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The relationships between teacher beliefs about diversity and opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, reflectiveness, and teacher self-efficacy

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The relationships between teacher beliefs about diversity and opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, reflectiveness, and teacher self-efficacy

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Content Running head: TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY

1

The Relationships Between Teacher Beliefs about Diversity and Opportunities for
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students, Reflectiveness, and Teacher Self-Efficacy
by

Xiomara Mateo-Gaxiola

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

August 2014

Copyright 2014 Xiomara Mateo-Gaxiola
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 2
Acknowledgements
Behind every dissertation is a team of people that make it happen. I would like to thank
the most supportive team that I ever could have hoped for. I could not have done this without the
continuous support of the most caring husband, Adam Gaxiola. Thank you My Love for always
being there to listen, encourage, and provide advice every step of the way. Thank you for taking
over at home and for keeping our lives afloat. I am blessed and forever grateful to have you!
This dissertation would have been nothing more than an idea if not for the inspiration of
my grandfather, Santos Mateo. Abuelito Tato, thank you for instilling in me the value of a
strong work ethic, compassion for others, and fearless pursuit of a dream. I miss you, but I know
that you are with me enjoying this journey. Mom, thank you for the many prayers. Your faith,
determination, and resilience have always been an inspiration to me. Thank you for being you! I
want to thank my family and friends for stepping up to lend a helping hand when needed, I am so
lucky to have you in my life. A special thank you goes to my sister, Francesca and my mother-in-
law, Joyce for giving me the gift of time. Thank you for doing such a beautiful job of taking care
of my baby girl. You are both so loving and sweet that you made the transition effortless.
I would also like to thank my committee members. Dr. Rudy Crew, I could not have
wished for a more reflective and talented person to learn from. Thank you for all of your
guidance, you have left a lasting impression on me. Dr. Julie Slayton, thank you for illuminating
my path. This study is so much better thanks to you. Dr. Darline Robles, I am so fortunate to
have you as my faculty advisor. I feel like I won the lottery. Thank you, for protecting my time
as, I learned to balance motherhood and professional life. Your support and constant
encouragement sustained and inspired me every step of the way. Dr. Maria Ott, you are the ideal
taskmaster. Thank you for keeping me focused and making this experience one that I can look
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 3
back on with fond memories. Your eloquent and insightful pearls of wisdom will always remind
me of why this work is so important. Finally, I want to thank Ximone Inés for making an
appearance in the world right in the middle of this dissertation process. You added the perfect
mix of intention and determination that I needed. This is for you.
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 4
Table of Contents

Acknowledgements 2
List of Tables 8
List of Figures 9
Abstract 10
Chapter 1: Introduction 11
Background of the Problem 12
Statement of the Problem 16
Purpose of the Study 16
Research Questions 17
Importance of the Study 18
Limitations and Delimitations 19
Theoretical Framework 21
Social cognitive theory 21
Sociocultural theory 22
Definitions of Terms 25

Chapter 2: Review of the Literature 28
Teacher Self –efficacy 30
Teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy 32
Instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement 30
Gaps in the literature 31
Teacher Reflectiveness 32
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 5
Components of Reflectiveness 34
Gaps in the Literature 36
Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities 37
Components of Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Students 38
Gaps in the Literature 42
Teacher Beliefs about Diversity 43
Components Of Teacher Beliefs About Diversity 43
Gaps in the Literature 46
Research Questions and Hypotheses 48
Conceptual Framework 51

Chapter 3: Methodology 52
School Context 52
Missing Data 52
Participants 55
Instruments 57
Teacher self-efficacy 57
Reflectiveness 58
Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities 59

Teacher Beliefs about Diversity 60
Procedure 62
Data Analytic Strategy 62
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Chapter 4: Results 68
Descriptive Statistics 68
Sample Size 68
Relationships among Variables 76
Scatterplots 76
Correlations 78
Coefficient of determination 79
Analysis of Research Questions 80
Research Question #1 80
Research Question #2 82
Research Question #3 84

Chapter 5: Discussion 88
Summary Of Findings 88
Research Question #1 88
Research Question #2 89
Research Question #3 90
Interpretation of Results 91
Predicting Teacher Self-efficacy 91
Reflectiveness and Teacher Self-efficacy 91
Correlations with Reflectiveness 91
Beliefs about Diversity and Student Opportunities 93
Moderation – The Interaction Term 94
Limitations and Implications 95
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Design and internal validity 95
Measurement 95
Analyses and statistical power 96
External validity and generalizability 96
Recommendations for Future Research 97
Conclusion 99
References 100
Appendices 113
Appendix A: Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale 114
Appendix B: Groningen Reflection Ability Scale 115
Appendix C: Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students Scale 116
Appendix D: Personal Beliefs About Diversity Scale 118
Appendix E: Conceptual Development of Research Questions 119

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List of Tables
Table 1: Theoretical Framework and Relevance 19
Table 2: Summary of instructional practices associated 22
with high or low perceptions of teacher efficacy

Table 3: Context-neutral Mind-sets: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology 28

Table 4: Low Expectations and Deficit Mind-sets: 29
Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology

Table 5: Colorblindness: Teachers’ Personal and Professional Ideology 30

Table 6: Cultural Conflict: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology 31

Table 7: Myth of Meritocracy: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology 32

Table 8: Frequency Distribution of Teachers’ School Context (N = 74) 44

Table 9: Frequency Distribution of Teacher Participants (N=74) 46

Table 10: Basic Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Self-efficacy 59

Table 11: Original Survey Reliability for Teacher 60
Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) - Short Form
Table 12: Basic Descriptive Statistics for Reflectiveness 61
Table 13: Basic Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Beliefs 62
about Opportunities Culturally & Linguistically Diverse Students
Table 14: Basic Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Beliefs about Diversity 64

Table 15: Summary of Inter-correlations for Scores on the 69
TSES, PBDS, TBODS, and on the GRAS

Table 16: Predictors of Teacher Self Efficacy 71
Table 17: Predictors of Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities 73
for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students

Table 18: Summary of Inter-correlations for TSES, PBDS, TBOD, and PBDS*TBOD 76

Table 19: Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Teacher Self-efficacy 77
from Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities and Teacher Beliefs about Diversity
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 9
List of Figures

Figure 1: Conceptual Development of each Research Question 41

Figure 2: Illustrated Hypothesis of Interaction between 57
TSES, PBDS, & TBOD*PBDS

Figure 3: Histograms of TSES, PBDS, TBOD, & GRAS 65

Figure 4: Scatterplots: Independent Variables on TSES with Outlier 67

Figure 5: Scatterplots: Independent Variables on TSES without Outlier 68
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 10
Abstract

This study applies social cognitive theory and social cultural theory to understand the
relationships between teacher beliefs and teacher practices. The purpose of this study was to
examine the influence of teacher beliefs about diversity, teacher beliefs about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness on teacher self-efficacy. Using
on-line survey response data, multiple regression techniques were tested on a sample of teachers
teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students in any grade level and any subject area.
Findings from this study indicate that reflectiveness can be used as an important variable to
understand teacher self-efficacy and teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students. In addition, the study suggests that teacher beliefs about diversity
can be used to understand teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students. This study highlights the continued need for reflectiveness to be an important
element of support systems for teachers of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 11
Chapter 1
Introduction
Over the past 20 years, California has experienced significant shifts in demographics
(NCES, 2010). By 2025, California will rank number one in population changes as compared to
all other 49 states (Johnson, 2008). Projections show that California will maintain its position as
the most populous state, while also supporting the largest increase in international immigration
(Johnson, 2008). Over the next 10 years, California will become home to over 30 percent of the
nation’s international immigrant population (Johnson, 2008).
Also, California is historically and currently a culturally and linguistically diverse state.
As of now, no racial or ethnic group constitutes a majority of California’s population (Johnson,
2014). California census information reports that African Americans, Latinos, American and
Alaskan Natives, Asians, and persons of two or more races make up 7%, 38%, 2%, 14%, and 4%
of the population, respectively (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). Although the anticipated increases
in diversity provide a purposeful rationale for intensifying the urgency of teachers and school
leaders to focus on the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students, current residents of
California are equally as culturally and linguistically diverse and present an urgent need for a
determined focus on equity and opportunity in schools.
Population shifts exacerbate the already unjust schooling and learning conditions faced
by too many culturally and linguistically diverse students in California. Studies have shown that
in schools where culturally and linguistic diversity is high, engaging and transformative learning
experiences are low (Darling-Hammond, 2000; Elmore, 1995; Oakes & Guiton, 1995; NCES,
2003). Creating powerful learning experiences for culturally and linguistically diverse students
requires knowledge and skill (Milner, 2010). Therefore, supporting and retaining innovative
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teachers with the knowledge and skills to acknowledge and honor diversity while critically
engaging in ensuring high quality educational opportunities are currently, and will become more
increasingly, a high priority for the state of California. Further, understanding the characteristics
that sustain high quality teacher performance will serve to improve opportunities for diverse
student populations.
Background of the Problem
Changing School Environments
Today’s educator requires a capacity to engage culturally and linguistically diverse
students in purposeful learning experiences. Purposeful learning experiences will develop
flexible students capable of constructing and reconstructing knowledge to enact positive social
and political change (Banks, 2009; Freire, 1998; Giroux, 2009). John Dewey described the
complexity inherent in educating culturally and linguistically diverse students with prescience in
1916,
A society, which is mobile, which is full of channels for the distribution of
a change occurring anywhere, must see to it that its members are educated to
personal initiative and adaptability. Otherwise, they will be overwhelmed by the
changes in which they are caught and whose significance or connections they do
not perceive. (p. 92)
When teachers are unable to maintain pace with rapidly changing school environments or
to make connections between population shifts and the need to adapt learning experiences, then
educational opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students are negatively affected
(Darling-Hammond, 2004; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Oakes, 2004). Researchers have argued that
too many teacher education and in-service programs underprepare teachers, especially white-
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middle class teachers, to address racist or inequitable beliefs about diverse student populations
and how those beliefs affect teaching practices (Hollins & Guzman, 2005; Sleeter, 2003; Watson
et al., 2006). Teachers need support systems that facilitate opportunities to engage in reflective
practices and encourage discourse on teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students (Watson et al., 2006; Zeichner &
Liston, 2014). As one study found, “the greater the differences between learners and their
teachers – in culture, language, and experience – the less precisely attuned the teaching is likely
to be” (Ball & Forzani, 20011, p. 41). Teacher support systems need to address not only content
knowledge and logistical aspects of teaching in urban schools, but also the tensions inherent
when there are differences between the lived experiences of teachers and their students (Stillman,
2011).
Teacher Support Systems
Teacher support systems that include “inquiry as stance” (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999,
p. 250), will produce productive learning environments based on teachers’ reflectiveness about
their own professional challenges in the context of designing equitable social and academic
learning opportunities for all students (Sarason, 1996). Watson et al. (2006) found that of
greatest importance among teachers working in urban settings were teachers’ abilities to
understand how their own personal beliefs, community settings, and school contexts influence
their teaching practices.
Based on a review of the existing research on professional development, Putnam and
Borko (2000) describe how many schools do not support critical and reflective examinations of
practice. Darling-Hammond (1995) also describes how these rigid models of professional
development focus on training teachers to follow steps and dismiss teachers’ professional
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judgments about the complexities of teaching. However, researchers have contended that, “If
context for productive learning does not exist for a teacher, that teacher cannot create and sustain
a context of productive learning for students” (Sarason, 1996, p.386). Providing teachers with the
time and space, “to draw upon and incorporate each other’s expertise to create rich conversations
and new insights into teaching and learning” is a critical aspect of these productive learning
environments (Putnam & Borko, 2000, p. 8).
Knowledge and skills are developed and sustained through meaningful explorations of
the belief systems that regulate teacher practices (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). In a study of
10 teachers participating in professional development focused on collaborative inquiry and self-
regulated learning, researchers found a professional development model that facilitated “ongoing
opportunities to co-construct knowledge and revise conceptual frameworks through reflection on
experience” (p. 453) and provided the opportunity for teachers to make meaningful changes in
teaching (Butler, Lauscher, Jarvis-Selinger, & Beckingham, 2004). In addition, the researchers
noted that traditional expert-driven in-service workshops would not have allowed for the deep
transformative teaching they observed.
One explanation for the lack of reflective professional development opportunities is that
exploring belief systems is not an important aspect of professional development. It may not be
important due to a paucity of quantitative research linking belief systems to teacher practices.
Often times, school policy and program mandates depend on quantitative research to inform
decision-making. Therefore, the dearth of quantitative research in this area may be hindering
opportunities for incorporating an exploration of belief systems as a central focus of professional
development.
TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY 15
Investments And Incentives
Research has found that federal, state, and local investments and incentives are necessary
to spur the political will needed by policy makers and district administrators to ensure
professional development reforms that will directly involve teachers as active generators of
knowledge (Darling-Hammond, 2000). However, too often investment and incentive initiatives
feign mention of the critical influence that context and school community have on teacher
practices. For example, Race to the Top (RTTT) was an attempt by the federal government to
provide direct financial incentives contingent upon compliance with a structured paradigm of
school, teacher, community, and student progress systems (Hazi & Rucinski, 2009).
Yet, RTTT was short sighted in its systematic intentions. Most of the contingency factors
focused on teacher evaluation and assessment data systems to the exclusion of focused attention
on the facilitation and motivation of teachers to examine their belief systems in relation to
challenging status quo assumptions, initiating action, and innovating curriculum. Given the need
for teacher education and in-service teacher support programs to make the recognition, exposure,
and eradication of racism and inequitable academic opportunities a central focus of learning to
teach, the policy oversights in this area are simply unacceptable. If, as a democratic society, we
truly espouse education as the universal human right of citizens capable of independent, critical
examination of government to enact positive social and political change, then we must include
inquiry into the relationship between teacher beliefs and practices as a fundamental element of
teacher education (Bartolomé, 2008; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Elliot, 2008; Hollins &
Guzman, 2005; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Milner, 2010; Sarason, 1996; Stillman, 2011; Watson et
al., 2006).

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Statement of the Problem
This study extends previous research on teachers’ sense of efficacy and reflectiveness in
relation to teacher beliefs about diversity and opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students. It builds on the definition of teacher effectiveness provided by Eliott (2008) as
the relationship between teacher practices and teacher belief systems. Culturally and
linguistically diverse students in urban schools have the democratic right to engaging learning
experiences designed by actively innovative teachers committed to honoring diversity while
meeting students’ academic needs. Yet, too many teachers are underprepared to initiate action to
innovate or challenge status quo assumptions about the learning experiences of culturally and
linguistically diverse students in urban schools (Cochran-Smith, 1999; Darling-Hammond, 2000;
Giroux, 2009; Hollins, 1998; Sarason, 1996; Stigler-Hiebert, 1999). The insufficiency of teacher
preparation is due in large part to a lack of professional development opportunities focused on
inquiry into the links between teacher beliefs and teacher practices (Cochran-Smith & Lytle,
1999; Darling-Hammond, 1995; Elliot, 2008; Watson et al, 2006; Zeichner & Liston, 2014). If
more research studies examined the extent to which teacher beliefs systems influence teacher
practices, then perhaps school systems would have the evidence needed to improve and sustain
inquiry based, reflective teacher support systems.
Purpose of the Study
The benefit of exploring belief systems is teachers will develop an understanding of their
personal and professional capabilities in relation to meeting the needs of culturally and
linguistically diverse students. Teaching practice is an extension of belief systems (Elliot, 2008).
Evidence suggests that teacher practice is directly related to student achievement (Carey, 2004;
Presley & Gong, 2005). Therefore, the more we foster the exploration of belief systems the
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more we can impact the achievement of culturally and linguistically diverse students. Finally,
reflectiveness will facilitate the exploration of belief systems.
The purpose of this study is to reinforce the link between belief systems and teacher
practices. First, the study will determine if there is a positive correlation between teacher belief
systems and teachers perceptions of practice. Next, the link between reflection and teacher
practices will be reinforced. Last, the study will explore if the relationship between teacher
belief systems and teacher practices is moderated by teacher beliefs about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students. Finally, I will theorize that if teacher belief
systems are related to teacher practices and if reflectiveness is also related to teacher practices,
then an exploration of belief systems through reflectiveness is a necessary and important aspect
of professional development and teacher support systems in general.
Research Questions
This study aims to explore the relationships between the personal and professional
qualities that are needed for teachers to design engaging learning experiences for culturally and
linguistically diverse students in urban schools. The interrelationship between teachers’
practices and belief systems was examined for the purpose of informing effective, thoughtful
teacher support systems that will serve to inspire, sustain, and retain equity-minded teachers.
Therefore, this study answered the following questions:
Research question 1
How much of the variance in teacher self-efficacy can be explained by beliefs about diversity or
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students or
reflectiveness? Which of these three variables is the best predictor?

