<p dir="ltr">American society’s increase in ethnic textures, interracial tension, immigrants, religion, gender, disability, ability, and students who speak languages other than English as their first language prolongs the pedagogical challenges teachers encounter in the classroom due to diversity. This study explored the experiences of secondary social studies teachers as curricular-instructional gatekeepers implementing culturally responsive pedagogy in times of socio-political tensions in the United States. The teacher as curricular-instructional gatekeeper framework guided this research. By adopting a qualitative multiple-case study, I utilized interviews with four teachers, two hundred hours of classroom observation, and document analysis as data sources. The findings revealed that the social studies gatekeepers’ culturally responsive practices amidst the present socio-political tensions included exposing diverse perspectives to diverse students, leveraging culturally diverse learners’ lived experiences, diversifying instructional methodologies for diverse learners, and confronting stereotypes in a culturally diverse classroom. Moreover, I discovered that present happenings influence culturally responsive practices by presenting difficulty in exposing specific topics to diverse learners, limiting classroom participation for responsive teaching, increasing workload in planning responsive lessons, and becoming a better teacher in a culturally diverse classroom. I recommend that further research should be conducted to explore the role of teacher education programs in preparing pre-service or in-service teachers to implement culturally responsive practices, how the multiple identities of in-service social studies teachers interplay to influence their implementation of culturally responsive practices, and how professional development training offered to in-service social studies teachers prepare them to implement culturally responsive practices amidst the growing legislation in the United States.</p>

School cultures, curriculum, and instruction are too often created through a monocultural lens, which excludes Black and Latino/a/x students both socially and academically, and perpetuates the false notion that these students are inherently less capable of achieving academic success when compared to their White counterparts. This is visible across all content areas, but especially in secondary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) classes, which means that our Black and Latino/a/x students are continually denied preparation for the critical, high demand careers in the STEM field. Just as critical, with the dominance of White teachers in the classroom, out Black and Latino/a/x students often do not have access to teachers who share their lived experiences or who understand the nuances of their home cultures. However, teachers and school instructional leaders can change course by focusing their efforts to develop a rich cultural consciousness, and by focusing on the utilization of culturally responsive pedagogy (CRP) and related instructional strategies with great intentionality in the classroom. This mixed method, single site, exploratory case study was conducted to examine Black and Latino/a/x students' perceptions of their culturally responsive STEM teachers' cultural consciousness, and culturally responsive STEM teachers' perceptions of culturally responsive practices and their Black and Latino/a/x academic abilities. The results provide a clear discrepancy between STEM teacher and Black and Latino/a/x student perspectives that emphasizes a tension between them. This tension must be further explored and highlights a critical need for STEM specific professional development that encompasses both culturally responsive practices and opportunities to develop a critical consciousness.

The focus of this study was on how to help narrow the achievement gap between Native American students and their non-Native peers in an urban Oklahoma school district. A qualitative case study approach was used to answer the questions of how parents of Native American students perceive their children's academic success in reading and mathematics in Grade 1- Grade 12 and why they believe their children have consistently (or historically) performed below district, state, and national expectations in these subjects in an attempt to better understand the achievement gap. Progress reports, institutional reports, and standards-based test scores were indicative of the widening achievement gap between Native American students and their non-Native peers. Bourdieu's cultural capital theory supported by Epstein's model of parental involvement were used as the conceptual framework for this study. Six parents of Native American students in Grade 1– Grade 12 were selected as participants and were interviewed using open-ended, semistructured questions to gain insight and help to answer the research questions. The coding of collected data, an analysis of emergent themes and triangulation, peer debriefing, and member checks were all utilized as analytical procedures to ensure accuracy and credibility. Results from the study revealed that parents of Native American students perceive their students' academic success as a struggle and identify parental involvement, curriculum relatability, class size and communication among some of the barriers to their students' success. Implications for positive social change for this study included the potential to inform more effective teaching strategies for teachers who teach Native American students, inform their curriculum development, and foster the empowerment of Native American families.

