<p> The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory case study was to explore teachers’ perceptions toward culturally responsive teaching (CRT) of African American high school students in reading and language arts classrooms. Reading scores have increased for both African American and Caucasian students, but on average, African American students do not perform as well on reading tests as their Caucasian peers. Fifteen reading and language arts teachers from one high school in Florida were interviewed using a semistructured, open-ended interview format. Analysis of the data led to answers to the research questions for the study. The findings indicate that teachers are not prepared to teach in culturally responsive ways. The findings add to the current literature indicating that teachers support CRT but struggle to apply the strategies because of a lack of CRT training and culturally enriched reading material. Based on the findings, leaders are encouraged to engage teachers in conversations to become aware of their cultural biases, acquire knowledge of CRT, evaluate the CRT practices of teachers to determine what CRT strategies and support are needed for teachers, develop a CRT professional development plan and require all school personnel to participate in training, provide supplemental culturally enriched material for teachers to use in the classroom, and follow-up with teachers to evaluate additional needs.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PROQUEST/oai:pqdtoai.proquest.com:3708714 |
| Date | 30 June 2015 |
| Creators | Thompson, Lucinda R. |
| Publisher | University of Phoenix |
| Source Sets | ProQuest.com |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | thesis |
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