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Research question 2
How much of the variance in teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students can be explained by beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness? Which of these
two variables is the best predictor?
Research question 3
Does the relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher self-efficacy depend on
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students?
Importance of the Study
A democratic society needs effective teachers. Since effective teachers work within
cultural settings that are bound by systems, which regulate the access to opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students, it is necessary for teacher support systems to
highlight teacher belief systems, develop teacher self-efficacy, sustain reflectiveness, and
critically examine learning organizations. In particular, inquiry driven teacher support systems
are necessary for, as Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) point out, teachers to engage in inquiry as
stance. Inquiry as stance acknowledges that teacher practices are not simply the activity of
classroom management, instructional strategies, or student engagement, but also the
reflectiveness involved in constructing, deconstructing, and conceptualizing the theories that
express the beliefs behind the activities that teachers do (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999).
Too often the emphasis of teacher support systems are on the external routine aspects of
teaching, all the while minimizing the internal variable aspects of a teacher’s belief system. Yet,
it is a teachers belief system that informs and directs routine classroom decisions (Elliot, 2008).
Without exploring the relationship between internal and external processes, meaningful
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connections that address the complexity of teaching are blurred and a focus on treating
fragmented symptoms instead of holistic problems persists.
It is important to support teachers as they make connections between their internal selves
and their external practices. Such explorations will avoid an over confidence in practice that can
distract from addressing the conditions of problems such as: context neutral contexts,
colorblindness, deficit perspectives, cultural conflicts, and the myth of meritocracy (Milner,
2010). Yet, while many qualitative studies provide us with cogent theories of relationships
between teacher beliefs and practices, there exists paucity in quantitative research that can
generalize those relationships.
Thus, this study will explore the relationships between the personal and professional
aspects of teaching that are needed to design engaging learning experiences and opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students in urban schools. Specifically, the study will
examine the extent to which teachers’ belief systems about diversity (Pohan and Aguilar, 2001)
and belief systems about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students (Milner,
2010) relate to teachers’ perceptions of their own ability to meet students’ needs through
innovative and transformative learning experiences (Chang, 2009; Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk
Hoy, & Hoy, 1998). This interrelationship between teachers’ practices and belief systems will
inform nurturing and effective teacher support systems that will serve to inspire, sustain and
retain equity-minded teachers.
Limitations and Delimitations
This correlational study is limited to the associations between variables. The findings
may demonstrate associations between variable without a casual relationship or without
accounting for a confounding variable. The study was limited to participants from two urban
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school districts. The findings may not be generalizable to rural or suburban school districts. In
addition, teachers were asked to complete the surveys within a timeframe of three weeks. This
time frame may have impacted teachers’ abilities to devote meaningful time to completing the
survey, some responses maybe hurried or without careful consideration.
The variables in this study were chosen as specific representations of the internal and
external dispositions governing the lives of teachers. Although there are many other teacher
dispositions to consider, some more and some less central to teaching, the variables chosen for
this study were deemed most appropriate to highlight the relationships between teacher beliefs
and teacher practices. Credentialed teachers from any grade, any subject area, and any level of
experience was sampled to gain the fullest access to a variable participant group. Findings from
the literature demonstrated that excluding certain grades, subject areas, or levels of experience
would not represent variation of internal constructs. Non-credentialed teachers were excluded
from the study to ensure that the participant was in fact a classroom teacher. Teachers with
fewer than 50% culturally and linguistically diverse students were excluded to preserve the
intention of the study. Furthermore, construct validity was address by selecting instruments to
provide data directly related to the operational definitions of variables. Some instruments, more
popular with the education field, were left out due to their incongruence with the
conceptualization of variables.

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Theoretical Framework
As a frame for understanding the interactions between teachers’ beliefs about diversity and
teachers’ beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students on teacher
self-efficacy and reflectiveness specific theoretical frameworks were reviewed. First, Bandura’s
(1997) social cognitive theory was used to understand how perceptions of capability are
developed. Next, Vygosky’s (1978) sociocultural theory was used as an important underpinning
to understand how community and context influence beliefs and perceptions of self.
Social Cognitive theory
In 1977, Albert Bandura hypothesized a definition of self-efficacy as “belief in one’s own
capabilities to organize and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments”
(Bandura, 1997, p. 3). In other words, self-efficacy describes a person’s perception of his or her
own capability in a given context. The conditions of the context lead to teacher self-efficacy.
Perceptions of teacher self-efficacy are, “self efficacy beliefs directed toward a teaching context”
(Knoblauch & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2008, p. 167).
Behavior changes as related to teacher self-efficacy are the result of mastery experiences,
vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and affective states (Bandura, 1977; Chang, 2009;
Gibson & Dembo, 1984; Puchner & Taylor, 2006). These four sources of teacher self-efficacy
develop as teachers filter, analyze, and reflect on content, curriculum, and instructional
information (Bandura, 1977; Tschannen-Moran, Woolfolk-Hoy, & Hoy, 1998; Usher & Pajares,
2008). The four sources of efficacy reinforce one another and are interdependent at different
stages. For example, verbal persuasion is a critical source of efficacy that precludes mastery
experiences. However, mastery experiences are the most influential sources of efficacy overall
(Bandura, 1997; Klassen, Tze, Betts, & Gordon, 2011; Usher & Pajares, 2008).
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Mastery experiences. Mastery experiences determine changes in behavior more
effectively than only engaging in practices designed to produce change (Bandura, 1997, Goddard
et al., 2004; Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). By anticipating future success based on past
outcomes, an individual becomes motivated to activate mental effort and persists at solving
problems.
Vicarious Experience. A vicarious experience happens when a teacher observes others,
then considers instructional strategies or considers assumptions in different ways. A vicarious
experience inspires reflection by validating existing positions or instigating change (Chang,
2009; Usher & Pajares, 2008).
Verbal Persuasion. Verbal persuasions encourage reflection and consideration of one’s
capabilities to perform a task. Perceptions of verbal persuasions can be interpreted positively or
negatively regardless of intentions; therefore careful attention to how verbal persuasions are
structured will increase their effectiveness (Usher & Pajares, 2008).
Psychological Affective States. Mood, anxiety, and stress are emotional triggers that
influence perceptions of self-efficacy. Positive affective states are achieved when an individual
shares challenging experiences using positive descriptions (Chang, 2009; Usher & Pajares, 2008).
Sociocultural theory
Sociocultural theory posits that through social interactions and a discovery of environment;
the tension between a person (in this case a teacher or a student) and the community will result in
a process of identity development (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000; Vygotsky, 1978). Communities
define who we should be while limiting desires to be who we want to be. This conflict mediates
who we are as we seek to eliminate the division between who we feel we are and whom our
communities say we are (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000). As self- awareness surfaces, the person
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pushes against the prescribed constructs of community and culture, a push causes the community
to confront its cultural assumptions resulting in either a reproduction or transformation of the
existing context.
Context describes the cultural setting where behavior is enacted. The cultural setting is
the shared experiences, similar traditions, behaviors, values, beliefs, or assumptions (Chavez &
Guido, 2003). In addition, cultural settings can be social, involving the participation of the
community or personal, involving the understanding of self (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000).
Therefore, the context of schools is the learning and constructing of knowledge as a means of
recognizing the shared experiences to form definitions of identity (Packer & Goicoechea, 2000).
In particular, the classroom becomes a community context for the development of a
student’s and a teacher’s identity. The classroom takes on its own culture in which students’
possibilities are either encouraged or restricted. Opportunities for students depend on the
teacher’s knowledge, skill, and disposition to engage students in their respective culturally
shaped zones of proximal development (Vygotsky, 1978). Similarly, opportunities for students
depends on the support or limitations a teacher receives to develop the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions needed to reflect on their own socially shaped belief systems concerning the needs
of and opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students (Gay & Howard, 2000;
Hollins & Guzman, 2005; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Stillman, 2011).
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Table 1.
Theoretical Framework and Relevance
Name of Theory

Primary component of theory

Links to study

Social cognitive theory • Behavioral change
• Mastery arising from
effective performance
• Close monitoring of
progress towards
mastery goals
• Using scaffolds to
assist inclusion of new
ideas
• Organize and execute
the courses of action
required to produce
given attainments
• Capability in a given
context
• Teacher filters,
analyzes, and reflects
on content, curriculum,
and instructional
information
• Anticipating future
impact based on past
success
• Persists at solving
problems
• Considers instructional
strategies or considers
assumptions in
different ways
• Reflection and
consideration of one’s
capabilities to perform
a task
• Shares challenging
experiences using
positive descriptions

Sociocultural theory • Social interactions
• Discovery of
environment
• Identity development
• Reproduction or
transformation of
context
• Shared experiences,
similar traditions,
behaviors, values,
beliefs, or assumptions
within a context
• Learning and
constructing
knowledge as a means
of recognizing self

• Opportunities for
students depends on
the teacher’s
knowledge, skill, and
disposition to engage
students in their
respective culturally
shaped zones of
proximal development
• Opportunities for
students depends on a
teacher's understanding
of his or her own
socially shaped belief
systems concerning the
needs of and
opportunities for
culturally and
linguistically diverse
students
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25
Definition of Terms
For the purposes of this study the following definitions will apply:

Color Blindness inability to understand how race shapes
experiences, the multiple ways that race
intersects with teacher practices, or how
systemic and structural barriers marginalize
culturally and linguistically diverse students (Milner,
2010)

Context the cultural setting where behavior is enacted

Context-Neutral Mind-Sets inability to understand the community
surrounding the school (Milner, 2010)

Critical Analysis identification of self-as-teacher and focus on themes
that highlight assumptions about teaching culturally
and linguistically diverse (Cochran-Smith & Lytle,
1999)

Cultural Conflicts the belief that students’ cultural notions and
ideologies take second place to Eurocentric
cultural notions and ideologies (Milner, 2010)

Cultural Hegemony dominant belief systems that are accepted,
endorsed, and practiced by a majority of
individuals (Bartolomé, 2008; Elliot, 2008)

Cultural Setting shared experiences, similar traditions,
behaviors, values, beliefs, or assumptions (Chavez
& Guido, 1999)

Deficit Mind-Sets inability to understand that culturally
and linguistically diverse students bring
many assets and that students will generally
meet the expectations that are set for them
by teachers and other school staff (Milner, 2010)

Democratic Society citizens capable of independent, critical of
government to enact positive social and political
change (Banks, 2006; Freire, 1998; Giroux, 2001;
IIP, 2005)

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Diversity historically marginalized sociocultural groups
including race/ethnicity, gender,
social class, sexual orientation, disabilities,
language, and immigration (Pohan &
Aguilar, 2001)

Empathetic Reflection the social and collaborative dimension of
reflectiveness (Aukes et al., 2007)

Learning Organizations generative and adaptive environments, where
learning, creativity, and innovation flourish (Senge,
1990)
Low Expectations And
Myth Of Meritocracy the belief that hard work, ability, skill, intelligence,
or persistence is all that a student needs to achieve
academic and social success (Milner, 2010)

Outcomes how well teachers meet student needs as
measured by summative assessments (Cochran-
Smith, 2001; Stumbo & McWalters, 2011)

Reflective Communication the behavioral manifestation of both self-
reflection and empathetic reflection in
action and in context (Aukes et al., 2007)

Reflectiveness “recognition, examination, and rumination
over the implications of one’s beliefs,
experiences, attitudes, knowledge, and
values as well as opportunities and
constraints provided by the social conditions
in which the teacher works” (Zeichner &
Liston, 1996, p. 7)

Self-Reflection exploration and appraisal of experience to frame or
reframe one’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, norms, or
methods (Aukes et al., 2007)

Status Quo values, norms, and assumptions of the
majority, may be unjust and inequitable

Teacher Effectiveness the intersection between teacher practices
and teacher belief systems within the
sociocultural context of school (Elliot, 2008)

Teacher Ideology the foundation of how teachers’ make
meaning around teacher practices (Elliot, 2008)
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Teacher practices instructional strategies, classroom
management, and student engagement, as
well as, the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions, needed for reflectiveness and inquiry
(Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Tschannen-Moran,
Woolfolk-Hoy, & Hoy, 1998)

Teacher Quality depends on inputs such as, courses taken (Haycock,
2004)

Teacher Self-Efficacy a teacher’s perception of his or her own
capability in a given instructional context
(Knoblauch & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2008)

Teacher Support Systems structures that provide time and space for
teachers to work through professional challenges in
the context of designing equitable social and
academic learning opportunities for all students
(Sarason, 1996)

Organization of the Study

The remaining chapters have been organized as follows:
Chapter 2 analyzes current research on teacher belief systems, including beliefs about
diversity and beliefs about the opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Chapter 3 describes the methodology for this study, including the demographics of the
teachers who participated, instruments used, procedures for data collection, and the research
design used to analyze data.
Chapter 4 details the significant results of this study, including correlations between
variables, answers to research questions posed, as well as post-hoc analyses.
Chapter 5 discusses the results of the study, its limitations, as well as implications for both
researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the relationship between teacher
practices and teacher belief systems.
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Chapter 2
Review of the Literature
This chapter will provide an understanding of teacher beliefs that influence teacher
practices. First, a review of theoretical frameworks will provide a foundation for this study.
Then, a review of the components of teacher self-efficacy and reflectiveness will describe
teacher practices. Next, studies on the mind-sets and instructional consequences of color
blindness, cultural conflicts, the myth of meritocracy, low expectations and deficit mind-sets, and
context-neutral mind-sets will clarify teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students. From there, a description of the components of teacher beliefs
about diversity will shed light on understanding cultural hegemony, challenging the status quo,
and critical analysis.
Introduction
Teacher beliefs function not only within internal systems of beliefs, but also within social
and professional systems (Elliot, 2008). A school site would be a primary system of interaction
for a teacher. Ideally, the school functions as a learning organization. Learning organizations
are generative and adaptive environments, where creativity and experimentation flourish (Senge,
1990). For example, Ladson-Billing’s (1995) description of an effective teacher highlights the
influences of an internal beliefs system on the daily practices and student expectations of a
teacher.
All teachers identified strongly with teaching. They were not
ashamed or embarrassed about their profession. Each had chosen
to teach and, more importantly, had chosen to teach in a low-
income, largely African American school district. The teachers
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saw themselves as part of the community and teaching was a way
to give back to the community. They believed their work was
artistry, not a technical task that could be accomplished in a recipe-
like fashion. Fundamental to their beliefs about teaching was that
all students could and must succeed. Consequently, they saw their
responsibility as working to guarantee the success of each student
(Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 163)

A system assumes that each member of the system is a valuable contributor to the balance
of the system (Senge, 1990). In this way, if there is an unfavorable condition or stress on the
system balance, then each member needs to adjust to restore equilibrium (Senge, 1990).
Imbalance becomes an opportunity for learning. If we approach differences in belief systems
and cultural values from a systems point of view, then what is perceived as a negative input can
be understood as an opportunity to learn. If a teacher as a member of the school system wants to
achieve balance then it is a necessary to learn about, analyze, and apply the cultural values,
beliefs, and norms of other members of the system, in this case, students, parents, and the
community at large.
However, to do so a teacher needs to understand the cognitive stress that will result from
understanding diverse cultures (Bandura, 1997). This stress will push on assumptions and
perceptions that are part of the fabric of the teacher’s identity (Zeichner & Liston, 2014). Yet, it
is in the process of cognitive shift and transformation of self that empowering perceptions of
ability and reflective skill will occur (Bandura, 1997). Understanding the influence of beliefs
and assumptions on perceptions of ability and reflective skill were the aims of this study.

