Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding Culturally Responsive Teaching on Instructional Practice
Middle School Teachers’ Perceptions Regarding Culturally Responsive Teaching on Instructional Practice

Author: Kepha M. Isanda

Publisher:

Published: 2023

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

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Middle school classrooms, like most US public schools, are becoming increasingly diverse and experiencing rapid growth in the number of students of color, low-income, and those from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds (Howard, 2007). In these culturally and ethnically diverse classrooms, some teachers, administrators, and parents view their schools' increasing diversity as a problem rather than an opportunity. The study examined these culturally diverse classrooms through the lens of self-efficacy to assess middle school teachers’ perceptions on Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) practices. Teachers’ perceptions largely influence and determine the instructional strategies they employ. It is important to understand what it takes for instructors to practice a CRT approach to teaching. Teachers’ perceptions was explored by the analysis of teacher’s cultural awareness, knowledge, skills, and agency. The study also examined the role of teacher self-efficacy, and the interactions of personal, behavioral, and environmental factors in teachers’ CRT instructional decisions. The study employed a qualitative approach and collected data from interviews and observations. The research questions which guided this study include: What role does teacher self-efficacy play in CRT practice? How do personal factors (i.e., awareness, knowledge, and skills), behavioral factors (i.e., differentiated practice), and environmental factors (i.e., classroom/school context) influence teachers’ application of CRT instruction? What forms of agency (personal, proxy, collective) influence teachers’ willingness to implement CRT practices? The research revealed that participants seemed to be aware of CRT and showed a desire to practice it during classroom instruction but seemed to have a limited knowledge and lacked a deep understanding of CRT practice. The study supports the need for CRT awareness for teachers to help them manage culturally diverse classrooms. Key Words: Teachers’ Perceptions, Culturally Responsive Teaching, Instructional Practice

Culturally Responsive Teaching
Culturally Responsive Teaching

Author: Geneva Gay

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 321

ISBN-13: 0807750786

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The achievement of students of color continues to be disproportionately low at all levels of education. More than ever, Geneva Gay's foundational book on culturally responsive teaching is essential reading in addressing the needs of today's diverse student population. Combining insights from multicultural education theory and research with real-life classroom stories, Gay demonstrates that all students will perform better on multiple measures of achievement when teaching is filtered through their own cultural experiences. This bestselling text has been extensively revised to include expanded coverage of student ethnic groups: African and Latino Americans as well as Asian and Native Americans as well as new material on culturally diverse communication, addressing common myths about language diversity and the effects of "English Plus" instruction.

Caucasian Female Personal Teaching Efficacy in Implementing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy with African American Male Middle School Students
Caucasian Female Personal Teaching Efficacy in Implementing Culturally Responsive Pedagogy with African American Male Middle School Students

Author: Tammy Campbell Lemoine

Publisher:

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 328

ISBN-13:

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An increased focus on accountability has yielded an urgency to reach all students and greater awareness that equal does not always mean the same. One subgroup of students that often falls through the cracks is the African American male. The purpose of this study was to describe Caucasian female middle school teachers' personal teaching efficacy and their beliefs about implementing culturally responsive pedagogy and to discover how those factors influence the academic success of African American male middle school students. This study used a basic qualitative design (Merriam, 2001), with data collected through interviews, observations, and documents. Categories that emerged as contributors to the descriptions of Caucasian female middle school teachers' sense of efficacy in achieving academic success with their African American male students were: relationships and the ethic of care, home-to-school relationships, and teacher efficacy. Categories contributing to the secondary elements of the study were: connections, culturally responsive pedagogy, and classroom community.

Culturally Responsive Teaching and Student Self-efficacy in Alaskan Middle Schools
Culturally Responsive Teaching and Student Self-efficacy in Alaskan Middle Schools

Author: Scott Christian

Publisher:

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 362

ISBN-13:

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Culturally responsive teaching may provide practices and dispositions which support closing the achievement gap between minority and Caucasian student populations. For this research, culturally responsive teaching can be considered as teaching practices that address students' specific cultural characteristics. These characteristics include common practices such as language, values and traditions but also include concepts such as communication, learning styles, and relationship norms. The research also presents a definition of culturally responsive teaching that extends beyond curriculum and instruction to focus on student teacher relationships, empathy, and the teacher as learner. This research explores the beliefs and practices around Culturally Responsive Teaching in ten Alaskan Middle Schools. A mixed-methods, sequential explanatory research design was used to answer the research questions: 1. How do teachers identify what is culturally responsive teaching, and what is not? 2. How is culturally responsive teaching implemented in Alaskan middle schools? 3. How is culturally responsive teaching connected to student self-efficacy in Alaskan middle schools? Although culturally responsive teaching has become a recognized practice in the fields of teacher preparation and professional development for teachers, the working definitions as well as evaluation tools are inadequate to describe the actual practice that teachers enact when they are engaged in culturally responsive teaching. Despite state regulations requiring Alaska school districts to include teaching practice of the Alaska Cultural Standards in teacher evaluations, there is only limited focused research available about the implementation of the standards in classrooms. Through semi-structured interviews and surveys with teachers and principals, formal classroom observations, as well as a student self-efficacy survey, this research addresses the lack of research and understanding regarding the relationship between culturally responsive teaching and self-efficacy for middle school students. This study identified the integration of local culture and language into academic content areas, teaching through culture, and the establishment of positive, respectful working relationships with students as promising practices for culturally responsive teaching.

