is recommendable that other colleges and universities start thinking about adapting UMSLs and the Marquette Universitys teacher education model (Catapano, 2006 Pink, 2004).
Moreover, Rao and Sahilias three-step model (2005) is also a very good model to consider since it requires a more extensive training for pre-service teachers. The model provides a good solution to the comments of teachers having insufficient training with dealing with African American students. And it seems to be better than traditional internship programs for pre-service teachers since the model allows interns to be closely mentored and scrutinized by an onsite and off site scholar-practitioner and mentor.
But whichever teacher education model colleges and universities wish to include to their curriculum, its success would only lie on a cohesive university-school partnership. There are four things that should be agreed upon by universities and schools. First is that a successful teaching internship should not be compromised since this is important for the success of pre-service teachers in working with culturally diverse students. Second, the internship program must allow students to handle a classroom with a diverse set of students, and be allowed to observe effective teachers who use culturally relevant teaching practices. Third, the teacher education program should have a sufficient number of courses on multicultural education whose contents can be applied easily by pre-service teachers during their internships. Lastly, there should be an assessment of the cultural competence of pre-service teachers. Questions regarding how well they 1) interact with people of different cultures, 2) react, respond, and respect other peoples cultures, and 3) integrate other childrens culture to their teaching should be evaluated so that appropriate measures could be taught (Ladson-Billings, 2004 Thompson, 2004 Thompson, 2007 Delpit, 1995 Landsman Lewis, 2006 Love Kruger, 2005).
As seen, a lot of teacher education program had been assessed already. But some scholar believe that the teacher themselves needs to be transformed. As for Tatum (2007), teachers needed to reflect on their behavior during teaching. This is so since Tatum observed that some teachers engage in discriminatory verbal outbursts. This was confirmed in Kaufman et al.s report (2001) on the survey done in 1999 by the Indicators of School Crime and Safety to culturally diverse students aged 12-18 years. In the survey, 13 of the adolescents admitted to being verbally discriminated because of their race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender, or sexual orientation. As for Tatum (2007), teachers must find the reason why they engage in this kind of behavior and have difficulty in understanding students. However, despite teachers actions, Tatum is still positive that these teachers could change upon reflection, and can bring a positive influence in their schools reform on cultural sensitivity.
Meanwhile, Thompson (2004) had a different perspective on what needs to be changed about teachers. Contrary to Tatums study, the teachers that were interviewed in Thompsons study had positive feelings and attitudes toward their African American students. However, despite their positivity, they had negative assumption regarding their educational capabilities. And so, these teachers had low expectations of their minority students, and they did not pose challenges upon them academically. Their actions were due to their downgrading assumptions regarding minority students. Some assumptions was the things they heard about Latino populations not getting an education pass the ninth grade, and some said that they felt sorry for their minority students (p.1). Even if there was a curriculum that teachers should follow to give a standardized teaching, the teachers still acted out their feelings about their minority students. But according to Lambert (2002), the actions of the teachers may seem unhealthy for the childrens education, but he felt that this was a right thing to do. For him, beliefs, values, and past experiences of teachers and students has a lot to bring to the learning atmosphere, and so they must not be ignored. However, unlike what the teachers did, they should have dealt with their beliefs openly with other teachers since they can learn from each others experiences. That is why Lambert (2003), Thompson (2004), and the Laureate Education, Foundations of Doctoral Study (2005) suggested that teachers must engage in meaningful and relevant collaborations and dialogues. By pouring their thoughts out, teachers could start addressing issues that they encounter in class. Only by pointing out and talking about the issue can relevant actions be initiated. Hence, a schools success would only be brought out by a collaborative effort rather than an individual one (Dufour et al., 2004, p.3).
Apart from having misconceptions about minority children and not having a desire to even deal with these issues, teachers of students in the urban areas are also faced with not having the training or skills to effectively teach African American students. Traditionally, more teachers in the schools with high minority and high poverty students teach courses outside their academic major (Ingersoll, 2002). Schools in the inner city have fewer experienced teachers and more instructors with alternative certification. This should raise some serious concerns for schools in the inner-cities. Since job availability in the inner city is not an issue (Collier, 2002), how do you attract the highly qualified applicants to come to teach under some of the most unfavorable conditions
But besides teacher-leaders to bring changes to the school, Lindsey, Roberts, Campbell-Jones (2005) believe that principals are the ones who should be truly responsible in the performance of all schoolchildren. Since they are the ones who ultimately decide on the changes of the whole school, they have the most power in effecting reform in the school and progress for students.