The purpose of this autoethnographic study was to critically examine my personal experiences with culture and race to better understand myself, my perceptions of culture and race, and how my perceptions of educators' interactions with culturally and racially diverse students may have been impacted as a result. Autoethnography is the study of self in which researchers draw on their own experiences to understand a culture or phenomenon. The following research questions guided the study: 1) what does an examination of my lived experiences as an African American female educator reveal about me? and 2) what are the potential implications for my role as an administrator? Data sources consisted of journal entries, notes, and narratives based on my lived experiences. The data were analyzed by initial coding to uncover recurring themes in the narratives of: 1) negative perceptions of those offended by issues of race; 2) the need to promote cultural awareness; and 3) personal silence around issues of race. The themes were then examined through the lens of critical race theory with specific attention to the tenets of permanence of race, interest convergence, intersectionality, and storytelling. The insights provided here in response to the first research question were then considered in light of the framework of culturally responsive pedagogy and leadership, thus responding to the second question. The implications discussed provide insights for me personally as a teacher leader, for educators in general, and for future researchers.

All educators are responsible for making their students feel safe, capable, and seen in the classroom. One way this can be accomplished is by implementing culturally responsive pedagogy. Our students will come from many different backgrounds. One of the most vital ways students will feel seen is by having characters in the books they read that they can identify with and learn from. Therefore, teachers should put effort into including children's literature in their classrooms by choosing culturally diverse books that are also high-quality and align with state standards. There are many high-quality pieces of children's literature that include culturally diverse protagonists, and finding these books is the focus of this study. High-quality multicultural literature exists and is celebrated by several race-based literature awards. This thesis analyzes race-based literature awards for African American and Hispanic children's literature, Florida's ELA standards, and the state's student demographics to create a standards-based inventory list of multicultural K-2 children's literature to distribute to teachers in Orange County. This inventory list acts as a guide and starting point for teachers to see how to choose literature with characters that represent the students, they teach without sacrificing the quality of education. When teachers have the resources to choose high-quality multicultural literature, they can implement them across other disciplines.

This dissertation interprets a qualitative study designed to investigate the pedagogical practices of experienced science teachers who, through their teaching practices, promote learning and achievement of urban African American middle school students between the ages 10-13 years. Based upon the theoretical frameworks of the theory of third space and culturally-responsive pedagogy, this study targeted the pedagogical practices that connected home-to-school experiences. The study sample consisted of 17 students, 2 experienced science teachers, and 1 principal from the same urban middle school. Data collected over a six-month period include in-depth individual interviews, classroom observations, audio recordings, videotaping, and review of documentation. Interviews focused on the participants' experiences, views, and the role each played in learning and achievement. Classroom observations provided additional insights into the classroom setting, participants' actions, and participants' interactions with the teachers and other students. The student focus group emphasized the students' perspectives of their teacher and her teaching strategies. A whole-text analysis of the interview transcripts, observational field notes, video recording and documents generated three major categories: connection to students, classroom management, and instructional pedagogy. The following significant findings emerged from the data: (a) the beliefs and views of teachers affect their classroom practices; (b) when teachers build rapport with African American students, they are better able to create trust, increase the comfort level in their classroom, and motivate learning; (c) a teacher's use of home-to-school connections motivates students' interest in learning while helping them to make connections to curriculum, (d) the type of classroom management practices a teacher uses can enhance effective content implementation, and (e) a teacher's varied instructional pedagogical practices can provide African American students the opportunity they need to demonstrate knowledge and achievement. Implications for middle school teachers, students, parents, administrators, and teacher educators are included. Suggestions for future research are also provided. The results from this qualitative study strongly suggest that third space theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding the connections necessary for bridging a culturally-responsive disposition and a continuum between home and school experiences, which is critical in a science classroom populated by urban African American students. / Ph. D.

