Historically, American schools have reflected the larger societal structures. When crises occur across the nation, they seep into the classroom and impact the educational experiences of students. Scholars and social advocates have worked across professional arenas throughout history to reduce the injustices embedded in schools. Ongoing discussion and debate about educational equity in schools highlights the importance of an educational system that works for all learners. In more contemporary times, American schools are experiencing overlapping crises. These crises consist of the teacher well-being crisis, the school discipline crisis, and the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of the proposed study is to examine the intersection of these three crises by exploring the relationship between teacher early childhood well-being and equitable educational practices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study utilizes a convergent design that includes both quantitative and qualitative data gathered sequentially. The quantitative data examined the association between early childhood teachers' feelings of efficacy in culturally responsive instruction and their emotional state as it relates to their profession. The qualitative data explored how early childhood teachers make sense of culturally responsive teaching and classroom management. The two forms of data were combined to better understand the three current crises impacting schools. Participants in the survey data collection included a total of 88 early childhood teachers (pre-kindergarten through third grade) working during the 2020-2021 academic school year. Qualitative interview data were gathered from a subsample of those early childhood teachers (n=11) via phone interviews. Qualitative findings revealed that teachers generally had a superficial understanding of culturally responsive teaching and culturally responsive classroom management (CRT-CRCM), although some expressed a desire to learn more. Quantitative results indicated that teachers' self-reported beliefs and ability in CRT-CRCM did not relate to their self-reported well-being. However, access to professional development was associated with well-being, suggesting a potential mechanism for cultivating greater CRT-CRCM skills in teachers while also supporting their well-being. I intend for the results of this study to contribute to the nascent literature regarding the needs of our nation’s teachers during this unprecedented time. / School Psychology

America's school-age population is experiencing a demographic shift. In 1972, students of color represented 22% of the school-age population; in 2005, minority students accounted for 33% of public school enrollment (Statistics, 2007 Villegas, 2002). This study sought to explore how these changing demographics affected University Town Community Schools, the district's interventions, and teachers' perceptions to those interventions. This study also explored teachers' feelings of efficacy when teaching minority students. Using a qualitative study among third-, fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade elementary school teachers, a random sample of 9 teachers from schools comprising a minority population of at least 40% were interviewed. Data analysis involved the use of themes that emerged from the interview data, observations, and quotations from participants. The findings indicated that the district acted on a school-by-school basis, with no specific actions to target any one racial group. Meanwhile, teachers were inconsistent when discussing race, behavior, and learning. Teachers felt comfortable assigning behaviors based on race and culture, but were hesitant to assign learning strengths and weaknesses based on race or culture.

As a critical unit for identifying family-constructed meanings of education, a deeper contextual understanding of Korean immigrant parents' cultural/ethnic perceptions in relation to educational beliefs should be central to culturally responsive education designed to support Korean immigrant families. It is necessary for educators to examine the beliefs and practices of Korean immigrant families around education in order to broaden the educational conversation and mutual understanding between parents and teachers for effectively facilitating their children's learning and socialization. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the variations in cultural/ethnic perceptions and educational beliefs about childrearing and early schooling among three Korean parent groups: (a) 79 Korean immigrant parents in the U.S., (b) 98 Korean parents with no transnational experiences outside of the country of origin, Korea, and (c) 42 transnational parents in Korea who have returned from the U.S. to Korea. It examined the relationships between cultural/ethnic factors and Korean parents' educational beliefs about young children's learning and socialization. This study was a mixed methods design. Research findings from the quantitative survey data indicate several significant intracultural variations in cultural/ethnic perceptions and educational beliefs and noteworthy relationships among variables (e.g., between socio-demographic factors and acculturation, between enculturation and educational beliefs, etc.). Probing further through interviews, this study qualitatively explored four Korean immigrant parents' cultural/ethnic experiences with their children's schooling to raise additional questions regarding beliefs, attitudes, and values emerging in daily family lives. The findings indicate that Korean immigrant families encounter dual processes of acculturation and enculturation, that is, integration rather than assimilation, that can be potentially challenging for facilitating their children's learning and socialization. (Cho, Chen, & Shin, 2010; Miyoshi, 2011; Song, 2010). The findings suggest that Korean immigrant families develop particular culture-belief structures derived from experiences of socio-cultural transformations between their own socio-cultural contexts and the mainstream school settings of their children. This study provides a critical foundation for a contextual understanding of Korean immigrant parents' educational beliefs and practices related to early school schooling while being acculturated into the dominant school culture and curriculum. The implications are discussed for culturally responsive education.