However, what aspect of the school system should school leaders study and reform Kozol (2006) debated on the better aspect to consider when talking about African American students education. Should schools spend their time, money, and efforts on assessing their schools values and norms or should they focus on students scores and awards. Kozols questioning is a matter of asking what is more important, the process or the result. This is a very difficult question to consider for school leaders, particularly those working in school with a large African American student population, since there is truly not just one thing to consider when talking about the futures of children.
By posing this question, it is evident that school leadership has a significant influence on how a child performs and learns in a school. Based on experience, it is the leadership quality of people that are looked at by school administrators, such as what happened when I was asked to uplift a poorly performing school by my superintendent. Even if it was not just me who changed the school, but it was evident how a new kind of leadership was able to influence a schools belief and values and students perception regarding its school and learning. Through commitment to excellence, perseverance, hard work, good teamwork with students, parents and staff, and a change of point of view of a leader from a pessimist to an optimist, the school was transformed from a state monitored school to a state recognized school.
This sort of school uplifting required a leader whose skills can adapt to the needs of a situation, such as when a situation requires an autocratic leader. This view wherein school leaders largely influence a schools performance is shared by other scholars. In one study, it was showed that there are more effective changes that good leadership skills bring in school that experiences more difficulty than schools that do not have as much problems. Even if other factors may contribute to a schools success, it is no doubt that an effective leader can turn around a trouble school successfully since he or she would be the one managing these factors.
These results suggest, as part of schools improvement programs, a change or reform in the leadership skills of the principals of poorly performing schools. Good leadership is vital to the success of any educational institution. It is good leadership that implements a high-quality education and motivates students to perform successfully even if there are a lot of challenges that comes in the way to childrens learning such as poverty, high mobility rates, language barriers, and dangerous communities (Love Kruger, 2005 Thompson, 2007 Epstein, 2005).
With all these possible recommendations given by professionals, what might be the best one to follow Who should be to blame for the stagnation of African American students Is it because of white teachers inability to tear down their assumption and beliefs of African American students Is it the discriminating system of schools and its programs and laws that prevents all students from being comfortable and motivated to learn Are deaf ears causing this stagnation since the needs of African American children are not heard and incorporated into the school system Are principals and administrators to blame for their poor leadership in bringing about an educational environment fit for African American children (Bryk Schneider, 2004) Which part of African American education should be considered revising
As the other research goes, there is no single answer to attaining better student achievement for African American students. What is needed is collaboration among all aspects of education. Teachers must associate with their students and their families regarding their needs, so that they can be motivated to learn. School leaders must collaborate with teachers and parents to be able to come up with the right programs and policies. They must also collaborate well with scholars so that problem areas can be identified and give solution to. And they must also work with colleges and universities so that the teaching education programs can be assessed and the proper revisions can be made to the curriculum.
These studies point to a strong connection between using culturally relevant teaching practices and its barriers. It is only by using these practices that the problem areas can be identified, and it is only by solving these problems that teachers can use culturally relevant teaching practices effectively upon culturally diverse students.
Chapter 5
Conclusion and Recommendations
Conclusions
Culturally relevant teaching and its implications are unknown to many, especially teachers. However, this seems to be a valid proposal in reaching out to African American students since high dropout rates and dense populations of colored children in prisons is associated with poor academic performance. Their performance in school is likely to be caused by weak motivation and lack of effort by teachers to reach out to their students. In this case, establishing more personal student-teacher relationships is a key for better academic operation of colored students. Culturally relevant teaching is about integrating the entirety of a child into the teaching style of teachers. With the difficulty of having to adjust to an educational system that was grounded on teaching white American students, colored adolescents must feel that their teachers respect them and their cultures. Marshall and Olivia (2006) termed these kinds of teachers as social justice advocates of children. However, Howard (2006) criticizes if culturally relevant teaching is an effective way in improving African American students academic performance. Recent studies affirmed that there are various methods of teaching African American students. By exploring the cultural beliefs and teaching styles of educators that teach colored students, it was concluded that teaching methods used on these students are as important as the contents of the lesson.