Pathways To Success in School
Pathways To Success in School

Author: Etta R. Hollins

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 1999-03-01

Total Pages: 355

ISBN-13: 1135681678

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This text is designed to help preservice and in-service teachers identify pathways to productive teaching and learning for students from culturally and experientially diverse backgrounds. To better serve an increasingly diverse population, teachers need to be competent in selecting and developing culturally responsive curricula and instructional approaches that better facilitate learning for all students. They must be able to attend to diversity within and across cultural groups, and validate students' cultural knowledge acquired outside the classroom. To provide equitable access to learning, they must be able to strategically select or develop instructional approaches that build upon their students' learning propensities, cognitive schemata, experiential backgrounds, and perceptions. The chapter authors in this text present ways of understanding ones' own thinking (metacognition), and ways of thinking about teaching and learning situations and constructing productive strategies. The reader is engaged in: *Learning about the context in which he or she will practice, *Understanding key aspects of student's cultural and experiential background and learning preferences, *Exploring ways to bring these factors together in framing and selecting meaningful curriculum content and learning experiences. The volume is organized into three interrelated sections: Part I presents two approaches to becoming a competent practitioner; Part II offers approaches to developing and using culturally relevant pedagogy; Part III addresses curriculum content and design. Helpful pedagogical features are included to facilitate its use as a textbook: Each of the three main parts begins with an overview that provides an introduction and summary of the main ideas addressed and the relationship among ideas presented by different authors; each chapter opens with focus questions and concludes with suggested learning experiences; chapter-end references may be used to expand the reader's knowledge in specific areas.

Equity & Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades
Equity & Cultural Responsiveness in the Middle Grades

Author: Kathleen M. Brinegar

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2019-04-01

Total Pages: 371

ISBN-13: 1641136758

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While developmental responsiveness is a deservingly key emphasis of middle grades education, this emphasis has often been to the detriment of focusing on the cultural needs of young adolescents. This Handbook volume explores research relating to equity and culturally responsive practices when working with young adolescents. Middle school philosophy largely centers on young adolescents as a collective group. This lack of focus has great implications for young adolescents of marginalized identities including but not limited to those with culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, LGBTQ youth, and those living in poverty. If middle level educators claim to advocate for young adolescents, we need to mainstream conversations about supporting all young adolescents of marginalized identities. It empowers researchers, educators, and even young adolescents to critically examine and understand the intersectionality of identities that historically influenced (and continue to affect) young adolescents and why educators might perceive marginalized youth in certain ways. It is for these reasons that researchers, teachers, and other key constituents involved in the education of young adolescents must devote themselves to the critical examination and understanding of the historical and current socio-cultural factors affecting all young adolescents. The chapters in this volume serve as a means to open an intentional and explicit space for providing a critical lens on early adolescence–a lens that understands that both developmental and cultural needs of young adolescents need to be emphasized to create a learning environment that supports every young adolescent learner.

Examining the Effects of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices of Educators
Examining the Effects of Culturally Responsive Teaching Practices of Educators

Author: Lenore Andella Thompson

Publisher:

Published: 2020

Total Pages: 658

ISBN-13:

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This dissertation was designed to examine how experiences, education, and professional development informed culturally responsive pedagogy and influenced teacher beliefs in their ability to guide students to success when employing culturally responsive teaching practices. The research school district was located in the piedmont region of North Carolina. It was determined after reviewing the district's historical student achievement data there was a trend of underachievement by marginalized groups of students. Licensed educators completed the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) Scale and the Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome Expectancy (CRTOE) Scale in order to determine their level of preparedness to teach students from culturally diverse backgrounds and to determine their level of confidence in the positive outcomes associated with culturally responsive teaching (CRT). Student outcome data was used to determine if the adoption of the district's professional development program positively impacted student achievement in third through eighth grade pilot classrooms. Teacher focus group data was used to identify what 12 teachers did differently in their instruction after participating in district-sponsored professional development. Findings included a CRSTE mean score of 74.58 and CRTOE mean score of 84.27. These scores indicated teachers did not feel confident in their abilities to work with students from culturally diverse backgrounds, however they did believe in the positive outcomes associated with CRT. The results of this study were inconclusive with regard to improved student achievement as measured on standardized benchmark assessments. Focus group data found several things that educator's did differently after participation in a district-sponsored professional development program. This study contributes information, which could be useful to school and district leaders as they plan high quality professional opportunities for educators.