This longitudinal trend study (Gall, Borg & Gall, 1996) examined the effectiveness of a one-semester university-based teacher induction program as compared to a two-semester university-based teacher induction program based on the observation scores of classroom teaching behaviors urban novice teachers exhibited during the first year of teaching. These scores were further analyzed in relation to the socio-economic level of the school and the grade level taught. Additionally, the study explored the past participants’ perceptions of the teacher induction program components of a one-semester program and a two-semester program during their fifth year of teaching. Their perceptions were also examined in relation to the socio-economic level of the school and the grade level taught. The study examined the observation scores of classroom teaching behaviors of 145 urban novice teachers participating in either a one-semester or two-semester universitybased teacher induction program. The urban novice teachers demonstrated growth over time as measured by the first and final observation scores of classroom teaching behaviors. However, the length of the university-based teacher induction program did not affect the observation scores of classroom teaching behaviors. Further, neither the socio-economic level of the school nor the grade level taught affected the observation scores of classroom teaching behaviors. Although the three components of the university-based teacher induction program received high means, 82 past participants of a one-semester or a two-semester teacher induction program responding to the Teacher Induction Program Participant Survey (TIPPS) recognized formative observation as the most effective component. Peer support and professional development were perceived second and third respectively. No statistical significant differences of the one-semester or two-semester past participants’ perceptions of peer support, professional development or formative observation were found related to the socio-economic level of the school or the grade level taught.

Today's urban schools are composed of students from diverse cultural backgrounds and varying levels of academic readiness. At the same time, approximately 88% of teachers are White and middle-class. The dispositions of teachers have important educational ramifications. Teachers' beliefs structure the classroom atmosphere, influence perceptions regarding the abilities of students, and impact how they teach and expect students to learn and behave. In order to foster an accepting and productive learning environment, teachers must have cultural awareness. To ensure that all learners receive a solid academic foundation, teachers must be able to instruct dissimilar students. Special educators have been trained to work with students with unique, special needs, but the reality of today's demographics - and special education classrooms in particular - mandate that they also have the cultural knowledge to effectively serve diverse students. Perceptions and attitudes of elementary special education teachers regarding their cultural awareness and beliefs need to be explored. This study examined the cultural awareness beliefs of elementary special educators working in urban school districts located in southeast Texas. The research also needs to ascertain whether ethnicity or length of service effected such teachers' cultural awareness beliefs. Using the Cultural Awareness Beliefs Inventory (CABI) instrument, the investigator gathered self-reported data from 54 participants. The reliability and validity of the instrument were determined to be sound by previous investigators. The CABI contains eight major components: Teacher Beliefs, School Climate, Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, Home and Community Support, Curriculum and Instruction, Cultural Sensitivity, Cultural Awareness, and Teacher Efficacy. Data were analyzed using percentage analysis and one-way analysis of variance. The findings include: 1) Participants had favorable perceptions towards the School Climate, Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, and Cultural Awareness variables; 2) Participants had unfavorable perceptions regarding Teacher Beliefs; 3) In contrast to some previous research, it did not appear that teaching experience impacted cultural beliefs; and 4) Importantly, it was discerned that teachers' ethnicities yielded statistically significant effects on their cultural awareness and beliefs regarding African American special education students.

