The purpose of this life history study was to identify the experiences that
influence the cultural socialization process of teachers and the factors that contribute to
the effective instruction of students of color. Six female teachers who are currently
assigned to third, fourth, or fifth grade students in elementary schools participated in this
research project. Their experiences range from the second year in the classroom to
thirteen years of teaching, and they have all had assignments as language arts teachers.
Data for this qualitative research was collected from two face-to-face interviews,
principals’ written descriptions about classroom environments, and participant
observations. The interviews were transcribed from audio cassettes and the data was
analyzed using Burke’s Pentadic Analysis, Linde’s Creation of Coherence and features
from Spradley’s Participant Observation.
Each teacher claimed unique lived experiences, but there were similar threads of
high teacher expectation, meeting the needs of students and affirming the cultural differences of the students of colors that were sewn together in all their narratives. The
cultural socialization process of the participants was connected to pivotal events that
were linked to creation of coherence in their lives. These epiphanies were identified in
their earliest recollection and continued into their instructional practices.
The findings of this study indicate that there are deep layers that can emerge
when teachers reflect on the events that influence their effectiveness with students of
color. The conclusions are that effective teachers of students of color are guided by an
agenda that includes the multiple roles that they have to assume in order to achieve the
goal of success for all their students. Recommendations for further research and
implications for theory and practice were also discussed.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2940 |
| Date | 15 May 2009 |
| Creators | Henry, Patricia May |
| Contributors | Carter, Norvella P, Clark, M Carolyn |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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