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Teacher Self–efficacy
Many researchers have conceptualized teacher self-efficacy over the years, but Tschannen-
Moran et al. (1998) provide a succinct and robust conceptualization. Teacher-self efficacy
involves receiving information through the sources of efficacy (verbal persuasion, vicarious
experience, positive physiological states, and mastery experiences) about teaching performance
(Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). The cognitive processing of the four sources of efficacy
through reflective analysis of the teaching task and assessment of teaching competence results in
consequences related to a teacher’s motivation to perform: goals, effort, persistence, etc.
Teacher performance becomes the impetus for new efficacy information. This new performance
information alters how a teacher experiences the sources of efficacy and the motivational cycle
begins again. Theoretically, as teacher self-efficacy increases, effective teacher performance will
increase too.
Teachers’ perceptions of self-efficacy. Teacher performance develops as a teacher
masters essential knowledge and skills for the teaching task at hand. However, perceptions of
mastery or capability are regulated by perceptions of self-efficacy for particular tasks or given
particular contexts (Bandura, 1993). Specifically, teachers’ perceptions of efficacy are, “self-
efficacy beliefs directed toward a teaching context” (Knoblauch & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2008, p. 167).
Instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement. When
experience of mastery arises from effective performance, then cognitive processing functions are
provoked and changed (Bandura, 1993). Since teaching is an experience developed through a
mastery of knowledge, skills, and dispositions, as a teacher’s ability to master instructional
strategies, classroom management, and student engagement develops, so too, will cognitive
processing functions for those areas. Researchers have found that innovating curriculum to meet
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students’ needs enhances cognitive processing and enables teachers to challenge status quo
assumptions about instruction, management, and engagement of culturally and linguistically
diverse student (Chang, 2009; Czerniak & Chiarelott, 1990).
High levels of teacher self-efficacy, see Table 2, promote a teacher’s anticipation that
productive personal teaching competence will influence students’ opportunities for achievement
(Goddard & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2004; Chang, 2009). Productive personal teaching competence is
organized, well-planned instructional strategies, classroom management, and student
engagement centered on the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students (Ladson-
Billings, 1995; Lucas, Villegas, &, Freedson-Gonzales, 2008). For example, teachers with
positive perceptions of teaching efficacy demonstrate tendencies towards innovating curriculum
and facilitating inquiry-based instruction whereas teachers with low perceptions of teacher
efficacy use lecture and scripted lessons from the textbook (Chang, 2009; Czerniak & Chiarelott,
1990).
Gaps in the Literature
In Teacher efficacy research 1998-2009: Signs of progress or unfulfilled promise (2011),
Klassen canvased research on teacher efficacy to perform a meta-analytic study and identify how
the field is continuing to grow, areas that still need further exploration, and in which academic
domains teacher efficacy has been studied the most. Among other conclusions, the study found a
need for more emphasis on relating theory back to practice by including characteristics of local
communities into research (Klassen, 2011).
In addition, more research is needed to evaluate the influences of teacher characteristics
on efficacy (Klassen, 2011). Klassen (2011) states that a thorough examination of how teacher
characteristics form, develop, and change over time is needed to further the saliency of teacher
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efficacy in relation to local context and practice. At this point, research on the effect of culture
on efficacy is inconclusive despite an increase in international attention, mainly from countries
such as China and Singapore (Klassen, 2011). This study responds to the call for more emphasis
on relating theory back to practice through the examination of teacher beliefs about diversity and
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students in relation to teacher self-efficacy.
Table 2.
Summary of instructional practices associated with high or low perceptions of teacher efficacy
Instructional practices

High efficacy teachers: Low efficacy teachers:
• Communicate high expectations to
students
• Persist longer in working with students
• Desire to improve teaching
• View low achieving students positively
• Apply multiple teaching strategies
• Adopt innovation and change in teaching
• Provide positive feedback
• React with positive emotion to challenges
• Seek advice & feedback from others
• Satisfy all students as a main objective
• Criticize students
• Desire control
• Ignore low-ability students
• Lost in the classroom
• Lecture only from the textbook
• Fail to be concerned with professional
growth
• Limit student teacher interaction while
teaching
• Fail to notice and realize external changes
in the classroom
• Fear of teaching math or science
• Fail to recognize gaps between expectations
and classroom realities
Note. Summary of “A case study of elementary beginning mathematics teachers’ efficacy
development,” by Y.A. Chang, 2009, International Journal of Science and Mathematics
Education, 8, p. 280.

Teacher Reflectiveness
According to John Dewey, reflective thought is, “the active, persistent, and careful
consideration of any belief or supposed form of knowledge in the light of the grounds that
support it, and the further conclusions to which it tends” (Dewey, 1938, p. 9). Dewey
emphasized examining the beliefs and theories that influence our thoughts and actions (Dewey,
1938). He believed that through deliberate and consistent reflectiveness educators develop the
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essential dispositions of effective educators: open mindedness, problem solving, and
wholeheartedness (Dewey, 1916).
Many years later, Schӧn (1983) defined reflectiveness in relation to a practitioner’s level of
expertise. Knowledge-in-action is a type of tacit knowledge that separates the skilled from the
unskilled in that the, “competent practitioners usually know more than they can say” (Schӧn,
1983, p. viii). Practicing knowledge-in-action develops reflection in action. Reflection-in-action
is the ability to monitor and adjust a situation at hand by making immediate changes to improve
outcomes. While reflection-in-action takes place during an event, reflection-on-action takes place
when a professional looks back on what has already happened to consider improvement
alternatives. Alternatives lead to an important aspect of reflective practice, experimentation.
Experimentation is the perception of a problem or promising idea that can lead to change (Schӧn,
1983).
However, other researchers have been critical of Schӧn’s overemphasis on reflectiveness
for the individual. Aside from mentoring situations, Schӧn ignores the social dimension of
reflection and the professional, organizational systems that require interactive and collaborative
reflectiveness (Zeichner & Liston, 2014). Additionally, Schӧn (1983) does not consider the
social conditions that influence a teacher’s practice. By focusing only on reflectiveness for the
teacher’s practice, an opportunity is missed to reflect on how the school culture impacts and
influences teacher belief systems and practices (Zeichner & Liston, 2014).
Zeichner and Liston (2014) define reflectiveness as, “a recognition, examination, and
rumination over the implications of one’s beliefs, experiences, attitudes, knowledge, and values
as well as opportunities and constraints provided by the social conditions in which the teacher
works” (p. 7). The process of reflectiveness is an important component of professions that
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34
require immediate decision-making, monitoring, and adaptation; where a more critical belief
system will influence more critical reflectiveness (Jay & Johnson, 2002). Jay and Johnson
(2002) succinctly explain the process of reflectiveness:
Reflection is a process, both individual and collaborative, involving
experience and uncertainty. It is comprised of identifying questions and
key elements of a matter that has emerged as significant, then taking one’s
thoughts into dialogue with oneself and with others. One evaluates insights
gained from that process with reference to: (1) additional perspectives, (2)
one’s own values, experiences and beliefs, and (3) the larger context within
which the questions are raised. Through reflection, one reaches newfound
clarity, on which one bases changes in action or disposition. New
questions naturally arise, and the process spiral onward. (p.76)
Studies have found that reflectiveness builds experience in a novice professional by
provoking an examination of self and of the profession in context (Eby, Herrell, & Hicks, 2002;
Gay & Kirkland, 2000). Over time examinations of self and the teaching profession develop
teacher experience, which is directly related to student achievement (Nye, Konstantopoulos, &
Hedges, 2004). Reflectiveness assists the teacher in processing and integrating new knowledge to
make thoughtful decisions when confronted with new or unexpected situations (Eby, Herrell, &
Hicks, 2002). Cochran-Smith and Lytle (1999) refer this type of reflectiveness as inquiry in
action, a useful tool for professional growth and for professional development.
Components of Reflectiveness
This study conceptualizes reflectiveness using three main components: self-reflection,
empathetic reflection, and reflective communication.
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Self-reflection. As an aspect of personal reflection, self-reflection involves the
introspective. It is the, “careful exploration and appraisal of experience, as a prerequisite for
framing or reframing one’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, norms, or methods” (Aukes et al., 2007, p.
180). Researchers have argued that self-reflection is essential to improving the educational
opportunities and outcomes for culturally and linguistically diverse students (Gay & Kirkland,
2000). The essential elements of self-reflection are analytical introspection, continuous
reconstruction of knowledge, and the recurring transformation of beliefs and skills (Aukes et al.,
2007; Gay & Kirkland, 2000).
Empathetic reflection. Empathetic reflection involves the social and collaborative
dimension of reflectiveness. It is the, “social, inter-subjective extension of self-reflection”
(Aukes et al., 2007, p. 181). To empathize is to develop a contextual understanding of the
position of others, in this case culturally and linguistically diverse students and their parents,
other teachers and colleagues, or unfamiliar communities (Milner, 2010). From this perspective,
reflectiveness is associated with a contextual understanding and appraisal of how decisions and
actions are culturally influenced by personal, as well, as, societal beliefs and assumptions.
Reflective communication. Reflective communication involves the interpretation,
analysis, and acceptance or rejection of feedback and dialogue. In particular, it refers to
interactions involving interpersonal differences, those moments when it is necessary to discern,
differentiate, and describe, then analyze and respond in productive and meaningful ways
respective of the intention at hand (Rodgers, 2002). This is the behavioral manifestation of both
self-reflection and empathetic reflection in action and in context (Aukes et al., 2007; Eby, Herrell,
& Hicks, 2002; Rodgers, 2002).

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Gaps in the Literature
The relationship between reflective practice and pedagogical skill is discussed in the
research literature, but there is a paucity of studies that have examined a relationship between the
two (Marzano, 2012). In a qualitative analysis of reflection Ward and McCotter (2004)
concluded that there is a need to study the connections between reflectiveness, teaching, and
learning. This study found that reflection is more than an after-the-fact means to document
student achievement, instead it is the skill of focus, inquiry, and managing change intended to
broaden perspectives about the teaching and learning process (Ward & McCotter, 2004).
By continuously engaging in reflectiveness teachers can identify and commit to positions
about their own cultural assumptions and social influences in relation to the social polemics and
political struggles of culturally and linguistically diverse students in urban schools (Zeichner &
Liston, 2014). The consequences of a teacher’s lack of social and political clarity are students
that will interact with teachers underprepared to serve them at best and damaging to them at
worse (Bartolomé, 2008).
Geneva Gay (2000) concludes that teachers need to examine their attitudes and
beliefs about culturally and linguistically diverse students first in order for those beliefs to
translate as positive personal and instructional interactions with culturally and linguistically
diverse students. Zeichner & Liston (2014) further explain, “Reflection needs to focus not only
within the classroom but on the contexts in which teaching and schooling are embedded.
Recognizing those context leads to an understanding that decisions and deliberation over
purposes leads to the inclusion of other members of the school community” (p. 22). In other
words, theoretically, as social and political clarity increases then teacher practices, such as
teacher self-efficacy (instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement)
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and reflectiveness will increase (Bartolomé, 2008).
Summary
As stated, innovative teachers able to acknowledge and honor diversity while critically
engaging in ensuring high quality educational opportunities are currently, and will become more
increasingly, a high priority for the state of California. The consequences of teachers
underprepared to provide equitable social and academic access and opportunity to culturally and
linguistically diverse students are too great for individual students, families, and society at large
to bear (Bartolomé, 2008). This study responds to the call for more emphasis on relating theory
back to practice by examining teacher beliefs about diversity and opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students in relation to teacher self-efficacy and reflectiveness.
Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students
The research literature suggests that race and diversity do affect school contexts and
learning environments (Freire, 1998; Gay, 2000; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Lucas, Villegas, &,
Freedson-Gonzales, 2008). When cultural or linguistic diversity is ignored or treated as an
unimportant aspect of teacher practices, students receive messages that their identities are
incomplete or unworthy of quality learning experiences (Bartolomé, 2008; Delpit, 2006; Franco,
Ott, & Robles, 2011; Milner, 2010). Too often teachers believe that we exist in a post racial
society; that ignoring race means conquering racism (Milner, 2010). The consequence is
students’ loss of opportunity to learn in nuanced environments that honor them as unique
individuals. Based on his research findings, Milner (2010) identified common educators’ mind-
sets and the instructional consequences of a colorblind ideology; each is briefly explained in the
following section, including a summary of ideological mind-sets of educators with the
subsequent instructional consequences of those mind-sets.
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Components of Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities
Opportunity gaps are those contextually complex inequities at all levels of the school
system that prevent or withhold access to academic and social success (Milner, 2010). Milner
(2010) developed an explanatory framework based on a series of case studies that established
five interconnected areas used to analyze the thinking practices of teachers and to challenge all
educators to broaden their perspectives and transform their practices.
Context-neutral Mindsets. Context-neutral mind-sets are the inability to understand that
the community surrounding the school, the sociology of the school, and the nuances of each
learning environment need consideration to plan effective instructional practices, classroom
management, and student engagement (Milner, 2010). Ladson-Billings (1995) found that
teaching carries explicit and implicit messages about the teacher’s belief systems about student
worth and intentions to provide opportunity and access. These messages are the politically
fueled nature of education (Bartolomé, 2008).
Table 3.
Context-neutral Mind-sets: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology
Personal Ideology
Educators’ mind-sets
Professional Ideology
Instructional Consequences
• Educators feel that kids are just kids.
Therefore, regardless of type of school, by
knowing subject matter well the teacher
can get all students interested in the
subject.
• Since school contexts are basically all the
same with few differences, it is not
necessary to develop the skills to
understand the historical and current
realities of the school communities where I
teach.
• It is not necessary for teachers to rally the
local community to empower, energize,
and motivate students inside the
school/classroom.
• Educators do not build on or draw from the
knowledge or established resources of the
local community.
• Educators take an omniscient position and
dismiss opportunities to construct
knowledge with the community.
• Educators avoid opportunities to build
substantive partnerships within the school
context.
Note. Summary of “A Diversity and Opportunity Gap Explanatory Framework,” by H. Milner, 2010, In
Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms: Start Where You Are
but Don’t Stay There. Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.

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Low Expectations and Deficit Mind-sets. Low expectations and deficit mind-sets are the
inability to understand that culturally and linguistically diverse students bring many assets and
that students will generally meet the expectations that are set for them by teachers and other
school staff (Milner, 2010). Low expectations are often coupled with an ideology of student
control. Abbate-Vaughn’s (2004) study highlights the implications of low expectations and
deficit mind-sets in the analysis of a group of teachers that believed the best way to educate their
culturally and linguistically diverse students was to keep them quiet and occupied with extended
worksheet assignments. The teachers’ rationale was that since students had so little to offer the
classroom environment, their quiet subjugation was the best instructional, management, and
engagement strategy. Similarly, other researchers have found that teaching practices are
manifestations of teacher belief systems (Brown-Jeffy & Cooper, 2011).
Table 4.
Low Expectations and Deficit Mind-sets: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology
Personal Ideology
Educators’ mind-sets
Professional Ideology
Instructional Consequences
• A teacher needs to distance the students of
color from the “horrors” of their present
cultural conditions.
• Students of color are lacking so much.
• A teacher shows her sensitivity to students
of color by feeling sorry for them.
• A teacher sets students of color up for
failure by expecting too much from them.
• Students need teachers that try to make up
for what they lack rather tan build on what
students bring because some students
“bring so little”.
• It is a teacher’s job to concentrate mostly
on test scores and to “close the
achievement gap”.
• “Those” poor students cannot meet high
expectations because they do not have the
resources to do so.
• Educators spend their time remediating
students instead of building on the
knowledge students actually bring.
• Educators do not allow students to develop
their own thinking skills, instead they
expect students to repeat the right answers
that they teacher has provided.
• Educators dominate the classroom and
learning space by requiring conformity and
providing busywork in the absence of
creative learning opportunities.
• Educators lower academic rigor by
focusing on basic skills, watering down
curriculum, and have only minimal
curricular demands.
• Students are discouraged from thinking
outside of the box, developing their
thinking skills, or questioning power
structures in order to improve unfair,
inequitable realities.
Note. Summary of “A Diversity and Opportunity Gap Explanatory Framework,” by H. Milner, 2010, In
Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms: Start Where You Are
but Don’t Stay There. Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.

