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While the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision may have overturned the legal practice of race-based segregation in public schools on the basis of separate being “inherently unequal”, the promise of equality for Black students in the United States has yet to materialize (Noguera et al., 2015). Sixty-seven years removed from the Brown decision and 50 years after Swann v. CMS, African American students are still faring worse than their white counterparts by nearly every conceivable metric and the composition of many schools throughout the nation have actually moved rapidly in the direction of resegregation (Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, 2018). Despite the dominant narrative of segregated Black schools as wholly inadequate, there are counternarratives of them producing educational excellence, racial pride and serving as pillars in the African American community. Second Ward High School was the first Black public secondary school in Charlotte, North Carolina, and located in the historic Black neighborhood called “Brooklyn”. It was closed in the wake of desegregation. This investigation of Second Ward High School utilizes a historical case study method through the theoretical framework of Community Cultural Wealth to better understand the institutional assets segregated Black schools in the urban South endowed to their student populations during the period of 1960-1969.
Beginning teachers are more likely to secure jobs in diverse school districts (Gagnon & Mattingly, 2012; (Holme et al., 2018). Unfortunately, beginning teachers are also more likely to leave diverse school districts and urban schools due to a number of challenges (Doran, 2020; Howard & Milner, 2021). Because these schools consist of predominately students of color, the high turnover affects students’ academic success (Ladson-Billings, 2022). Additionally, beginning teachers in these specific school settings have been historically non-proficient in providing students of color with a culturally relevant education (Ladson-Billings, 1995) which has caused the educational system to be centered around a Eurocentric perspective and not reflective of students’ racial diversity (Davis et al., 2022). Using a critical lens, this study explores three beginning teachers’ perceptions of preparedness in teaching racially diverse students and the influences it has on their teaching practices.
Keywords: beginning teachers, perceptions, racial diversity
APRIL DENIECE THOMAS: Do you see yourself in multicultural literature? Seeking self-reflections from Black students
(Under the Supervision of Dr. ERIK BYKER)
In the United States, Muhammad (2020) explains how Black students who attend schools have a greater potential success when they see themselves represented in the curriculum and when their cultural, gender, and racial identities are affirmed. This dissertation study examined the ways in which third grade Black girls and boys (n=5) see themselves when they read African American multicultural literature. The study also investigated the literary elements in African American multicultural text that encourage self-reflection. The study’s methodology was based on a qualitative phenomenological research design, which included a pilot study (n=4) of the interview protocol. The interview protocol was revised for suitability based on the findings from the pilot study. Both the pilot study and the main dissertation research study were conducted using semi-structured interviews. The participants chose a text from a collection of African American multicultural literature and shared their responses to that text based on the interview protocol. The following research questions guided the study: 1) How do Black children respond to African American multicultural literature?; 2) How do Black children describe their cultural and racial identity within multicultural literature?; and 3) What literary features facilitate Black children’s ability to self-reflect? The findings of the study were organized based on these research questions. The study utilized two frameworks, Reader Response Theory (Rosenblatt, 2004) and Black Identity Theory (Jackson III, 2012), to unpack and discuss the findings. A new theory emerged from the study’s findings, which is called Multicultural Self-Reflection Theory. This theory explains and provides insights into how Black children self-reflect when reading African American multicultural literature. Multicultural Self-Reflection Theory provides a lens for understanding how Black children engage in what the dissertation coins, “multicultural self-reflection" when responding to African American multicultural text.
Key Words: African American, Black children, Black Identity Theory, interview study, multicultural literature, Multicultural Self-Reflection Theory, phenomenology
Reader Response Theory, self-reflect,
Due to the shortage of World Language and English as a Second Language teachers, recruiting, retaining, and supporting aspiring second language teachers in the completion of their teacher licensure program is crucial. One barrier to the profession for these teachers is edTPA. Research has suggested that non-native English speakers (NNES) who populate second language teacher preparation programs may struggle to complete this assessment more so than their native-English speaking (NES) peers. To shed light on this topic, the researcher used a mixed methodology to examine the performance, perceptions, and preparation of NNES and NES teacher candidates on the World Language and English as an Additional Language edTPA. Data sources included edTPA scores, survey responses and faculty interviews.