The current study concludes the following 1) Minority teachers tend to use culturally relevant teaching strategies more than their non-minority counterparts 2) There is a significant relationship between use of culturally relevant teaching strategies and academic achievement in Math and Reading.
The study is promising in lieu of the disparity of the academic performance between African American students and white students, and how it ought to diminish further.
The findings of the current study present a practical way of addressing African American students poor academic performance. It also validates the idea that some non-minority teachers do may not be as culturally sensitive than their colored counterparts. Moreover, it validates that instructional skills for educating colored students efficiently are lacking from a considerable population of non-colored educators.
African American students could be given the proper skills and knowledge to improve their academic performance if their teachers and principals have the right disposition and use the right teaching techniques which are culturally sensitive and relevant. This is important since there should be a personal connection between teachers and students. This connection involves teachers being able to act as second mothers. This means that teachers should love, defend, and discipline their students, as well as not giving on their students. A personal teacher-student connection would be best established if teachers learned how to acknowledge and respect the cultures and individuality of their students. Such as for African American children, white teachers must learn how to challenge their notions and assumptions regarding their minority students.
Howard once questioned if culturally relevant teaching practices would be the best means to attaining stable teacher-student relationships, and thus better academic performance for students. This research answers that question in the affirmative.
Culturally relevant teaching practices have a significant impact in motivating children and allowing them to understand lessons better thus, children have improved academic performance.
Teachers must be leaders. However, teachers must not act individually rather they must work with their schools administrators. The success of public school is due to the collaborative efforts of teachers and administrators. Both school leaders and teachers must have the efficient skills and efforts for teamwork to provide the proper changes in the educational system of their school towards culturally relevant teaching.
Moreover, there is a need for collaborative efforts between teachers and school leaders so that their students could receive the best education possible. The school principal is still the main authority in the school, and thus is the one carrying the heaviest responsibility in the campus. He or she would be the one to officiate positive changes when troubles arise in his or her territory, and so, the principal has the ultimate say in the schools failure or triumph in this facet of ensuring culturally relevant teaching practices.
This decision regarding the success of a school is highly dependent on the students. And so, it is the leadership strategy of the principal that would ultimately influence students academic performance. Even if society has deemed failure and stagnancy among its students, school principals should still have a courageous outlook for their students and do their best in giving the best quality of education to them. They, along with teachers, must act as defenders of children from damaging and unjust school regulations, impractical tests, and derogatory labels.
No matter what is argued regarding the importance of the roles of principals and teachers in giving out the best education to their students, what matters most is still the common goal they associate with their roles, which is to provide children with the best quality of education they can give. The vital thing to consider is the partnership of principals and teachers in trying to give the best education. As Rubin (2009) emphasized, collaboration is highly needed to achieve the goals of principals and teachers and to garner success for their school. Good collaboration between teachers and administrators are signs of excellent leadership skills. This would eventually be felt in the teaching methods used in classrooms since teachers would most likely follow strategies implemented by school leaders. And in the end, student achievement can be garnered (Blachard Hodges, 2005).
Recommendations
All of the studies above prove the presence of a large gap between the academic performance of African American students and white students. These problems need to be answered soon since there is no time that should be wasted in dealing with the future of children. However, the question on how to answer the achievement gap is still an issue. But at least more and more researches are trying to seek the solution out, such as the current research effort. Collaboration is just needed so that the most appropriate answer could be recommended.
With the increasing number of researches done on diversity and multiculturalism, it seems that a lot are towards a one-size fits all program. However, each child has different needs, beliefs, values, and attitudes that teachers and school staff should learn how to address. The diversity of children has a large impact on how they view the school and learning. It is only by reaching to them that students can be motivated to learn, and thus allow them to have higher achievement levels. The theory of culturally relevant teaching practices has just started to become popular, but it seems to be a more effective solution in motivating students to learn than the concept behind a one-size fits all program.
For culturally relevant teaching practices to work more effectively, teachers and school leaders must be advocates of social justice for children. School leaders must become social justice advocates and activists for their students so that they can address their students needs. If teachers and school leaders are able to answer their students academic needs, then it is highly likely that student achievement will increase. Culturally relevant teaching practices seem to be appropriate methods in teaching African American children, but there are still a plethora of issues that need to be addressed so that it can be implemented successfully.
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