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Color Blindness. Color blindness is the inability to understand how race shapes
experiences, the multiple ways that race intersects with teacher practices, or how systemic and
structural barriers marginalize culturally and linguistically diverse students. Ultimately, color
blindness stems from perspectives of privilege and fear of dismantling the status quo (Banks,
1995). Issues of equity and access in relation to race and ethnicity are of primary concern
(Franco, Ott, & Robles, 2011; Howard, 2003).
Table 5.
Colorblindness: Teachers’ Personal and Professional Ideology
Personal Ideology
Educators’ mind-sets
Professional Ideology
Instructional Consequences
• If I acknowledge the racial or ethnic
background of my students or myself, then
I may be considered racist.
• If I admit that people experience the world
differently and that race is an important
dimension of people’s experiences, I may
be seen as “politically incorrect”
• I may offend others in the teacher
education classroom if I express my beliefs
and reservations about race.
• I should treat all my students the same
regardless of who they are, what their
home situations are, or what their raced
experienced happens to be.
• Educators do not need to consider how
racially diverse students experience the
world inside the classroom, inside the
school, or in society.
• Curriculum and instructional decisions are
grounded in a “white norm” that students
of color have to just “deal with”.
• Race should be seen as a marginal, not
central, issue in developing lessons and
enacting those lessons during teaching
Note. Summary of “A Diversity and Opportunity Gap Explanatory Framework,” by H. Milner, 2010, In
Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms: Start Where You Are
but Don’t Stay There. Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.

Cultural Conflicts. Cultural conflicts are the belief that students’ cultural notions and
ideologies take second place to Eurocentric cultural notions and ideologies (Milner, 2010). Frerie
(1998) explains that mastery of content area knowledge or pedagogical knowledge are not
enough to educate culturally and linguistically diverse groups that are not a part of the dominant
White middle class mainstream ideology. Instead political clarity for teaching students from
diverse cultural groups in diverse learning environments is needed to contest the reproductive
nature of schools (Bartolomé, 2008; Crew, 2007; Frerie, 1998).
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Table 6.
Cultural Conflict: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology
Personal Ideology
Educators’ mind-sets
Professional Ideology
Instructional Consequences
• I must teach students based on how I teach
my own children, not based on their
cultural ways of knowing.
• I’m not going to tolerate students joking
around with me during class. If they
misbehave, I’m sending them to the office-
period!
• “Those” students need to adapt and
assimilate into the culture of my classroom
and accept the consequences if they do not.
• Educators should refer students of color to
the office when they “misbehave”.
• Educators should refer culturally and
linguistically diverse students to special
education when they are not grasping
instructional material
• Rather than attempting to adjust their
instructional practices to better meet the
learning styles of culturally and
linguistically diverse students, teachers’
should refer those students to the school’s
support services.
• A disproportionate number of African
American students are suspended and
expelled.
Note. Summary of “A Diversity and Opportunity Gap Explanatory Framework,” by H. Milner, 2010, In
Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms: Start Where You Are
but Don’t Stay There. Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.

Myth of Meritocracy. The myth of meritocracy is the belief that hard work, ability, skill,
intelligence, or persistence is all that a student needs to achieve academic and social success
(Crew, 2007; Milner, 2010). Abbate-Vaughn (2004) found that among tenured teachers working
in an urban school with majority culturally and linguistically diverse students those espousing an
effort based ideology perceived the traditional curriculum as the only opportunity for students to
gain the knowledge they needed to attend college and achieve success in life. Also, these same
teachers perceived classroom management problems as a result of students’ lack of motivation to
understand the benefits of earning high grades and going to college (Abbate-Vaughn, 2004).
Both Delpit (2006) and Bartolomé (2008) have respectively concluded that although students
need access and opportunities to learn from the traditional curriculum, they also need a balanced
curriculum that provides students with the opportunity to construct knowledge and contest the
traditional curriculum in relation to their unique lived experiences and the multiple dimensions
of their individual identities.
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Table 7.
Myth of Meritocracy: Teacher Personal and Professional Ideology
Personal Ideology
Educators’ mind-sets
Professional Ideology
Instructional Consequences
• All people are born with the same
opportunities.
• If people just follow the formula for
success – work hard, put forth effort, and
follow the law – then they will be
successful
• If students do not succeed, it is because
they are not working hard enough, not
because of other factors that may be
outside of their control.
• Some students just do not have the
aptitude, ability, or skill for success.
• The “institutional system of schooling” has
nothing to do with academic achievement
• Because students do not work hard enough,
educators do not give students multiple
chances for success.
• Educators do not delve deeply into the
reasons behind students’ lack of
engagement or the reasons why they do not
complete their homework.
• Performance as a consequence of students’
financial problems is not considered a
source of problems in the classroom.
Note. Summary of “A Diversity and Opportunity Gap Explanatory Framework,” by H. Milner, 2010, In
Understanding Diversity, Opportunity Gaps, and Teaching in Today’s Classrooms: Start Where You Are
but Don’t Stay There. Massachusetts: Harvard Education Press.

Gaps in the Literature
Ideology forms the foundation of how we make meaning and understand our world, and
how we understand the world informs teaching practices (Cadiero-Kaplan, 2008; Franco, Ott, &
Robles, 2011). Researchers have found a saliency in constructive outcomes from understanding
teachers’ perspectives, beliefs, and values with attention to cultural and racial ideology (Barron,
2008; Delpit, 2006; Elliot, 2008; Giroux, 2009; Freire, 1998; Milner, 2010). Yet, too few studies
have studied the direct influence of teacher beliefs and ideology on teacher practices. Finally,
Milner (2010) emphasizes that studies into beliefs about opportunity are essential to develop a
body of knowledge to combat the need to provide opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students only during times of interest convergence, when and if those opportunities will
also in some way benefit those on power.

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Teacher Beliefs about Diversity
Professional accreditation boards such as the National Council for Accreditation of teacher
Education (NCATE) and the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) share
common definitions of what it means to be a professional teacher. Both accreditation boards
view professionalism as the intersection between content and pedagogy in so much as the teacher
reflects and acts upon decisions to meet the needs of students (Stairs, 2010). However, each of
these professional boards omits mention of context and the unique needs of culturally and
linguistically diverse students that may not be familiar with dominant White-middle class ideals
or norms. In this absence, educational researchers have sought to clarify the nuanced realities of
being a professional teacher in culturally and linguistically diverse or low-income contexts.
For example, Oakes & Lipton (2002) conclude that teachers need to incorporate an
understanding of local urban cultures, the political urban economy, bureaucratic structure of
schools, community and social service support networks, urban youth literacies, college access
strategies, school and community social capital, community alliances, and collaborative
networks with other teachers into their everyday professional responsibilities. Through an
understanding of these contexts a teacher enacts a politically contextualized belief system
(Bartolomé, 2008; Elliot, 2008; Oakes & Lipton, 2002). Because belief systems are directly
impacted by race, culture, social group membership, and societal messages, too often teachers’
belief systems, influenced by dominant belief systems, are incongruent with mind-sets needed to
provide culturally and linguistically diverse students with opportunities for social and academic
success (Elliot, 2008; Franco, Ott, & Robles, 2011).
Components Of Teacher Beliefs About Diversity
Researchers have found that when teachers examine the influences of cultural hegemony,
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challenging the status quo and critical analysis of context, teacher practices improve in the
direction of increased opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students (Elliot,
2008; Milner, 2010; Walker Dalhousie & Dalhouse, 2006).
Understanding cultural hegemony. Diversity is defined as including historically
marginalized sociocultural groups beyond race or ethnic group, including race/ethnicity, gender,
social class, sexual orientation, disabilities, language, and immigration (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001).
However, inclusive diversity is not always a part of the societal messages that influence belief
systems. Dominant belief systems, known as cultural hegemony, are those that are accepted,
endorsed, and practiced by a majority of individuals (Bartolomé, 2008). Usually hegemonic
beliefs are so ingrained into the culture that they are difficult to discern and investigate.
However, it is essential to do so as hegemonic ideals maintain power imbalances and determine
access to capital and assumed rights (Crew, 2007).
In the United States, hegemonic ideals are predominately those values, norms, and
assumptions of the white middle class (Elliot, 2008). Elliot (2008) explains that societal
messages, as a part of dominant belief systems, often, “normalize the perspectives of White
middle-class teachers while relegating those of low income and students of color to the realm of
“Other” which is often equated with being deficient” (p. 212). Therefore, it is necessary for
teachers to understand that the greater status afforded to dominant culture is a result of the power
held by that group not from an inherent superiority (Lucas, Villegas, &, Freedson-Gonzales,
2008). All students regardless of their affiliation or assimilation to the dominant culture have
assets, experiences, and skills that can be used to help teachers plan instructional strategies,
classroom management, and engagement activities (Lucas, Villegas, & Freedson-Gonzales,
2008).
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Challenging the status quo. “Educators have a responsibility to challenge the status quo
and effect social change as America’s public schools grow increasingly diverse and inequitable”
(Stairs, 2010, p. 50). Teachers have an inherent task to either choose to comply with the status
quo, however unjust and inequitable it may be, or the will to enact politically motivated actions
to ensure the advancement of democracy (Crew, 2007; Elliot, 2008). Research has found that
when educators take the time to engage in critically inquiry, problem posing, and investigate the
assets and needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students they come to realize that
professional practice requires student needs, not teacher needs, to be at the center of curricular,
instructional, management and engagement decisions (Dewey, 1938; Cochran-Lytle, 1999; Elliot,
2009; Feimen-Nemser, 2012; Milner, 2010; Stairs, 2010).
Critical analysis. Teacher support systems that sustain critical reflection and analysis
engage teachers in identifying images of self-as-teacher and focus on themes that highlight
assumptions about teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students from social (family,
media, friends, organizations, churches) and historical (family, neighborhood, community) points
of view (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). The process of continuously examining one’s own
beliefs, assumptions, and values affords the time and space to examine the frailties of human
interactions and to make sense of the ramifications of difference (Howard, 2003). Further,
critical analysis creates opportunities for, “urban teachers to examine the sociopolitical nature of
schooling and the influences of teachers’ ideologies on their beliefs and practices” (Elliot, 2009,
p. 208). Active self-reflection is a key component to enacting critical, introspective analysis of
belief systems including:
• Interpretations of concepts – racism, prejudice, oppression
• Analysis of national, state, and district standards
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• Inquiry into curriculum, tools and classroom resources
Gaps in the Literature
Using the sociocultural perspective of starting where teachers were and accepting the
difference in their starting points, Elliot (2008) found that teachers wanted to explore their own
belief systems to better understand their own perceptions of professional practice in relation to
culturally and linguistically diverse students. The research intention became to create the time
and space for teachers to explore issues that allow them to or prevent them from wholeheartedly
embracing all students, accepting the open mindedness to challenge socially and historically
unjust systems, and problem solve political and ideological practices that seem immutable (Elliot,
2008). Similarly, Ladson-Billings (1995) found that successful teachers working in
predominately African American communities held beliefs that all students are capable of
academic success, pedagogy is an art, teachers are members of a larger community, and that
teaching is a profession that allows teachers to give back to the community.
Yet there exists a paucity of research on the relationships between teacher belief systems
and teacher practices, especially in a sociocultural context. Bartolomé (2008) has shown that
teacher support staffs are not prepared to facilitate teachers in the contesting and constructing of
belief systems, most importantly, they are not prepared to facilitate and mitigate the stress and
cognitive demands that accompany such exploration. As a result, over time teachers do not
perceive themselves as capable in their own abilities and reflective skill to critically challenge
the dominant values, norm, and beliefs upheld by society (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999).
Because of their lack of awareness of their own professional context, the teachers also lack
the clarity to understand the complexities of teaching as part of a social, historical, political, and
cultural paradigm (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Elliot, 2008). For example, Elliot (2008) found
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that teachers lacked problem-solving skills, an organized approach to critically analyzing cultural
hegemony affecting students, or a framework for acting upon aspirations to challenge the status
quo. Finally, Pohan and Aguilar (2001) concluded that future studies into the relationship
between beliefs and variables that might affect educational policies or intervention are needed.
Thus, this study examined the extent to which teacher beliefs systems and reflectiveness
influence teacher perceptions of self-efficacy with the intention of informing the improvement
and sustainability of relevant policies, interventions, and support systems for teachers of
culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Summary
Innovative teachers that acknowledge and honor diversity while critically engaging in
ensuring high quality educational opportunities are currently, and will become more
increasingly, a high priority for the state of California. The extent to which teacher belief
systems influence teacher perceptions of self-efficacy and reflectiveness will inform the
improvement and sustainability of policies, interventions, and support systems for teachers of
culturally and linguistically diverse students.
This study responds to the call for more emphasis on relating theory back to practice by
including characteristics of local communities through the examination of teacher beliefs about
diversity and opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students in relation to teacher
self-efficacy and reflectiveness. Recognizing those context leads to an understanding that
decisions and deliberation over purposes leads to the inclusion of other members of the school
community (Bartolomé, 2008, p. 22). Howard states, “Improving practice, rethinking
philosophies, and becoming effective teacher for today’s ever-changing student
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48
population…”indicating that students depend on educators to assume responsibility to provide
opportunities and access for academic and social success” (Howard, 2003, p. 201).
By exploring the relationships between the personal and professional aspects of teaching
that are needed to design engaging learning experiences and opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students in urban schools, it was predicted that teachers’ belief systems
about diversity (Pohan and Aguilar, 2001) and belief systems about opportunities for culturally
and linguistically diverse students (Milner, 2010) will influence teachers’ perceptions of their
own ability to meet students’ needs through innovative and transformative learning experiences
(Chang, 2009; Tschannen-Moran, et al., 1998) as well as teachers’ abilities to filter and make
meaning of contextual school and community influences (Zeichner & Liston, 2014).
Purpose of the Study
This study aims to explore the relationships between the personal and professional
qualities that are needed for teachers to design engaging learning experiences for culturally and
linguistically diverse students in urban schools. The interrelationship between teachers’
practices and belief systems was examined for the purpose of providing efficient and effective
teacher support systems that will serve to facilitate, motivate, and retain equity-minded teachers.
Research Questions and Hypotheses
Research question 1. How much of the variance in teacher self-efficacy can be explained by
beliefs about diversity or teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students or reflectiveness? Which of these three variables is the best predictor?
Hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is affected by teacher beliefs about
diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for culturally
and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness.
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Null hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is not affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students, and
reflectiveness.
IV: Teacher beliefs about diversity
IV: Teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students
IV: reflectiveness
DV: teacher self-efficacy
Research question 2. How much of the variance in teacher beliefs about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students can be explained by beliefs about diversity and
reflectiveness? Which of these two variables is the best predictor?
Hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is not affected by teacher
beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness.
IV: reflectiveness
IV: teacher beliefs about diversity
DV: teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students
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Research question 3. Does the relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher
self-efficacy depend on teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students?
Hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will be stronger when belief about
opportunities is high.
Null hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will not be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will not be stronger when belief
about opportunities is high.
IV: Teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
(interaction term-moderator)
IV: Teacher beliefs about diversity
DV: Teacher self- efficacy
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Conceptual Framework
A conceptual framework is provided as a schematic of the study, Figure 1 (see an
enlarged version in Appendix E). Starting at the top and reading the map down the right, center,
and left sides provides context for the importance of the study (blue path). The other colored
paths represent the conceptual connections behind research questions.
Research Question 1: Pink and Red Path - teacher belief systems influence teacher self-efficacy
Orange Path - reflectiveness influences teacher self-efficacy

Research Question 2: Green Path- reflectiveness influences a teacher’s beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
Red Path - a teacher’s beliefs about diversity influences a teacher’s beliefs
about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students

Research Question 3: Red Path – The influence of a teacher’s beliefs about diversity on teacher
self-efficacy depends on a teacher’s beliefs about the opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students

Conceptual Development of each Research Question
Figure 1. Clarifies the conceptual development of each research question. Copyright 2014 by
Xiomara Mateo-Gaxiola, University of Southern California.