The study’s results suggest that the performance of NNES candidates may vary by their teaching assignment and corresponding edTPA portfolio to complete. The results also revealed that NNES candidates’ perceptions centered on their struggles with the writing requirements for edTPA and their lack of awareness of the assessment’s expectations and its connections to coursework. Both candidates and faculty mentioned the benefits of practice edTPA tasks infused in coursework and content-specific seminars offered during the internship. The use of customized language support such as peer editing and the use of other writing resources was reported by candidates and faculty to be especially beneficial for NNES candidates. The study’s findings serve to inform teacher preparation programs as they strive to improve the edTPA preparation of all candidates, including those whose first language is not English.
National mathematics achievement results show elementary students in the United States are not increasing in cognitive ability or critical thinking skills (NAEP, 2019). Furthermore, students who are mathematically promising need more opportunities for cognitively demanding mathematics instruction in order for this increase to occur. Therefore, this descriptive case study focused on the interactions and emergence of Mathematical Practices in seven third grade students with a series of five tasks. The seven third grade students were identified by their teachers as mathematically promising. The tasks used in the two suburban classrooms observations of the study were from the Tools 4 NC teachers framework (Tools 4 Teachers, 2019). Data sources collected included pre- and post-focus group audiotapes, classroom observations via audio and video, field notes, as well as document analysis of student work and a teacher debrief form. Blumer's theory of social constructivism (1969) and Tripathi’s Multiple Reasoning (2008) guided this study.
Findings from the students' interactions with tasks showed the following themes: students used a variety of interpersonal interactions between themselves, the teacher, and visual representations. Students used mathematical writing to justify their reasoning and reflection to communicate their conceptual mathematical understanding. Students grew in their emergence of the Mathematical Practices of perseverance through problem solving, productive struggle, the construction of arguments, and the ability to make connections. These findings indicate the importance of ongoing curriculum development to include differentiated teacher guidance for mathematically promising students. Additionally, the findings of this study will support mathematics teachers and leaders with a student-centered approach to teaching inquiry-based instruction.
Improving elementary student reading achievement has been a well-defined goal of many federal and state educational initiatives over the last several decades. To that end, vast amounts of resources have been funneled into professional development for literacy teachers to solve the problem of students who are unable to read proficiently on grade level through a focus on improving teacher literacy instruction. The employment of literacy coaches into elementary schools has been an embedded professional development strategy implemented to combat these low literacy achievement rates across the country. However, the effectiveness of literacy coaches in positively influencing teacher instruction has not been rigorously investigated and many questions still remain about their true impact of improving student reading achievement.
This qualitative case study examined how teachers perceive a change in their instructional beliefs and practices through intervention with a literacy coach and which factors of coaching teachers report as most influential on their classroom practice. The implications of coach/teacher interplay were investigated through the entrenched professional development experiences of three elementary literacy teachers and their school-based literacy coach to determine the specific strategies, conversations, and interventions that brought about a possible change in teacher beliefs and practices relating to the teaching of literacy in their classrooms. A within-case analysis revealed changes in teacher beliefs and practices surrounding small group reading activities including phonics integration as well as changes in whole group phonemic awareness (PA) instruction. A cross-case analysis uncovered meaningful themes highlighting coach proximity to practice including shared responsibility, the coach as a sounding board, and scaffolding coaching cycles. Detailed results combined with recommendations for future research work to advance the field in an effort to develop an effective model of literacy coaching implementation.
