Culturally responsive teaching benefits students in racially and culturally marginalized groups that the public education system has historically failed. However, knowledge regarding developing into a culturally responsive educator is yet to emerge. This phenomenological study explores participants' experiences in the development of this area. The major findings of this study include the entry into culturally responsive teaching occur along racial lines and the relationship that the access to professional development has on the effective implementation of culturally responsive teaching. A conclusion includes the implications of this study on practice and policy. / Educational Leadership

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.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify ways in which the University of the Western Cape (UWC) occupational therapy (OT) curriculum could be developed to prepare its graduates to advance occupational justice in community service practice. The background to the study is the development of occupational therapy practice and education within a policy context of health reform that gave momentum to the shift in emphasis from a bio-medical to a more socio-political approach to health in South Africa. Underpinning this study was the assumption that OT education informs professional practice and that uncovering new graduates’ practice experiences can inform the development of the UWC OT curriculum. The aim of the studyn was to examine how UWC OT graduates conceptualised occupational justice and how it manifested in their daily practice of community service in three provinces in South Africa. The study is framed within the theories of occupational justice and critical curriculum theory, in particular, critical pedagogy. A literature review pertaining to the application of occupational justice in OT practice and education is presented. This includes the background values that inform the practice of occupational justice, the application of occupational justice as it relates to OT practice and the relationship between OT education and occupational justice. The research design that was adopted is that of a single, interpretive case study. Through purposive sampling seven occupational therapy graduates from UWC who graduated in 2009, and who practiced in under-resourced, rural community service settings in 2010, were selected to participate in the study. The methods of data collection that were utilised were participant observation, a reflective journal, semi-structured paired or dyadic interviews and document review. The findings revealed that occupational justice held considerable value for the participants. They conceptualised occupational justice as enhanced health and well-being, and broader social change as an outcome of the facilitation of occupational enablement. The nature of their community service practice settings, however, posed several challenges for the participants. From the perspective of the participants, the dominance of the medical model, lack of resources and system of bureaucracy appeared to be the biggest challenges they encountered. While the participants’ education was geared towards equipping them to provide appropriate services as indicated by local needs, the health system was not ready tob accommodate their practice. Consequently, the participants appeared to encounter hegemony in practice. In encountering hegemony, however, they displayed an attitude of defeatism, leaving them with feelings of guilt, despondency and powerlessness. They lacked the skills to respond to power dynamics and to interact with people in positions of power. The main conclusion drawn from the study findings is that for OT graduates to impact the contexts in which they practice in South Africa, OT education must ensure that students develop competence to deal with the complexities of community service practice. This implies that transformational learning as pedagogical practice is of the essence, as it frames student preparation not just as learning but as a process of critical reflexivity that equips them to respond to power dynamics and intervene in matters related to occupational justice as active agents of change. The role and practice of occupational justice are subjects of debate in the context of OT education as they are for the profession broadly. This study contributed to this conversation through its examination of UWC OT graduates’ actual practice and the transmission of occupational justice-promoting practice through UWC OT education. The study highlighted that it is imperative that OT curricula in South Africa provide opportunities for students to engage in critical reflection on ways in which indigenous knowledge and a local understanding of occupational justice, as it relates to collective agency and critical consciousness, can be made more explicit in everyday practices. To this end, recommendations for the development of the UWC OT curriculum are made in respect of curriculum structure, content and approach; interdisciplinary education and practice, support for community service graduates and occupational therapy continued professional development.

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.

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