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Chapter 3
Methodology
This study investigated teachers’ sense of efficacy and reflectiveness in relation to
teacher beliefs about diversity and opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
The following chapter includes information on the participants, instruments, and procedures for
data collection.
School Context
Teachers were recruited from two school districts within Los Angeles County in Southern
California during a two-month period in the spring of 2013. A total of 102 teachers volunteered
to participate in this study (N=102). The response rate was 11% based on total of 379 K-8
teachers at one school district and 562 K-12 teachers at the second school district. Overall, most
teachers were from elementary (n=43) and middle (n=17) schools. The percent of teachers who
met the criterion of over 50 percent culturally and linguistically diverse students on the roster
was 96% of the sample–see Table 8. Four teachers reported that fewer than 50% of their
students were culturally and linguistically diverse. Only those who met the criteria were
included in this study, resulting in a sample of 98 participants.
Missing Data
Missing data is important to the integrity of any research study. Missing data can bias the
data and skew results. Data can be missing at random, missing completely at random, or missing
not at random. Data missing at random (MAR) or missing completely at random (MCAR) may
be the result of a problem with technology or may be a random non-response from specific
response groups (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Data MAR or MCAR may not bias the data and
can usually be deleted, but the missing data will create a smaller sample size, which reduces
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statistical power. On the other hand, data missing not at random (MNAR) is missing in a
patterned or systematic way. For example, participants that purposefully stopped responding to
items at a particular point or a particular group that did not respond to the same items
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Data MNAR is non-ignorable and must be appropriately handled
in order to avoid bias or a skewed data set.
This study had data MNAR. Upon examination of the data it was found that the data had
monotonicity, patterned missing values. Closer examination disclosed that five participants (5
out of 102=5% of the data set) dropped out at the same point (item numbers 50 and 53) on the
scale for the variable Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Students. Although 23 responses were incomplete and missing at random, the researcher
considered the five missing data as missing not at random (MNAR). This specific pattern of
missing data may have introduced bias. Therefore, this missing data cannot be ignored or deleted
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). The most appropriate method for handling data MNAR is multiple
imputations (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007). Multiple imputations replaces missing values with
replacement values while taking into account that the values were imputed with uncertainty
(Tabachnick & Fidell, 2007).
To begin the process of multiple imputations, first the random number generator was
turned on. Next, five imputations were set to fill in the missing values. The automatic function
was used to determine the method of imputation. Then, constraints were set to ensure that the
minimum and maximum observed values were reasonable. Next, the iterations were examined
to assess the accuracy of the iterations. It was determined that imputations were an accurate
representation of the data set if the imputations were fairly similar to the original data. Upon
examination, imputations were not similar to the original data; they included negative numbers
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and other values distant from the original data set. A statistician was consulted, and it was
determined that the sample size was too small for the mathematical complexity of multiple
imputations.
Due to the small sample size, case deletion, instead of other preferred statistical
techniques, was used to work with missing data. Of the total number of teachers, 28 could not be
included in the study due to incomplete responses, resulting in a net sample size of 70 for the
final data analyses.
Table 8.
Frequency Distribution of Teachers’ School Context (N = 74)

Variable n %

Percentage of culturally and linguistically
Diverse students on your roster for all classes
combined

0-29% 2 3
30-49% 2 3
50-69% 9 12
70-89% 12 16
90-100% 49 66

Program Improvement Status
0 Years
Year 1
Year 2
Year 3
Year 4
Year 5
More than 5 year

12 16
8 11
5 7
8 11
4 5
9 12

Describe School

Urban &Public 38 51
Urban & Charter 1 1
Suburban & Public 32 43
Suburban & Charter 2 3
Rural & Public 1 1

Type of School
Elementary

43

58
Middle School 17 23
High School 15 20
Alternative School 4 5
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Teacher Participants
As shown in Table 9, the largest groups of teachers to respond were: multiple subject
teachers (n=54), Science teachers (n=13), and teachers from urban public schools (n = 38).
Participants in the sample ranged in age from 26 to 67 years old (M=44, SD=10). Female
teachers comprised 61% of the sample, while male teachers comprised 39%. The largest ethnic
groups to participate in the study were Caucasian (n=32), Latino (n=22), and Asian (n=12)
teachers.
Teaching experience was reported in three different ways: number of years teaching
culturally and linguistically diverse students, number of years teaching in a content area, and
number of years teaching a particular grade level. Given the current realities of teacher layoffs
due to fiscal constraints, teachers with one to five years of experience are rare in the
communities where this study was conducted. For the purposes of this study an experienced
teacher was defined as those teachers having taught for 10 or more years in a particular context.
Most teachers were experienced teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students (n=40)
and their current content area (n=47), but were inexperienced teaching in their current grade
level (n=50).
At middle and high school levels, teachers appeared in duplicate across grades. In the
area surveyed, most middle and high school teachers teach one subject and multiple grades. In
addition, fewer numbers of high school teachers participated due to constraints set by one school
district. At this school district, the superintendent felt that the survey was not appropriate for
high school teachers and limited distribution to elementary (K-5) and middle school (6-8)
teachers. Where as, at the second school district the survey was distributed to all teachers (K-12).

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Table 9.
Frequency Distribution of Teacher Participants (N = 74)

Variables n %

Gender
Male 32 43
Female 51 69
Ethnicity
African Am.
Latino
Caucasian
Asian
Pacific Islander
Multi-ethnic

2 3
22 30
32 43
12 16
2 3
7 9
Total Number of Years Teaching at an Urban, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse School
1-5 15 20
6-10 19 26
11-15 15 20
16 or more 25 34
Content Area Taught This Year
Multiple Subjects 54 73
Mathematics 11 15
English/Language Arts 10 14
Science 13 18
Social Science 12 16
Physical Education 8 11
Art 8 11
Music 4 5
Number of Years Teaching Current Content Area
1-5 years 8 11
6-10 years 19 26
11-20 years 31 42
21-30 years 11 15
31 or more years 5 7
Grade Level Taught This Year
Kindergarten – Fifth Grade 52 70
Sixth Grade 8 11
Seventh Grade 10 14
Eighth Grade 10 14
Ninth Grade 7 9
Tenth Grade 11 15
Eleventh Grade 13 18
Twelfth Grade 11 15
Number of Years Teaching Current Grade Level
1-5 years 31 42
6-10 years 19 26
11-20 years 18 24
21-30 years 4 5
31 or more years 2 3
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Instruments
Each instrument used in this study is presented in the following appendices: Teacher
Self-efficacy (Appendix A); Reflectiveness (Appendix B); Personal Beliefs about Diversity
Scale (Appendix C); Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students Scale (Appendix
D). The instruments are described in detail below.
Teacher self-efficacy. To measure teacher self-efficacy, the Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy
Scale (TSES) was implemented. The TSES was designed to specifically measure teachers’
future oriented beliefs about the level of competency a teacher expects to display in a given
teaching situation (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). In 1977, Bandura developed the
construct of self-efficacy as a part of his social cognitive theory. Since then many researchers
have sought to develop instruments that measure self-efficacy. The most popular of which was
the Gibson and Dembo (1984) measure, until Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001)
unveiled conceptual and statistical problems. As a result, the TSES was developed. According to
a meta-analysis of the research history of teacher self-efficacy conducted by Klassen (2011), the
TSES is the primary example of only three instruments that are congruent with the theoretical
foundations of self-efficacy.
The TSES is divided into three sub-scales: efficacy for instructional strategies, efficacy
for classroom management, and efficacy for student engagement. Scores can be calculated as
overall teacher self-efficacy or for each individual sub-scale. Two forms, a long form (24 items)
and a short form (12 items), of the TSES exist. The researchers indicate that the long form is
preferred for use with pre-service teachers, with the short form being appropriate for other
respondents (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). Therefore, the short form was used
with in-service teachers of varying years of experience. The short form includes 12 items on a 9-
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point Likert scale with anchors at 1-nothing, 3-very little, 5-some influence, 7-quite a bit, and 9-a
great deal.
According to Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk-Hoy (2001), internal reliability showed
that coefficient alphas for efficacy for instructional strategies, efficacy for classroom
management, and efficacy for student engagement were .91, .90, and .87, respectively
(Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk Hoy, 2001). In the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha
coefficient was .86 for instructional strategies, .93 for classroom management, and .84 for
student engagement.
Reflectiveness. The Groningen Reflection Ability Scale (GRAS) measured
reflectiveness. Aukes et al., (2007) created the GRAS to assess personal reflection in relation to
complex problems in medicine. The target population of the GRAS is medical students and
doctors, both at the group and individual level. Student teachers and teachers are theorized to
have similar types of critical thinking, complex problem solving, and critical decision making as
medical students and doctors (Shulman, 2004). The complexities of teaching require not only
adept behaviors, but also sophisticated reasoning and reflective abilities (Hammerness, et al.,
2005; Shulman, 2004; Zeichner & Liston, 2014). The decision was made to use the GRAS over
measures specifically created for teachers, such as Marzano’s (2012) Teacher’s Self-ratings on
the Personal Profile because it was decided that Marzano’s instrument was too specifically
focused on teachers’ abilities to reflect on past instructional practices considered critical to being
an effective teacher, whereas, the intention of this study was to examine the personal reflective
skill of teachers as an indicator of teacher dispositions.
The GRAS is a 23-item measure on a 5-point Likert scale (1-totally disagree until 5-
totally agree) with three sub-scales: Self-reflection (10 items), includes: introspection,
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exploration, understanding and appraisal of experiences; Emphatic reflection (6 items) includes:
replacement in and taking into consideration the situation of others, openness to different ways
of thinking, contextual understanding and appraisal; and Reflective communication (7 items)
includes reflective behavior, openness for feedback and discussion, taking responsibility for own
statements and actions, ethnical accountability. The GRAS’ Cronbach’s’s alpha is reported to
be .83 for the total scale. In the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha was .75.
Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities. The independent variable of teacher beliefs
about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students was assessed using an
instrument written by the investigator of this study, and adapted from the findings of a qualitative
study designed by Milner (2010). The Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students
Scale (TBODSS) was developed in an attempt to resolve the dearth of available instruments for
the measurement of teacher beliefs about opportunity for culturally and linguistically diverse
students. First, narrative descriptions of findings were translated to interrogative statements.
Second, changes were made to include the term culturally and linguistically diverse students
were specification was needed. Lastly, some items were reversed to avoid item response bias.
The TBODSS has 42 items as part of five sub-scales: Rejection or acceptance of
context-neutral mind-sets and practices (6 items), Inability or ability to recognize and shift low
expectations and deficit mind-sets (14 items); Rejection or acceptance of color blindness (7
items); Inability or Ability and skill to understand, work through, and transcend cultural conflict
(7 items); and Inability or Ability to understand how meritocracy operates (8 items). Responses
were recorded on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree-1 to strongly agree-5.
Scores were calculated as the mean of all items. Scoring included three levels:
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• 4 and 5-equity orientation toward opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students
• 3 and 2 apathetic or undetermined orientation toward opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students
• 1-deficit orientation toward opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
Reliability and validity analyses have not been previously conducted on this instrument.
However, in the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha was .76.
Teacher Beliefs about Diversity. The independent variable of Teacher Beliefs about
Diversity was measured using Pohan and Aguilar’s (2001) Personal Beliefs about Diversity
(PBABS) Scale. The authors use a two-dimensional approach to studying diversity by
examining both personal and professional beliefs, using the Personal Beliefs about Diversity
Scale and Professional Beliefs about Diversity Scale. They offer the rationales that a person may
hold beliefs about personal diversity that are different than their professional beliefs about
diversity (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001). Since being an equity-minded teacher is conceptualized as
having the orientation and skills for social reconstruction, assessing values and beliefs toward
broad ranging and inclusive diversity is an appropriate indicator of teacher belief systems
(Ladson-Billings, 1995; Neiman-Fesmer, 2012). Psychometric data resulted in statistically
significant content validity for in-service teachers (pre-service teachers were also assessed) on
the Personal Beliefs About Diversity Scale only.
Since participants for this study were in-service teachers, only the Personal Beliefs About
Diversity Scale was used. The PBABS specifically measures personal beliefs about diversity
within the context of a person’s worldview about race/ethnicity, gender, social class, sexual
orientation, disabilities, language, and immigration (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001). Previous studies on
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personal beliefs about diversity were found to lack broad definitions of diversity or weak to
completely absent mention of instrument reliability and validity (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001). For
example, although the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory (Henry, 1995) has acceptable
reliability (.66) and internal consistency (.90), yet it lacks a broad definition of diversity referring
to diversity as a vague construct of cultural difference.
The PBABS is a 15-item instrument on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1-strongly
disagrees and 5-strongly agrees. Adding all response items and assessing results based on a
categorical scale of low scores, midrange scores, and high scores achieved overall scoring. Low
scores indicate a general intolerance for diversity. Midrange scores indicate a general tolerance
or acceptance of some issues, but indifference or uncertainty toward other issues. High scores
indicated an openness or acceptance toward most or all issues concerning diversity on this
measure (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001).
The final version of the instrument had a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.85 for the
overall scale (Pohan and Aguilar, 2001). In the current study, the Cronbach’s alpha was .57. The
low reliability score could be due to the removal of three items from the scale. At the request of
two school district superintendents, two items related to sexual orientation and one item with the
phrase “white people” were removed. In order to improve reliability for the current study , two
items with very low (negative) item-total correlations were removed. These two items did not
appear to measure the same underlying characteristics as the rest of the scale. Item numbers 70
and 79 measured beliefs about society at large where as the rest of the scale measures beliefs
about people. Subsequently, after removal of the two items, the Cronbach’s alpha was .72; better
in line with Pohan & Aguilar’s (2001) original results.
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Procedure
The investigator of this study requested that the on-line survey be sent out to via email to
in-service teachers from several school districts. All in-service teachers regardless of grade level,
subject matter taught, or years of experience were surveyed to provide a representative data
sample. A brief description of the survey, a link to the survey, and a notice on confidentiality
were included in the email. Teachers participating in the on-line survey were provided with an
informed consent form notifying them of the purpose of the study, procedures for completion,
potential risks and benefits, confidentiality, and rights as participants. Since the survey responses
were completely anonymous, identifying information was not collected and confidentiality was
not a relevant concern. The average time to complete the survey was approximately 20 minutes.
An online survey engine called Qualitrics was used to conduct the study. The
consent form and measures were uploaded on this site using the interactive key features of the
software. Participants had access to the entire battery of surveys by linking to this anonymous
survey link https://usceducation.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_03zC2UYLK3z2BrT
included in an introductory email. After collecting data, the data were converted and
downloaded into SPSS Version 22.0 (SPSS Inc., 2013) format. From this point on, SPSS 22.0
was used to clean data and compute multiple regression analyses.
Data Analytic Strategy
Research question 1. How much of the variance in teacher self-efficacy can be
explained by beliefs about diversity or teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students or reflectiveness? Which of these three variables is the best
predictor?
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Hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is affected by teacher beliefs about
diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for culturally
and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is not affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students, and
reflectiveness.
IV: Teacher beliefs about diversity
IV: Teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
IV: reflectiveness
DV: teacher self-efficacy
Research question 2. How much of the variance in teacher beliefs about opportunities
for culturally and linguistically diverse students can be explained by beliefs about diversity
and reflectiveness? Which of these two variables is the best predictor?
Hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is not affected by teacher
beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness.
IV: reflectiveness
IV: teacher beliefs about diversity
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DV: teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
Analysis: Simultaneous regression
Research questions 1 and 2 were analyzed using standard simultaneous regression. In a
simultaneous regression model, each independent variable is entered into the equation model at
the same time. Simultaneous regression is used in order to focus on both the overall effects of
the variables, as well as, the effect of each variable on its own (Keith, 2006).
Research question 3. Does the relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and
teacher self-efficacy depend on teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students?
Hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will be stronger when belief about
opportunities is high.
Null hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will not be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about
diversity on teacher self-efficacy will not be stronger when belief
about opportunities is high.
IV: Teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
(interaction term-moderator)
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IV: Teacher beliefs about diversity
DV: Teacher self- efficacy
Analysis: Hierarchical regression
Research question 3 was analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression. Hierarchical
multiple regression is a two-step process in which variables are entered in steps in a
predetermined order to understand if the predictability of teacher beliefs about diversity over
teacher self-efficacy depends on the influence of teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally
and linguistically diverse students. This type of analysis is also known as moderation where in
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students moderates or
influences the relationship between the other two variables.
Moderator variables form a sub-group to examine the relationship of two other variables
(Gall & Borg, 2010). The newly formed sub-group is the third variable that mediates the
relationship between the other two variables. In this study, a cross product of teacher beliefs
about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students and teacher beliefs about
diversity was posited to mediate the relationship teacher self-efficacy and teacher beliefs about
diversity. The newly formed sub-group, based on the cross product, would mediate the
relationship by affecting the strength or direction of the correlation or by affecting both the
strength and direction or the correlation.
As illustrated in Figure 2, this study hypothesizes that teacher beliefs about diversity are
the foundation of teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students. In the school context, beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students are how beliefs about diversity are actualized. Theoretically, the hypothesis for
research question three explains that when beliefs about diversity and opportunities for students
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increases so too will teacher self-efficacy. For example, a high scores (4-5) on the Teacher
Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Scale (TBOD)
indicates an equity perspective towards teaching and students opportunities. When teacher
beliefs about diversity (PBDS) correlates with teacher self-efficacy (TSES) the increase in
relationship will depend on a high outcome from the TBOD scale. It is hypothesized that the
influence of high score-TBOD on PBDS and TSES will result in a relationship with a positive
direction and strong effect (Figure 2-A), meaning that when beliefs about diversity is focused on
deficits, then teacher self-efficacy is low, yet as beliefs about diversity increase in equity-
mindedness teacher self-efficacy will increase.
However, moderate scores (3-2) on the TBOD indicate a vague and exploratory
perspective toward teaching and student opportunities. In this case, it is predicted that the
influence of the moderate scores-TBOD on PBDS and TSES will result in a flat direction and
weak effect suggesting an uncertain position about beliefs and capabilities (Figure 2-B).
Finally, low scores (1) on the TBOD indicate a deficit perspective toward teaching and
student opportunities. It is predicted that the influence of low score-TBOD on PBDS and TSES
will result in a negative relationship and strong effect (Figure 2-C). This outcome would imply
that when teacher self-efficacy is high, teacher beliefs about diversity are focused on deficit
perspectives. Theoretically, the deficit perspectives affirm teacher self-efficacy; the teacher is
unaware of the connection between teacher beliefs and teacher practices. However, as teacher
beliefs become more equity-minded about diversity, but still deficit-minded about opportunity
(low-score TBOD), teacher efficacy decreases. In other words, an incongruent belief system
develops with negative effect on perceptions of teaching capability.
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PBDS
TSES
High Score-TBOD
A.
PBDS
TSES
Moderate Score-TBOD
B.
PBDS
TSES
Low Score-TBOD
C.
Figure 2. Illustrated Hypothesis of Interaction between TSES, PBDS, & TBOD*PBDS