Despite recurring arguments over the course of a century, intentional education geared toward the whole child in schools has not occurred (Khalsa & Butzer, 2016; Sabey, 2019). Consequently, children often emerge from high school exhibiting sufficient academic content knowledge applicable towards a successful career path, but lack social emotional skills essential for the development of optimal mental health and well-being (Butzer et al., 2016). Birth to age eight is precisely the time when the foundation of the whole child originates and when the building blocks for future academic success and social emotional well-being are established (NAEYC, 1986; Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). As a result of an existing gap underlining early elementary educator perceptions and experiences of social emotional learning (SEL), the purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions and experiences of full-time lead educators and paraprofessionals who teach SEL in Kindergarten through Second grade classrooms. Data was collected through a qualitative multiple-perspective case study design using a semi-structured interview process. Interview transcripts were analyzed and coded using a within-case analysis. Data analysis led to the development of seven themes: (1) Defining SEL, (2) Preparedness in Teaching SEL, (3) Barriers of SEL, (4) Educator Roles and Responsibilities, (5) High Priority of SEL, (6) SEL as a Positive Influence/Impact on Students, and (7) Evidence of SEL Skills. The findings of this study suggest that educators in K-2 classrooms (1) place SEL as a high priority in their classrooms, (2) perceive that SEL has a positive impact and influence on students based on observations, and (3) indicate how barriers such as under preparedness and lack of support inhibit SEL teaching in their classroom whereas positive school culture and pertinent resources greatly assist in effective facilitation of SEL.
Although research has been done to explore social media as a safe space for Black girls (Womack, 2013), there is limited research that assesses social media as a counter space for Black girls’ literacies. According to The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research (2017), Black teens are the largest users of Instagram and SnapChat. While broader research has looked at Black girls' literacies and digital literacies among this population (Price-Dennis, 2016), there is limited research that has explored the literacy practices of Black girls specifically in the digital space they predominantly use, Instagram. Most importantly, the need to explore the elements of literacy that engage Black girls in non-formal academic spaces in which they utilize excessively may provide context for application in academic curriculum. This research study explores whether Instagram may provide a potential counterspace for Black girls' literacies and the ways in which they practice literacy through the examination of digital posts, online observations, and interviews with two adolescent Black girls.
Keywords: Instagram, Counterspace, Black Girls, Literacy, Social Media
Educators and researchers have been exploring alternative approaches to school discipline such as School-wide Positive Interventions and Supports (SW-PBIS) and Restorative Justice. There has been little research analyzing the effectiveness of both approaches implemented in tandem. Using an autoethnographic design, this study critically analyzes the beliefs and perceptions of one white, female school principal as she combines SW-PBIS and Restorative Practices at her racially diverse, Title I elementary school. The following research questions were addressed in this study 1) How has implementing restorative practices and PBIS simultaneously within a diverse, Title, urban-like school helped to shape my beliefs as a white female administrator? 2) As a white female principal, what are my perceptions of the staff response to a blended model of SW-PBIS and Restorative Practices? 3) How do I, as a white, female principal, contribute to the environment that produces discipline disparities? How do I combat it? Four themes emerged during the data analysis: A Pollyanna Principal, Deficit Mindsets, Zero Tolerance for Zero-Tolerance, and White Savior. The findings revealed connections between the themes and Critical Race Theory, exposing the impact of race in student discipline through my eyes as a white, female principal.
The underrepresentation of Black women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is a long-standing issue. According to the National Science Foundation (NSF, 2019), Black women hold less than 10% of STEM degrees, while only 2% work in STEM fields. These disparities can be attributed to structural inequities related to the STEM pipeline. Therefore, to mitigate these disparities, informal STEM education programs can help increase participation in STEM and create more opportunities for Black women and girls. Thus, this collective case study addressed the following research questions: 1. How do adolescent Black girls engage in and respond to informal STEM education programs? 2. How can informal STEM education programs develop adolescent Black girls' STEM identity and increase participation in STEM? 3. What pedagogical practices effectively engage adolescent Black girls in STEM? Purposeful criterion sampling was used to recruit participants for this study. The research process included interviewing four adolescent Black girls who attended informal STEM education programs. To understand each program's process and climate, participants described their experiences through initial questionnaires, interviews, and written prompt responses. Furthermore, this research used critical race feminism and Black feminist thought to analyze five prominent themes from the data. The findings suggest that Black girls who participate in informal STEM education programs (a) benefited from an affirming environment, (b) experienced engaging instructional strategies, (c) utilized support systems, (d) recognized racial representation was significant, and (e) experienced racial microaggressions. In addition, the findings support equitable STEM access for Black girls through informal education programs. The implications of this study also suggest a need to attend to the psychological and emotional needs of Black girls in informal STEM spaces.
