This qualitative study examined urban middle school teachers' participation in a teacher study group (TSG) focused on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) content. Specifically, the researcher investigated the professional development experiences of five urban middle school teachers participating in a TSG on CRT and examined how these urban middle school teachers described their learning experiences of the CRT content. A purposeful sample of five teachers was used. Data collection was done with open-ended surveys, semi-structured interviews and field notes during the interviews and TSG sessions. The data were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparison. Data were continuously shuffled, sorted and re-organized as part of the constant comparative method. Through this method, key themes about TSGs and teachers' learning experiences emerged and were reported. The data analysis for research question one produced three overarching themes: changes in perception of staff development, building relationships and impact on instruction. Each theme had descriptors that further explain more specific aspects of the data results. The second research question was designed so the researcher could report descriptions of each participant's learning experiences of CRT content from the TSG experience. Two major themes emerged for research question two: personal and professional development. The discussion offers considerable support for the findings of existing research on TSGs and the positive attitude towards this design of professional development. The importance of building relationships in TSGs and the impact this TSG had on instruction are contributed to the literature. In this study the findings are reported in the voices of the participants, which is lacking in the current literature. Also, two major themes of the participants' learning of CRT are presented, personal and professional responsibilities, which are new to the existing literature. In conclusion, this research produced two important results for the educational realm: 1) the tremendous need for schools and school districts to offer our current practitioners better and more meaningful staff development, 2) Trained and certified teachers have little to no understanding of the tenets of culturally responsive teaching methods. CRT practices that are proving meaningful, validating and effective need to be further studied and reported.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between urban teachers’ perceptions and their implementation of culturally responsive materials into the classroom. Specifically, this study examined the influences of age, years of teaching experience, level of education, professional development, and prior knowledge with culturally diverse populations on perceptions of implementing culturally responsive materials into urban elementary classrooms. Based on the results of this research, the variables of age, teaching experience, and professional development were found to affect how teachers value culturally responsive materials. This suggests that variables can have important ramifications for educators and administrators in urban and culturally diverse schools.

Changing student demographics in the state of Texas as well as across the nation make it imperative for educators in K-12 public school settings to develop instructional strategies to meet the needs of increasingly diverse students in multicultural classrooms. To develop greater understandings of this complex issue, culturally responsive teaching was considered through the lens of the instructional coaching professional development model. For purposes of this research study, the culturally responsive/relevant theoretical frameworks of Geneva Gay (2000, 2001, 2004), Ana Maria Villegas & Tamara Lucas (2002), and Gloria Ladson-Billings (1994, 1995) were foundational. Instructional coaching is a job-embedded professional development model for teachers which is gaining increasing attention in K-12 educational settings (Bloom, Castagna, Moir, & Warren, 2005; Kise, 2006; Knight, 2007; Lindsey, Martinez, Lindsey, 2007; Showers, 1984; West & Staub, 2003). Proponents of instructional coaching suggest that coaching is a way to support the reflective practice of educators through a coaching cycle of planning, observation, and reflection. Lindsey, Martinez & Lindsey (2007) further propose a culturally proficient coaching model focused on teachers being responsive to diverse populations of students, and they assert that “coaching and cultural proficiency are integrated sets of tools for guiding individuals and groups to meet cross-cultural issues as opportunities and assets rather than as challenges and deficits” (p. 4). To implement culturally responsive teaching in multicultural classrooms, teachers must develop many skills including the ability to analyze the curriculum-in-use and the ability to implement instructional practices that are efficacious in diverse cultural settings. To support this work, it is further essential that teachers examine their own beliefs and values regarding cultural diversity to enhance their ability to meet the needs of increasingly diverse students. There is strong evidence (Payne & Allen, 2006; Neufeld & Roper, 2003) that instructional coaching contributes to improved teaching and student learning, however, it should be noted that instructional coaching must also be accompanied by rigorous curriculum, on-going formative assessment and feedback for students, strategic planning, and strong local, state and national leadership if educators are to eliminate existing gaps in opportunities to learn between White students and students of color. / text