Figure X. An illustrated example of the effect of the interaction term on the independent
and dependent variables at high, moderate and low score levels.

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Chapter 4
Results
Multiple linear regression analysis was used to develop a model for teacher self-efficacy
from teacher beliefs about diversity, teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness. The following chapter provides a
comprehensive overview of the results of the study, including discussions of means, standard
deviations, correlations of all measured variables, and analyses of the research questions.
Descriptive Statistics
Sample Size. Sample size is important to issues of generalizability. Stevens (1996)
suggests calculating an appropriate sample size by considering at least 15 participants for each
independent variable. In addition, Tabachnick and Fidell (2007) suggest an equation for
calculating appropriate sample size (N>50 +8m) where m is the number of independent variables.
Given three independent variables, the sample size of this study (N=70), although small, falls
within the range suggested by each of these calculations (15(3)=45 and 74>50 + 8(3)).
Assessing Normality. Total Scores and descriptive data were obtained for sub-scales
and total scales for each variable. Descriptive data was then used to conduct a comparative
analysis of total and sub-scale scores for inclusion in the study and assess the assumptions of
normality (random sampling, independence of observation, normal distribution, and
homoscedasticity).
Random Sampling & Independence of Observation. Participants were an anonymous
and random sample, choosing to participate at will via the Internet. The measurement of one
subject did not interact with the measurement of another subject to the best of the researchers
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knowledge. Thus, assessment for normality given random sampling and independence of
observation was met.
Normal distribution: Teachers’ Sense of Self-efficacy Scale – short form (TSES).
Total Scores were calculated for the total scale and sub-scales (instructional strategies, classroom
management, and student engagement) and descriptive data were obtained. Descriptive data
were then used to assess the assumptions of normal distribution (Table 10).
Table 10.
Basic Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Self-efficacy
Variable N Min. Max. M SD Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic SE Statistic SE
TotalTSES 70 5 9 7.36 .970 -.643 .287 .459 .566
TSESIS 70 4 9 7.60 1.196 -1.050 .287 1.585 .566
TSESCM 70 4 9 7.55 1.189 -1.039 .287 1.179 .566
TSESSE 70 4 9 6.83 1.254 -.132 .287 -.297 .566
Valid N 70
Note. TSES = Teacher Self-efficacy Scale. TSESIS = Teacher Self-efficacy Scale-Instructional
Strategies. TSESCM = Teacher Self-efficacy Scale-Classroom Management. TSESSE =
Teacher Self-efficacy Scale-Student Engagement.

Responses were within reasonable range from 4 to 9 on a Likert scale of 1 – 9, with
means of: 7.36 and standard deviation of .97 for overall TSES scale, 7.60 and standard deviation
of 1.2 for TSES instructional strategies, 7.66 and standard deviation of 1.2 for TSES classroom
management, 6.83 and standard deviation of 1.3 for TSES student engagement. The means for
the total scale score and sub-group scale scores were comparable to the reliability results from
the originally published data – see Table 11 (Tschannen-Moran & Woolfolk-Hoy, 2001).

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Table 11.
Original Survey Reliability for Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) - Short Form
Mean SD
TSES 7.1 .98
Instruction 7.2 1.2
Management 7.3 1.2
Engagement 6.7 1.2

In Tschannen-Moran, M., & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2001). Teacher efficacy: Capturing and elusive
construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, 783-805

Table 10 shows that the distribution of scores had negative skewness values, where the
values were concentrated at the high end, right-hand side of a graph. Kurtosis values were
positive indicating that the distribution was peaked in the center, except for student engagement,
which has a negative kurtosis value. A negative kurtosis value indicates that the distribution is
flat with too many cases in either extreme (Pallant, 2010). Upon further inspection, the shape of
the histogram for TSES total scale score had an even bell shape that was slightly skewed to the
right – see Figure 3. The sub-scales however were more severely skewed to the right or
randomly shaped. If a variable is not normally distributed, problems can arise when using
multiple regression analysis (Pallant, 2010). Therefore, only the TSES total scale score was used
for analysis.
Homoscedasticity: Teachers’ Sense of Self-efficacy Scale – short form (TSES). After
visually assessing a scatterplot of residual values overlaid with a linear fit line, it was determined
that the TSES total scale score was homoscedastic, varying values of error were constant with
the varying values of the TSES. Thus, the TSES total scale score met all assumptions of
normality.
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Normal distribution: Groningen Reflection Ability Scale (GRAS). Total Scores and
descriptive data were calculated for sub-scales (self-reflection, empathetic reflection, and
reflective communication) and total scales. Descriptive data were then used to assess the
assumptions of normal distribution – see Table 12.
Table 12.
Basic Descriptive Statistics for Reflectiveness
Variable N Min. Max. M SD Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic SE Statistic SE
TotalGRAS 70 3 5 3.77 .277 1.050 .287 4.609 .566
GRASSR 70 3 5 4.33 .427 -.202 .287 -.630 .566
GRASER 70 3 5 3.60 .313 1.140 .287 4.427 .566
GRASRC 70 3 5 3.20 .367 1.814 .287 7.153 .566
Valid N 70
Note. GRAS= Groningen Reflection Ability Scale. GRASSR = Groningen Reflection Ability
Scale –Self-reflection. GRASER = Groningen Reflection Ability Scale –Empathetic Reflection.
GRASRC = Groningen Reflection Ability Scale –Reflective Communication.

Responses were within reasonable range from 3 to 5 on a 5-point Likert scale (strongly
disagree-1 to strongly agree-5), with means of: 3.77 and standard deviation of .28 for GRAS
total scale, 4.33 and standard deviation of .42 for GRAS self-reflection, 3.60 and standard
deviation of .31 for GRAS empathetic communication, 3.20 and standard deviation of .37 for
GRAS reflective communication. The literature refers to the GRAS as a one-dimensional scale
with one total scale score (Aukes et al., 2007). Therefore, analyses only included the results for
the total scale score.
The distribution of scores for the GRAS total scale showed mostly positive skewness
values, where the values were concentrated at the low end, left-hand side of a graph. Kurtosis
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values were positive indicating that the distribution was peaked in the center. Upon further
inspection, the shape of the histogram for GRAS total scale score had a bell shape that was
slightly skewed to the left.
Homoscedasticity: Groningen Reflection Ability Scale (GRAS). As illustrated in Figure 3,
after visually assessing a scatterplot of residual values overlaid with a linear fit line, it was
determined that the GRAS total scale score was homoscedastic, varying values of error were
constant with the varying values of the GRAS. Thus, the GRAS total scale score met all
assumptions of normality.
Normal distribution: The Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students
Scale (TBODSS). Total Scores and descriptive data were calculated for the total scale and sub-
scales: context-neutral, deficit, color blind, cultural conflict, and meritocratic mind-sets.
Descriptive data were then used to assess the assumptions of normal distribution –see Table 13.
Table 13.
Basic Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities Culturally & Linguistically
Diverse Students
Variable N Min. Max. M SD Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic SE Statistic SE
TotalTBOD 70 2 5 2.95 .355 2.867 .287 15.253 .566
TBODCN 70 2 5 3.23 .573 .577 .287 .190 .566
TBODDM 70 2 5 2.59 .488 1.607 .287 7.594 .566
TBODCB 70 2 5 3.08 .549 .706 .287 .996 .566
TBODCC 70 2 5 2.83 .578 .876 .287 2.188 .566
TBODM 70 2 5 3.21 .495 .842 .287 1.744 .566
Valid N 70
Note. TBOD= Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students Scale. TBODCN =
TBOD-Context Neutral. TBODDM = TBOD-Deficit Mind-set. TBODCB = TBOD-Color
Blindness. TBODCC = TBOD-Cultural Conflict. TBODM = TBOD-Meritocratic Mind-Set
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Responses were within reasonable range from 2 to 5 on a 5-point Likert scale (strongly
disagree-1 to strongly agree-5), with means of: 2.95 and standard deviation of .36 for total
TBODS scale score, 3.23 and standard deviation of .57 for context-neutral, 2.59 and standard
deviation of .49 for deficit mind-set, 3.08 and standard deviation of .55 for color blindness, 2.83
and standard deviation of .58 for cultural conflict, and 3.21 and standard deviation of .50 for
meritocratic mind-sets TBODS total scale score, context-neutral, deficit, color blind, cultural
conflict, and meritocratic mind-sets respectively. Sub-scales in the TBODSS have not been
validated. Thus, analyses will only include the results for the total scale score.
The distribution of scores for the TBODS total scale shows mostly positive skewness,
where the values are concentrated at the low end, left-hand side of a graph. Kurtosis is slightly
positive indicating that the distribution is peaked in the center (Pallant, 2010). Upon further
inspection, the shape of the histogram for TBODSS total scale score had a fairly even bell shape.
The results are illustrated in Figure 3.
Homoscedasticity: The Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students Scale
(TBODSS). After visually assessing a scatterplot of residual values overlaid with a linear fit line,
it was determined that the TBODSS total scale score was homoscedastic, error variance was
constant with the varying values of the TBODSS. Overall, the TBODSS total scale score met all
assumptions of normality.
Normal distribution: Personal Beliefs about Diversity Scale (PBADS). Total Scores
and descriptive data were calculated for the PBADS total scale. Descriptive data were then used
to assess the assumptions of normal distribution - see Table 14.

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Table 14.
Basic Descriptive Statistics for Teacher Beliefs about Diversity
Variable N Min. Max. M SD Skewness Kurtosis
Statistic SE Statistic SE
TotalPBDS 70 2 5 2.73 .385 2.803 .287 16.741 .566
Valid N 70
Note. PBDS = Personal Beliefs about Diversity

Responses were within reasonable range from 2 to 5 on a 5-point Likert scale (strongly
disagree-1 to strongly agree-5), with a mean of 2.73 and a standard deviation of .39 for PBADS
total scale score. The mean for the total scale score was slightly lower, yet still comparable, to
the reliability results from the originally published data (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001). In Pohan &
Aguilar (2001), mean total scores were 4.14 and standard deviation of .41 for women and 3.80
and standard deviation of .50 for men.
The distribution of scores for the PBADS total scale shows positive skewness value,
where the values are concentrated at the low end, left-hand side of a graph. The kurtosis value is
positive indicating that the distribution is peaked in the center. Upon further inspection, Figure 3,
the shape of the histogram for PBADS total scale score had a bell shape that was slightly skewed
to the left.
Homoscedasticity: Personal Beliefs about Diversity Scale (PBADS). After visually
assessing a scatterplot of residual values overlaid with a linear fit line, it was determined that the
PBADS total scale score was homoscedastic, error variance was constant with the varying values
of the PBADS. Thus, the PBADS total scale score met all assumptions of normality.

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Figure 3. Histograms of TSES, PBDS, TBOD, & GRAS

Figure X. Histograms illustrate normality of the variables. An outlier is present and indicates a need for
further investigation
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Relationships among Variables
A correlation describes the strength of the relationship and the direction of the
relationship between two variables (Pallant, 2010). Person product moment correlation was used
to provide a numerical summary of the relationships between variables. First, scatterplots were
examined to identify outliers, distribution, and directionality of all variables as they relate to each
other. This is important as outliers and the shape of the graphs can provide information about the
data that may need to be addressed before proceeding with other analyses. Then, correlations
were analyzed to determine the strength and directionality of the relationships.
Scatterplots. A visual review of scatterplots for teacher self-efficacy (DV) and beliefs
about diversity, beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, and
reflectiveness (IVs) were examined to determine outliers, the distribution of data points, and
directionality.
One outlier appeared consistently on each scatterplot. The raw data were examined, and
it was found that the outlier had high scores for every item. Although outliers can influence
some analyses, it was decided not to delete the case and preserve statistical power. Instead, it was
decided to give a score for each variable that was high but similar to other responses (Pallant,
2010). As illustrated in Figure 4, the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and beliefs about
diversity showed an almost vertical cigar shaped cluster suggesting a minimal or undefined
relationship. The relationship between teacher self-efficacy and beliefs about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students showed data points spread all over the graph
suggesting a very low correlation. Finally, the relationship between teacher self-efficacy and
reflectiveness showed a positive direction. All relationships were linear.
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After manipulation of the outlier, the relationships between the dependent and
independent variables improved by showing stronger correlations along the line of best fit.
Teacher beliefs variables continued to show low correlations to teacher self-efficacy, while
reflectiveness showed a clearer positive correlation. The results are illustrated in Figure 5.

Figure 4. Scatterplots: Independent Variable on TSES with Outlier
Figure X. Scatterplots for Teacher Self-efficacy (TSES) as the dependent variable and Teacher
Beliefs about Diversity (PBDS), Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Students (TBOD), and Reflectiveness (GRAS) as independent variables.
The scatterplots clearly show the presence of an outlier in the top right hand corner.