The nurturance of creative capacity and cultural awareness have been identified as important 21st century concerns, given the ways that globalisation has challenged cultural diversity. This thesis explores the share that the art classroom, as a formative place, has in supporting such concerns. It specifically examines artmaking strategies that visual arts teachers may use to help adolescent students to develop and negotiate their senses of self, place and community. Held within this goal is the assumption that both student and teacher perspectives are important to this endeavor. This thesis, accordingly, draws upon empirical work undertaken with lower secondary school level visual art students in Christchurch, New Zealand and teacher-trainees in Kingston, Jamaica to explore this potential in multi-dimensional ways. The research employs a qualitative, arts-based methodology, centred on the transformative capacity of ‘visual knowing’ to render this potential visible. A/r/tography as a particular strand of arts-based methodology, served to also implicate my artist-researcher-teacher roles in the study to facilitate both reflection and reflexivity and to capture the complexity and dynamics of the study. Multiple case studies provided the contexts to furnish these possibilities, and to theorize the intrinsic qualities of each case, as well as the complementary aspects of the inquiry in depth. The conceptual framework that underpins this study draws widely on scholarship relating to contemporary artmaking practices, visual culture, culturally responsive and place-conscious pedagogical practices. The research findings reveal that when the artmaking experience is framed around the personal and cultural experiences of the participants, both students and teachers participate in the enterprise meaningfully as co-constructors of knowledge. In this process, students develop the confidence to bring their unique feelings, experiences and understandings to the artmaking process, and develop a sense of ‘insideness’ that leads to strong senses of self, place and community. This also creates a space where the authentic interpretation of artmaking activities goes beyond the creation of borders around cultural differences, and instead generates multiple entry points for students to engage with information. The findings also indicate that while the nature of artmaking is improvisatory and emergent, structure is an integral element in the facilitation of habits toward perception and meaning making. Accordingly, emphases on structured, open-ended artmaking experiences, framed aesthetically, as well as exposure to both the products and processes of contemporary art serve this endeavor. Artmaking boundaries and enabling structures also help to supplement this process. Though this research is limited in scope (in terms of the community engagement), there exists evidence that collaboration with community resource persons enlarges students’ conceptions of artmaking. It presents the potential to address broad issues of local and global import, which also have relevance for the ways students understand their relationships with the world. For researchers outside of the school and community culture however, this process requires close working relations with school personnel to ensure its effectiveness and to facilitate those school-community bridges. The undertaking is also best realized when participants have their own senses of its value, and, as such, are more inclined to participate. A/r/tography, as an arts-based methodology presents much potential for examining the complexities of the artmaking experience. As a form of active inquiry it helps those who employ its features to be more attuned toward enquiry, their ways of being in the world, the ways the personal may be negotiated in a community of belonging, and the development of practices that address difference. This contributes to evolving and alternative research possibilities that value visual forms of ‘knowing’. Finally, this thesis addresses the paucity of research on visual arts education at the secondary level, especially in the Jamaican context. A significant feature of this research is the evidence of its effectiveness with both lower secondary school students and teachers across geographical contexts. It therefore presents the potential for similar studies to be undertaken internationally. Given that the results are site specific however, it is recommended that the adaptation of the framework of this study for future purposes also respond to the specific realities of those contexts.

In many ways, traditional arts in schools bear the bruises of the early years of multicultural education, and the failed practices that created what has been termed a tourist curriculum, comprised of the superficial study of folktales, festivals, foods, and facts. Consequently, the use of art forms of cultures is often approached with caution by teachers, or avoided altogether. This thesis re-frames the use of traditional arts in the classroom through current research and knowledge, defining their efficacy and role in today’s classroom. Traditional arts are examined through the lenses of arts integration, culturally responsive pedagogical practice and creative processes. A qualitative, research portraiture methodology was employed, and executed through the lens of four case studies in order to more coherently incorporate the arts-based nature of this research. The research sites include classes studying Maori visual arts, waiata (song), and haka (dance) in Christchurch, New Zealand, chant, hula, and plant weaving at an Hawaiian charter school, and social dance and song of the Oneida tribe in the US. Research results indicated that when teachers facilitate experiences in traditional arts in such a way that students are exposed to entry points for their own interaction with the forms, students respond with self reflection, engagement, and a tendency to elevate the status of affiliation with the culture undertaken. While students and teachers do not become conversant in the culture as a result of such study, working with traditional arts in this way may serve to break down culturally bound ways of seeing the world. When traditional arts are employed in classrooms, they may engage students in a creative process that takes the form of embodied or physicalized, interpretive, or improvisational interactions with the forms. When traditional arts are employed in this way, relying on creative process, they also meet goals for culturally responsive learning, legitimizing how students experience and make sense of the world. Traditional arts provide a critical, under-utilized, strategy for embedding culture in the educational setting. In order to best meet the goals of the learning setting, traditional arts must incorporate creative processes. Hybridization of the forms, while increasing accessibility for teachers and students, must be carefully undertaken. Traditional arts utilized in this way hold potential for addressing broader curricular content.