Overcoming the Void: Obstacles to Authentic Culturally Relevant Teaching
Location
Online - Session 6A
Start Date
4-21-2021 6:40 PM
Major Field of Study
Education
Student Type
Graduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Jennifer Lucko, Phd and Katherine Lewis, Phd
Presentation Format
Poster Presentation
Abstract/Description
This qualitative study explored how teacher perceptions of culturally relevant teaching (CRT) professional development training and a lack of student voice impede authentic implementation of CRT. A review of the literature showed that student voice is largely missing in CRT research. Additionally, teacher responses to CRT professional development were not frequently discussed. Research for this study was conducted at a 7-12 public school in Northern California. Four teachers and three students were interviewed, and two students participated in a focus group. After a combination of open and focused coding, narrative analyses, and analytic memos, the findings seemed to suggest that there was a void between teacher’s understanding of CRT and student desires. While students and teachers had similar ideas on CRT, students desired more representationally diverse educational content and recurrent lessons on social emotional learning. An additional void in communication appeared to exist between teachers and administration regarding the perceived effectiveness of CRT professional development training. Two teachers had negative reactions to CRT professional development and did not feel comfortable sharing their frustrations with administration. More research is needed to determine if the race/ethnicity of the teacher affects how they perceive professional development on CRT. Overall, the findings suggest that schools should create more explicit avenues for students to share their desires and feedback with teachers and administrators. Additionally, training on CRT should take place through bottom-up professional development rather than a top-down approach.
Keywords: culturally relevant teaching, student voice, teacher professional development, qualitative research, social justice education
Overcoming the Void: Obstacles to Authentic Culturally Relevant Teaching
Online - Session 6A
This qualitative study explored how teacher perceptions of culturally relevant teaching (CRT) professional development training and a lack of student voice impede authentic implementation of CRT. A review of the literature showed that student voice is largely missing in CRT research. Additionally, teacher responses to CRT professional development were not frequently discussed. Research for this study was conducted at a 7-12 public school in Northern California. Four teachers and three students were interviewed, and two students participated in a focus group. After a combination of open and focused coding, narrative analyses, and analytic memos, the findings seemed to suggest that there was a void between teacher’s understanding of CRT and student desires. While students and teachers had similar ideas on CRT, students desired more representationally diverse educational content and recurrent lessons on social emotional learning. An additional void in communication appeared to exist between teachers and administration regarding the perceived effectiveness of CRT professional development training. Two teachers had negative reactions to CRT professional development and did not feel comfortable sharing their frustrations with administration. More research is needed to determine if the race/ethnicity of the teacher affects how they perceive professional development on CRT. Overall, the findings suggest that schools should create more explicit avenues for students to share their desires and feedback with teachers and administrators. Additionally, training on CRT should take place through bottom-up professional development rather than a top-down approach.
Keywords: culturally relevant teaching, student voice, teacher professional development, qualitative research, social justice education