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Correlations. Pearson product correlation analyses were conducted to examine the
relationships between all variables. Results were summarized in Table 15. Reflectiveness had a
moderate, statistically significant association with each of the other variables: teacher self-
efficacy (r = .40, p <0.01), personal beliefs about diversity (r = .44, p <0.01), and teacher beliefs

Figure 5. Scatterplots: Independent Variables on TSES without Outlier
Figure X. Scatterplots for Teacher Self-efficacy (TSES) as the dependent variable and Teacher
Beliefs about Diversity (PBDS), Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and
Linguistically Diverse Students (TBOD), and Reflectiveness (GRAS) as independent variables.
After the outlier was manipulated, data illustrate correlations closer to the line of best fit.
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about culturally and linguistically diverse students (r = .41, p <0.01). In addition, teacher beliefs
about diversity had a strong, statistically significant association with teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students (r = .64, p < 0.01). On the other
hand, teacher self-efficacy had a weak, insignificant association with both teacher beliefs about
diversity and teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Table 15.
Summary of Inter-correlations for Scores on the TSES, PBDS, TBODS, and on the GRAS
Measures 1 2 3
1. TSES ---
2. PBDS .080
3. TBODS .070 .540**
4. GRAS .396** .436** .406**
Note. TSES = Teacher Self-efficacy Scale. PBDS = Personal Beliefs about Diversity Scale.
TBODS = Teacher Beliefs about Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Scale. GRAS =
Groningen Reflective Ability Scale.
**p < .001,

Coefficient of determination. The coefficient of determination was calculated for those
variables with a statistically significant relationship. The coefficient of determination provides
an indication of the variance shared by two associated variables (Pallant, 2010). In other words,
the coefficient of determination represents the percent of the data that is closest to the line of best
fit (regression line). The higher the percentage, the more certainty exists that the model
(relationship between x and y) is a good fit. Squaring the Pearson correlation coefficient and
then multiplying by one hundred obtains the coefficient of determination.
Reflectiveness helps to explain about 16% of the variance in teacher self-efficacy.
Further, reflectiveness helps to explain 19% and 17% of the variance in teacher beliefs about
diversity and teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students,
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respectively. Impressively, teacher belief about diversity explains about 41% of the variance in
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. There is
41% certainty that the model is a good fit.
Analysis of Research Questions

Research questions 1 and 2 were analyzed using standard multiple regression. This
section will describe the statistical significance of the entire model, how much of the variance in
a dependent variable can be explained by an independent variable, the relative contribution of
each independent variable, and the statistical significance of each independent variable. Since
the multiple regression assumptions of outliers, normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, and
independence of residuals were previously addressed, this section will only address the multiple
regression assumption of multicollinearity. Finally, an evaluation of the model and of each
independent variables is provided.
Research question 1. How much of the variance in teacher self-efficacy can be
explained by beliefs about diversity or teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students or reflectiveness? Which of these three variables is the best
predictor?
Hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is affected by teacher beliefs about
diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for culturally
and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is not affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students, and
reflectiveness.
IV: Teacher beliefs about diversity (PBAD)
IV: Teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students (TBODS)
IV: reflectiveness (GRAS)
DV: teacher self-efficacy (TSES)
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Multicollinearity. As previously described in Table 15, each of the predictor variables
has some correlation with the dependent variable, although only reflectiveness has a moderate,
statistically significant association with teacher self-efficacy. The predictor variables do not
have correlations that are too high (above .75) indicating that multicollinearity assumptions have
not been violated.
Table 16.
Predictors of Teacher Self Efficacy
Teacher Self-Efficacy
Variable B SE B β CI
PBAD -.19 .38 -.08 [-.95, .57]
TBODS -.18 .40 -.07 [-.99, .63]
GRAS 1.6** .44 .46** [.71, 2.48]
R
2
Adj. R
2
.17
.132

F 4.5
Note. N = 70. TSES = Teacher Self-efficacy Scale. PBDS = Personal Beliefs about Diversity
Scale. TBODS = Teacher Beliefs about Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Scale.
GRAS = Groningen Reflective Ability Scale.
**p <.001.
Evaluating the model (Part 1 of Research Question 1). R squared describes how much
of the variance in teacher self-efficacy is explained by each of the predictors in the model for
research question 1. This model explained 17 percent of the variance (Table 16) in teacher self-
efficacy (R
2
= .169, p >.005). However, because this sample was small (n=70) the adjusted R
squared provided a more accurate value. Adjusted R square showed that 13.2 percent of the
variance in teacher self-efficacy was explained by teacher beliefs about diversity, teacher beliefs
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about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness (Adj.R
2

= .132). However, the model as a whole was statistically insignificant (F(3,70) = 4.5, p > .005).
Thus, we fail to reject the null hypothesis that multiple R in the population equals 0. Results are
reported in Table 16.
Evaluating each independent variable (Part 2 of Research Question 1). Since TSES
was on a different scale (Likert scale 1-9) than PBDS, TBODS, and GRAS (Likert scale 1-5),
standardized coefficients (β) were used to compare the contribution of each independent variable
(Table 16). The regression equation for this model is TSES = -.08PBAD-.07TBOD+.46GRAS.
As reported in Table 16, reflectiveness makes the strongest unique contribution to explaining
teacher self-efficacy (β=.46, p<.001), when the variance explained by teacher beliefs about
diversity and teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
was controlled. The Betas (standardized coefficients) for teacher beliefs about diversity (β=.075,
p>.05) and teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students
(β=.067, p>.05) were dramatically lower and statistically insignificant, indicating that they made
very little contribution to the prediction of teacher self-efficacy,. Accordingly, reflectiveness is
the best predictor of teacher self-efficacy. Which means that each standard deviation increase in
reflectiveness is associated with a .46 standard deviation increase in teacher self-efficacy. This is
statistically significant at the .001 level (p< .001).
Research question 2. How much of the variance in teacher beliefs about opportunities
for culturally and linguistically diverse students can be explained by beliefs about diversity and
reflectiveness? Which of these two variables is the best predictor?
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Hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is not affected by teacher
beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness.
IV: reflectiveness
IV: teacher beliefs about diversity
DV: teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students

Multicollinearity. Multicollinearity refers to the relationship between independent
variables. Variables with high multicollinearity can cause problems in a multiple regression
model. As previously described in Table 15, each of the independent variables has a moderate
to strong, statistically significant association with the dependent variable, teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. The predictor variables do not
have correlations that are too high (above .75), indicating that multicollinearity assumptions have
not been violated.
Table 17.
Predictors of Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse
Students (TBOD)
Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities
Variable B SE B β CI
GRAS .20 .13 .16 [-.06, .46]
PBDS .53** .095 .56 [.34, 72]
R
2
.43
Adj. R
2
F
.41
25.2**

Note. N = 70.
**p <.01
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Evaluating the model (Part 1 of Research Question 2). The predictors in this model
explained 42.9 percent of the variance in teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students (R
2
= .429, p < .005). However, because this sample was small
(n=70) the adjusted R squared provided a more accurate value. Adjusted R square showed that
41.2 percent of the variance in teacher beliefs about culturally and linguistically diverse students
was explained by teacher beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness (Adj.R
2
= .412, p< .005).
The model as a whole was statistically significant (F(1,81) = 25.2, p < .005). Thus, we reject the
null hypothesis that multiple R in the population equals 0. Results are reported in Table 17.
Evaluating each independent variable (Part 2 of Research Question 2). The estimates
of this analysis are reported in Table 17. Since teacher beliefs about culturally and linguistically
diverse students was on the same scale (Likert scale 1-5) as teacher beliefs about diversity and
reflectiveness, unstandardized coefficients (B) were used to compare the contribution of each
independent variable (Table 17). The regression equation for this model is TBOD =
2.4+.20GRAS+.53PBDS. Teacher beliefs about diversity makes the strongest unique
contribution to explaining teacher beliefs about culturally and linguistically diverse students
(B=.53, p<.001), when the variance explained by reflectiveness was controlled. Thus, teacher
belief about diversity was the best predictor of teacher beliefs about culturally and linguistically
diverse students. For every unit of increase of teacher beliefs about diversity, a teacher’s belief
about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students is predicted to increase
by .53. This is statistically significant at the .001 level (p<.0001).
Research question 3. Does the relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher
self-efficacy depend on teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students?
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Hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will be stronger when belief about
opportunities is high.

Null hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will not be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will not be stronger when belief
about opportunities is high.

IV: Teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students (interaction term-moderator)
IV: Teacher beliefs about diversity
DV: Teacher self- efficacy

Multicollinearity. Multicollinearity can have strong effects on a multiple regression and
must be addressed before analysis (Pallant, 2010). First, an interaction term (cross product) was
created by multiplying PBDS and TBOD. This new variable was entered into a correlation
matrix with the other independent and dependent variables - see Table 18. The cross product
was highly associated with PBDS (r = .91, p <0.01), and TBODS (r = .88, p <0.01) and
exceeded the cut-off (.70) to avoid multicollineairity. In this case, the assumption for
multicollinearity was violated. As a result, it was necessary to center each independent variable
(Keith, 2006). The process of centering refers to subtracting the mean of each independent
variable from the independent variable itself in order to reduce some of the overlap in the highly
correlated variables. Centering made the model more sensitive to each variable’s unique
contribution to the model.

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Table 18.
Summary of Inter-correlations for TSES, PBDS, TBOD, and PBDS*TBOD
Measures 1 2 3
1. TSES ---
2. PBDS .08
3. TBODS .07 .64**
4. PBDS*TBOD .12 . 91** .88**
Note. TSES = Teacher Self-efficacy Scale. PBDS = Personal Beliefs about Diversity Scale.
TBODS = Teacher Beliefs about Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students Scale.
PBDS*TBOD = Cross Product/Interaction Term
**p < .001
Evaluating the model. Moderation analysis was used to understand if the strength and
direction of the relationship between two variables changes in relation to another variable. First,
the independent variables, teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students and teacher beliefs about diversity, were centered on the mean. Next, teacher
self-efficacy was regressed on by the centered independent variables. Then, multiplying the two
centered variables teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students and teacher beliefs about diversity created the interaction term, which was entered into
the hierarchical regression model. The regression equation for this model is TSES = 7.3-
.17PBDS_Cen-.26TBOD_Cen.+.54PBDS*TBOD_centered. As reported in Table 19, the
change in R squared was observed for a statistically significant increase to determine if the
interaction was statistically significant. R-squared in step one of the model explained .7 percent
of the variance in teacher self-efficacy (R
2
= .007, p >.005) and was not statistically significant.
R-squared in step two of the model explained 5 percent of the variance in teacher self-efficacy
(R
2
= .05, p >.005) and was not statistically significant. Although, there was an increase in the
R
2
with the addition of the interaction term the change was not statistically significant. In an
additional analysis, we are 95% confident that the true population coefficient lies between -.082
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and 1.16 for the cross product PBDS-TBODS-centered. Since the confidence interval includes
zero, the estimate is not statistically significant at .05 the level and we fail to reject the null
hypothesis.

Table 19.
Hierarchical Multiple Regression Analyses Predicting Teacher Self-efficacy from Teacher
Beliefs about Opportunities and Teacher Beliefs about Diversity
Teacher Self-Efficacy
Predictor ΔR
2
β CI
Step 1
PBDS .007 .061 [-.65, .95]
TBODS .031 [-.78, .948]
Step 2

PBDS*TBODS .05 .31 [-.08, 1.17]
n 70
Note. PBDS and TBODS were centered at their means.
*p <.05. **p <.01.

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Chapter 5
Discussion

The purpose of this study was to conduct an empirical investigation of the relationship
between teacher beliefs and teacher practices. The results of the study suggest that reflectiveness
can be used as an important variable to understand the influences on teacher self-efficacy and
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. In addition,
the study suggests that teacher beliefs about diversity can be used to understand the influences on
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. The
following chapter provides a summary and discussion of the results, as well as theoretical and
applied implications. Limitations of this study as well as possible directions for future research
will be discussed.

Summary of Findings
Research question 1. How much of the variance in teacher self-efficacy can be
explained by beliefs about diversity or teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students or reflectiveness? Which of these three variables is the best
predictor?
Hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is affected by teacher beliefs about
diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for culturally
and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher self-efficacy is not affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students, and
reflectiveness.

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The model examines the relationship between the independent and dependent variables.
Given the results, we cannot indicate that the variance in teacher self-efficacy explained by the
independent variables is not zero. In this case the relationship between variables did not prove to
be statistically significant. Therefore, in this model, teacher self-efficacy is not affected by
teacher beliefs about diversity, teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students, and reflectiveness. The results do not support the hypothesis, and we fail to
reject the null hypothesis.
What we did learn from the model is that reflectiveness was the best predictor of teacher
self-efficacy. Reflectiveness makes the strongest unique contribution to teacher self-efficacy
over and above teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher beliefs about opportunities for
culturally and linguistically diverse students.

Research question 2. How much of the variance in teacher beliefs about opportunities
for culturally and linguistically diverse students can be explained by beliefs about diversity and
reflectiveness? Which of these two variables is the best predictor?
Hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is affected by teacher beliefs
about diversity and reflectiveness.
Null hypothesis: Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students is not affected by teacher
beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness.

Teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students is
affected by teacher beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness. Forty-one percent of the variance
was explained by teacher beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness. This means that we can
conclude that teacher beliefs about diversity and reflectiveness, together, are good predictors of
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teacher belief about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. The results
support the hypothesis. We can reject the null hypothesis and accept the hypothesis that there is
a relationship between these variables.
However, when taken individually teacher beliefs about diversity predict teacher beliefs
about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, but reflectiveness does not.
Teacher beliefs about diversity make the strongest unique contribution to explaining teacher
beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students when controlling for
reflectiveness. In other words, when taken together the IVs are good predictors; however, when
taken individually only teacher beliefs about diversity is a good predictor of teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Research question 3. Does the relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and
teacher self-efficacy depend on teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students?
Hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will be stronger when belief about
opportunities is high.

Null hypothesis: The effect of teacher beliefs about diversity on teacher self-
efficacy will not be moderated by the teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically divers
students. Specifically, the effect of beliefs about diversity
on teacher self-efficacy will not be stronger when belief
about opportunities is high.