Teacher decision-making is referred to as the fundamental responsibility of teachers. All teachers are asked to make decisions on a daily basis in their classrooms. For decades researchers have collected data on teacher decision-making in hopes to understand how teachers make decisions and why. Interestingly, most researchers collect data on teacher decision-making only in public school classrooms. The purpose of this study was to collect teacher decision-making data in a nearly unexplored classroom environment, the lower elementary Montessori classroom. The objective of this study was to examine what characteristics operated in the decision-making of two lower elementary Montessori guides. The hypothesis was lower elementary Montessori guides may have more opportunities to understand and approach care and culturally responsive teaching given the Montessori environment seeks to develop the whole child. In order to explore lower elementary Montessori guide decision-making I chose to perform a qualitative case study design. First, I gathered information about the school. Second, I collected data on the two lower elementary Montessori guides in this study. Once data was collected I reviewed the data for emerging themes. Then, I asked the question how was care and cultural responsiveness understood and approached in the decision-making of these two lower elementary Montessori guides.The findings of this study revealed three (3) main influences on the decision-making of lower elementary Montessori guides at River Montessori: (1) Association Montessori Internationale Training (AMI); (2) school ideology; and (3) guide improvisation based on student observation. Care and cultural responsiveness was understood and approached by both lower elementary Montessori guides in this study. However, the enactments of cultural responsiveness fell short of normative understandings of culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2000; 2002). / text

This thesis seeks to acknowledge the issues and challenges, as well as the opportunities and successes that continue to present for Māori learners accessing special education services in Aotearoa New Zealand. Year after year, strategic educational documents, policies and services are revisited, reviewed or restructured in order to effect a series of considered and realistic responses that are able to address the inequities that perpetuate for Māori learners. Discussions and debates specific to what needs to change, how this should be done, and who has the authority to decide, continue to be had. Perceptions vary between interested groups about the relevance and appropriateness of much of the research evidence that is drawn on to inform special education policy and practice directions for use with Māori learners. This research study investigates two key special education constructs; culturally responsive practice, and evidence based practice. The overall aims are to ascertain what Māori perceive to be the key components that comprise both of these individual terms; to determine if (and how) they are dissimilar or synonymous terms from a Māori perspective; and, to understand how these perceptions differ or are in tandem with special education (western) thinking. It is argued that these terms are regularly defined for Māori by non-Māori, without input or consultation from the former, and that this (in effect) perpetuates a cycle of special education service provision that is unable to respond adequately to, or connect culturally with, Māori realities. The scene is set wherein a three-circle evidence based practice framework that has been adopted by special education is used (in tandem with the Māori concept of mana), as the structure for selecting the research participants; all of whom are Māori / Māori affiliated. It is my contention that a range of Māori perspectives that are reflective of all of the three types of evidence that special education acknowledges is a worthy starting point for determining parallels and distinctions. From the three evidence domains of research, practice, and whānau, 18 leaders share their respective and collective knowledge, expertise, thoughts and wisdom about the two key constructs. What transpires throughout this study is the emergence of six strong components that are unanimously privileged by these leaders as critical to culturally responsive evidence based special education practice for Māori tamariki and whānau. These components are then drawn on to uncover a range of kaupapa Māori frameworks that are reflective of the participants’ discourses.

The purpose of this qualitative action research was to explore how early primary children respond to the implementation of culturally relevant oracy practices in an inclusive classroom. This study, which took place over five months in an inner city school in Western Canada, focused on children’s oracy skills following four events facilitated by an Aboriginal Elder. Data consisted of an oral assessment, transcriptions of the four events, artefacts created by the students, photographs, and the teacher’s research journal. Data analysis consisted of a comparative assessment of the student’s oral language skills and a content and discourse analysis of the transcriptions. Data analysis revealed that children respond favourably to culturally responsive oracy practices, that they are able to meet the B.C. Ministry of Education prescribed learning outcomes, and such practices adhere to the Aboriginal Enhancement Agreement (2005). / Graduate / 0727 / 0524 / winona.waldron@shaw.ca

Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / This qualitative case study of a medium-sized Massachusetts school district was part of a larger study exploring how educators throughout a school district make sense of and enact culturally responsive practice (CRP). This individual study focused on how school leaders and teachers incorporated their understanding of CRP into the supervision and evaluation process. Despite a growing body of literature on the effectiveness of educator evaluation standards on teacher practice, there is little on how these tools increase teachers’ capacity to support the learning of historically marginalized students. Specifically, this research asks two questions: (1) How do teachers and school leaders understand CRP? (2) How does the supervision and evaluation process contribute to a shared understanding of CRP for teachers and school leaders? Data were collected from 22 semi-structured interviews of school leaders and teachers, document review, and an online survey. Incorporating a cognitive framework for policy implementation, findings revealed that school leaders and teachers understand CRP through their own identities and life experiences and through their interpretation of the district’s professional environment. Findings further noted that the lack of a shared definition of CRP in the district contributed to inconsistent application and prioritization of CRP in the supervision and evaluation process. Without a shared understanding, educators often pivoted to other district initiatives to describe CRP. Implications include the need to establish a system of reflection and practice for educators to explore the beliefs they hold about historically marginalized students and how those beliefs inform practice. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Lauri Johnson / Traditionally, schools have suspended students of color at significantly higher rates than White students. Culturally responsive classroom practices have been found to reduce these disparities. This exploratory case study examined whether or not teachers with low discipline referrals for African American and Hispanic/Latinx students from a midsized urban Massachusetts district report using culturally responsive discipline practices, and how their principal fosters these practices. It was part of a larger group study that examined how school and district leaders support marginalized students. Data was collected over a four-month period using semi-structured interviews with two principals and nine teachers in two schools. Interview questions were based on the Double-Check Framework (Hershfeldt etl al., 2009) which identifies culturally responsive discipline practices. Data showed that teachers with low office discipline referrals might embrace culturally responsive practices, at least to a limited degree. Additionally, while principals reported that they provided culturally responsive professional learning activities for teachers, teachers interviewed did not attribute their practices to these efforts. Results suggest that school leaders should cultivate positive relationships between students and staff to reduce discipline disparities. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / In today’s educational landscape many school environments alienate students as they often are not responsive to their cultural and linguistic needs. Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) is a high leverage strategy that helps meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students by guiding school leaders towards fostering a climate of belonging. While much of the CRSL literature centers around building-level leadership, a gap exists in better understanding district leader efforts to foster a climate of belonging. As part of a larger qualitative study of district leadership practices that foster equity, the purpose of this individual case study was to explore how district leaders in a large Northeast school district foster a climate of belonging. Interview data from ten district leaders as well as an examination of public and local documents provided data for analysis using CRSL as a conceptual framework. Findings indicate that while the district was engaging in some individual CRSL practices by working to promote culturally responsive school environments and engaging students, parents, and local contexts, a systematic and strategic approach to fostering a climate of belonging was absent. Recommendations include developing a district-level, deliberate approach to fostering a climate of belonging, conducting a detailed equity audit, and instituting a comprehensive CRSL professional development plan for building-level leaders. Keywords: Leadership, Equity, Culturally Responsive School Leadership, Climate of Belonging / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / Demographic shifts in American society and public schools have increased the urgency among educators and other stakeholders to ensure educational equity and excellence are a reality for all students (Brown, 2007; Dean, 2002; Gay, 2000; Johnson, 2007). One very notable shift in the United States has been the dramatic enrollment increase of English Learner (EL) students. Supporting ELs’ achievement on standardized testing and increasing their graduation rates have been particular challenges, the meeting of which has required school districts to think differently. Culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) has been one solution, through the application of which districts can focus on teacher preparation, culturally responsive curricula, school inclusiveness and the engagement of students and parents in community contexts. This study is part of a larger study that examined leadership practices that foster equity, included twenty semi-structured interviews of district leaders, school leaders, and teachers. Findings from this study indicate that school leaders have enacted and supported culturally responsive behaviors to educate ELs and suggest how leaders might employ CRSL behaviors for the dual purpose of supporting ELs’ achievement on standardized testing and increasing their graduation rates. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2020. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.