In this case, it is unclear if the null hypothesis is true or if the effect is simply too small to
determine a relationship. The data for this multiple regression interaction is weak and
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inconclusive. There is no credible evidence that the variables interact in a statistically significant
manner. Because the interaction of teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher beliefs about
opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students (the product term) does not
contribute significantly to explaining variance in teacher self-efficacy, there is not evidence of
moderation (Hoyt, Imel, & Chan, 2008). The results did not support the hypothesis that the
relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher self-efficacy would depend on
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Interpretation of Results
Predicting Teacher Self-efficacy. The relationship between teacher beliefs and teacher
self-efficacy did not confirm predicted results perhaps due to limitations in the research design.
Other studies of teacher self-efficacy have involved a combination of interview and survey data
collection (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). A mixed methods approach may have offered a more
nuanced and descriptive understanding of context in relation to teacher self-efficacy. In this
study, by including only survey data the influence of context may have been lost. Teacher
beliefs about diversity in general may not be specific enough to a teacher’s immediate
environment to uncover relationships and associations. These findings may lead to a greater
understanding that associations with teacher self-efficacy must be in direct relation to the school
and classroom context through the use of qualitative data.
Reflectiveness and Teacher Self-efficacy. On the other hand, reflectiveness is an
essential component of teacher self-efficacy. The results of regression analysis show that
reflectiveness is a strong predictor of teacher self-efficacy. The results of this study support the
work of previous studies. Tschannen-Moran et al. (1998) conceptualized reflectiveness as an
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essential step in the analysis of the teaching task and personal teaching competence development
leading to the development of teacher self-efficacy. Analysis of the teaching task involves an
assessment of what would be required in a given teaching situation, a teacher would self-reflect
on the difficulty of the task and what it would take to be successful (Czerniak & Chiarelott,
1990; Chang, 2009; Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). Given the associated true effects of this
study and others, we can assume that as reflectiveness increases teacher self-efficacy also
increases. The implication for the convergence of this study with other studies points to the need
for reflectiveness to be a part of every teachers practice. When, through reflectiveness, teachers
perceive that they have the knowledge and skills to initiate action to challenge status quo
assumptions or design innovative and transformative learning experiences for culturally and
linguistically diverse students, then academic growth and learning opportunities are unbounded
and able to flourish (Diamond et al., 2004; Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998).
Correlations with Reflectiveness. Validating the importance of reflectiveness to
perceptions of teacher self-efficacy and to beliefs about diversity and opportunities,
reflectiveness was highly correlated at statistically significant levels with all other variables in
this study. In addition, reflectiveness was an effective predictor of teacher self-efficacy. The
theoretical framework for conceptualizing reflectiveness provided an effective foundation for the
results of this study. Theoretically, each sub-scale of the reflectiveness instrument - self-
reflection, empathetic reflection, and reflective communication - directly related, in some way, to
the independent variables. In relation to teacher self-efficacy, the essential elements of self-
reflection are analytical introspection, continuous reconstruction of knowledge, and the recurring
transformation of beliefs and skills (Aukes, et al., 2007; Gay & Kirkland, 2003). In relation to
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, empathetic
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reflection is associated with a contextual understanding and appraisal of how decisions and
actions are culturally influenced by personal, as well as societal beliefs and assumptions
(Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999). In relation to teacher beliefs about diversity, reflective
communication involves the interpretation, analysis, and acceptance or rejection of feedback and
dialogue, when it is necessary to discern, differentiate, and describe, then analyze and respond in
productive and meaningful ways (Aukes et al., 2007; Eby, Herrell, & Hicks, 2002; Rodgers,
2002) Overall, taken together as a total scale each sub-scale contributed to the influence of
reflectiveness on other variables. Understanding the consequences of reflectiveness will improve
a teacher’s ability to be aware of their own transformative learning experiences and to delve
deeper into the emotional and intellectual connections between learner, content, and environment
(Dewey, 1916; Guiterrez, 2008; Jersild, 1995; Kamii, 1981).
Beliefs about Diversity and Student Opportunities. A teacher’s belief about diversity is
an essential component of teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically
diverse students. The results of regression analysis show that teacher beliefs about diversity are
a strong predictor of teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse
students. The relationship between teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher beliefs about
opportunity is interesting because it can further our understanding of the influence between
general, personal beliefs about a construct, in this case diversity in society, and context specific,
professional beliefs. This study corresponds with previous studies and theories that have
concluded that belief systems form the foundation of how we make meaning and understand our
world, and how we understand the world informs teaching practices (Barron, 2008; Cadiero-
Kaplan & Billings, 2008; Cox Suarez, 2008; Crew, 2007; Delpit, 2006; Elliot, 2008; Franco, Ott,
& Robles, 2011; Freire, 1998; Giroux, 2009; Milner, 2010). Because belief systems are directly
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impacted by race, culture, social group membership, and societal messages, today’s educators
require a capacity to engage in immediate analyses of context and student needs in order to
construct and reconstruct innovative curriculums that will maximize educational opportunities
for culturally and linguistically diverse students (Banks, 2006; Cochran-Smith, 2004; Crew,
2007; Franco, Ott, & Robles, 2011; Freire, 1998; Giroux, 2001)
Moderation – The Interaction Term. Teacher beliefs about diversity and teacher self-
efficacy did not depend on the influence of teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and
linguistically diverse students. Although Watson et al. (2006) found that of greatest importance
among teachers working in urban settings were teachers’ abilities to understand how their own
personal beliefs, community settings, and school contexts influence their teaching practice, this
study did not find the same evidence. However, the lack of findings may have more to do with
the imprecision of instrumentation than with a theoretical inaccuracy. For example, the Teacher
Self-efficacy Scale alone may not have been the best measure of teacher practices in context.
Scale items referred to teaching practices in general without referring to students that a teacher
was currently teaching. This study may support the conclusion of many other studies that have
found that teacher belief systems and teacher practices should be examined along with variables
that examine the immediate school context (Banks, 2006 Bartolomé, 2008; Cochran-Smith,
2004; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Elliot, 2008; Freire, 1998; Giroux, 2001; Hollins &
Guzman, 2005; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Milner, 2010; Sarason, 1996; Stillman, 2011; Watson et
al., 2006;).

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Limitations
Decisions were made during the course of the study that resulted in limitations. The
following section describes limitations related to study design and internal validity, measurement,
analyses and statistical power, and external validity and generalizability.
Design and internal validity. Theoretical considerations for confounding variables were
not included and may have contributed to alternative explanations for the relationships between
the independent and dependent variables. Conceptualization of the independent variables may
not have shown a true understanding of how the variables worked in relation to the dependent
variable. Perhaps teacher beliefs do not affect the predictability of teacher self-efficacy or,
perhaps, there is a different variable that affects the predictability in other ways. For example, a
confounding variable such as teacher experience may have influence over teacher beliefs and
teacher self-efficacy. In addition, collecting data on school climate may have added certain
information, above and beyond teacher beliefs, to the understanding of teacher self-efficacy
(Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998). Finally, Tschannen-Moran et al. (1998) found that including
interview data with survey data, results in a more complete description of teacher self-efficacy
findings. A mixed methods design may have captured a truer and more complete description of
relationships.
Measurement. Using only self-report survey data may have introduced biases that could
have influenced results. Including a social desirability measure as a control variable, could have
corrected bias. Furthermore, the Teacher Self-efficacy Scale (TSES) may not have been the best
scale to measure teacher practices. Different measurements may have improved the effect and
statistical significance of results. This study conceptualized teacher effectiveness as the
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interaction between teacher beliefs and teacher practices as the foundation for outcomes.
Perhaps there exists a better more accurate measure of teacher practices in context. The Teacher
Self-efficacy Scale focused on measuring a teacher’s perception of their capabilities in
performing critical tasks in the classroom. Perhaps an instrument that directly measures a
teacher’s perceptions of mastery performance on a critical teaching task would have provided a
more accurate measure of teacher practices.
Analyses and statistical power. Although adequate, given the calculations for
appropriate sample size described in the literature, the sample size was small for most survey
studies. A small sample size can reduce power and increase the possibility of Type II errors, not
finding significant results when in fact there are significant results. As a result, this study may
have only detected only the strongest effects. A reasonable course of action would be to try
again with a larger sample size.
External validity and generalizability. Operational definitions of independent variables
(teacher beliefs and reflectiveness) may not have been congruent with the intention of the study.
For example, operational definitions for teacher beliefs about diversity may have been better
suited to define teacher beliefs about curriculum for culturally, linguistically, and racially diverse
students. Cultural hegemony, challenging the status quo, and critical analysis are all important
components of curriculum review, especially when addressing the needs of culturally,
linguistically, and racially diverse students.
Interestingly, another issue affecting external validity was that five participants dropped
out at the same point in the survey. These participants reacted to two items each specifically
referencing race. Items number 50 and 53:
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50. Students are the same regardless of who they are, what their home situations are, or what
their raced experienced happens to be.
53. Educators need to consider how racially diverse students experience the world inside the
classroom, inside the school, or in society.
At this point, the participants stopped responding and closed the survey leaving it
incomplete. We can speculate that the participants were offended by the words raced and
racially diverse. Such sensitivity to words that describe a true and accurate reality speaks to the
need for this study. As Milner (2010) points out, too often teachers believe that we exist in a
post racial society; perhaps rationalizing that ignoring race means conquering racism. The
implications are students’ loss of opportunity to learn in nuanced environments that honor them
as unique individuals.
Recommendations for Future Research and Practice
The following recommendations can be made based on the findings from this research study.
1. In showing that reflectiveness predicted teacher beliefs and teacher practices, the
convergence of this study with other studies points to the need for reflectiveness to be a
part of every teacher’s practice. Although embedding reflectiveness in the culture of a
school site is an important dimension of teacher effectiveness, it is oftentimes overlooked.
Further studies of reflectiveness will continue to shed light on the impact of this often-
undervalued variable on teacher effectiveness.
2. Other studies utilizing this research model could explore the influence of teacher years of
experience as a confounding variable in measuring the effect of teacher belief systems on
teacher practices.
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3. !In addition, research on the development pattern of a teacher’s sense of self-efficacy
could demonstrate that this occurs in a curvilinear pattern. In other words, research could
determine if a novice teacher starts with a high sense of self-efficacy; then, does self-
efficacy decreases as the teacher gains experience and realizes there is so much more to
learn? And, finally, as the teacher gains experiences and expertise, does self-efficacy
return to an upward trajectory?
4. A modification of this study could include a measurement for teacher beliefs about
curriculum for racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse students. With a similar
theoretical foundation, future studies could build on the implications of addressing
cultural hegemony, challenging the status quo, and critical analysis in relation to the
development of curriculum for racially, linguistically, and culturally diverse students.
5. Given the preliminary results and strong reliability for the nascent Teacher Beliefs about
Diversity Scale (TBODS), it would be worthwhile to conduct factor analysis and
continued examination of the TBODS.
6. Long-term professional development with a strong emphasis on reflectiveness will
provide teachers with the time and space to critically engage with practice to increase
perceptions of self-efficacy for instructional strategies, classroom management, and
student engagement. The consequences of incorporating reflectiveness into professional
development include an increase in a teacher’s ability to be aware of their own
transformative learning experiences and to delve deeper into the emotional and
intellectual connections between learner, content, and environment (Dewey, 1916;
Guiterrez, 2008; Jersild, 1995; Kamii, 1981).

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Conclusion

This quantitative study explored the relationships between teacher beliefs about diversity,
teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students,
reflectiveness, and teacher self-efficacy. The theoretical framework proposed that a teacher’s
perceptions about his or her own capabilities in instructing students was linked to the social and
cultural meaning that teachers make about diversity and diverse students. The literature implied
that teacher practices were influenced by teacher belief systems and reflectiveness. According to
the 70 participant surveys received in this study, reflectiveness predicts teacher beliefs and
teacher practices. While some relationships in this study were not statistically significant, the
underlying conclusion of the survey data is that reflectiveness influences teacher beliefs and
teacher practices; and that a teacher’s general, personal beliefs about diversity do influence a
teacher’s belief about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Consequently, teacher support systems need to include attention to the knowledge, skills, and
dispositions needed for reflectiveness in order to inspire, sustain, , and retain teachers working
with culturally and linguistically diverse students.
Chapter 5 concludes this research study. The findings produced three outcomes that
revealed the relationships between teacher beliefs and teacher practices: a) reflectiveness predicts
teacher self-efficacy, b) reflectiveness correlates with teacher self-efficacy, teacher beliefs about
diversity, and teacher beliefs about culturally and linguistically diverse students, c) teacher
beliefs about diversity predicts teacher beliefs about culturally and linguistically diverse students.

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Appendices
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Appendix A

Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES)

Efficacy for instructional strategies
1. To what extent can you use a variety of assessment strategies?
2. To what extent can you provide an alternative explanation or example when students are
confused?
3. To what extent can you craft good questions for your students?
4. How well can you implement alternative strategies in your classroom?

Efficacy for classroom management
5. How much can you do to control disruptive behavior in the classroom?
6. How much can you do to get children to follow classroom rules?
7. How much can you do to calm a student who is disruptive or noisy?
8. How much can you establish a classroom management system with each group of
students?

Efficacy for student engagement
9. How much can you do to get students to believe they can do well in schoolwork?
10. How much can you do to help your student’s value learning?
11. How much can you do to motivate students who show low interest in schoolwork?
12. How much can you assist families in helping their children do well in school?

Tschannen-Moran, M. & Woolfolk Hoy, A. (2001). Teacher efficacy: capturing an elusive
construct. Teaching and Teacher Education, 17, p. 783-805.

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Appendix B
Groningen Reflection Ability Scale (GRAS)

Self-reflection
13. I take a closer look at my own habits of thinking
14. I want to know why I do what I do
15. I find it important to know what certain rules and guidelines are based on
16. I want to understand myself
17. I am aware of the emotions that influence my thinking
18. I am able to view my own behavior from a distance
19. I test my own judgments against those of others
20. I can see an experience from different standpoints
21. I am aware of the cultural influences on my opinions

Empathetic Reflections
22. I am aware of the possible emotional impacts of information on others
23. I can empathize with someone else’s situation
24. I am aware of my own limitations
25. I reject different ways of thinking REVERSE 25
26. Sometimes others say that I do overestimate myself REVERSE 26
27. I am able to understand people with a different cultural/religious background

Reflective Communication
28. I do not like to have my standpoints discussed REVERSE 28
29. I sometimes find myself having difficulty in illustrating an ethical standpoint
(REVERSE)
30. I am accountable for what I say
31. I take responsibility for what I say
32. I am open to discussions about my opinions
33. I sometimes find myself having difficulty in thinking of alternative solutions REVERSE
33
34. I do not welcome remarks about my personal functioning REVERSE 34

Aukes, L.C, Geertsma, J., Cohen-Schotanus, J., Zwierstra, R.P., Slaets, J.P.J. (2007). The
development of a scale to measure personal reflection in medical practice and education, Medical
Teacher, 29, p. 177-182.

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Appendix C
Teacher Beliefs about Opportunities for Diverse Students Scale (TBODS)

Rejection or acceptance of context-neutral mind-sets and practices (social context matters)
Educators’ mind-sets
35. Regardless of the type of school, if I know my subject matter well, then I can get all of
my students interested in the subject.
36. Since there are a lot of differences between different school contexts, it is necessary for
teachers to develop the skills to understand the historical and current realities of school
communities. (Reverse)
37. A part of a teacher’s job is to rally the local community to empower, energize, and
motivate students inside the school or classroom.
Instructional Consequences
38. It is not necessary for teachers to build on or draw from the knowledge or established
resources of the local community in order to plan instruction.
39. It is important for the teacher to build substantive partnerships in the social context (staff,
faculty, community members, parents, or guardians etc.) of the school.

Latent trait: ability or inability to recognize and shift low expectations and deficit mind-sets
(latent trait a personal attribute or characteristic present in a person which controls peoples
inclination or propensity to act) (belief systems matter)
Educators’ mind-sets
40. It is not appropriate for teachers to lower the rigor of the curriculum for culturally and
linguistically diverse students. (Reverse)
41. Teachers need to protect culturally and linguistically diverse students From their present
cultural conditions.
42. Linguistically diverse students who speak non-standard English (foreign or American)
are academically lacking so much.
43. I am not being sensitive to culturally diverse student when I feel sorry for them.
(Reverse)
44. Culturally and linguistically diverse students need basic skills more than analytic thinking
skills.
45. If I expect too much from culturally and linguistically diverse students, then I am setting
them up for failure.
46. Students need teachers who try to make up for what they lack rather than build on what
students have because some students bring so little.
Instructional Consequences
47. The classroom is the teacher’s space and students need to conform.
48. To expect students to get right answers in all subjects is an important teaching strategy.
49. Culturally and linguistically diverse students need to develop critical skills in order to
improve unfair, inequitable realities.

Rejection or acceptance of color blindness (conceptions of race matter)
Educators’ mind-sets
50. Educators need to consider how racially diverse students experience the world inside the
classroom, inside the school, or in society. (Reverse)
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51. If I admit that people experience the world differently and that race is an important
dimension of people’s experiences, I may be seen as “politically incorrect”
52. I may offend others teachers if I express my beliefs and reservations about race.
53. Students are the same regardless of who they are, what their home situations are, or what
their raced experienced happens to be. (Reverse)
Instructional Consequences
54. Curriculum and instructional decisions are based on a dominant culture that culturally
and linguistically diverse students have to adjust to.
55. Ethnicity should not be seen as a marginal, but central issue in developing lessons and
enacting those lessons during teaching. (Reverse)

Inability or Ability and skill to understand, work through, and transcend cultural conflict
(conceptions of culture matter)
Educators’ mind-sets
56. I must teach students not based on how I teach my own children, but based on their
cultural ways of knowing.
Instructional Consequences
57. Educators should refer culturally and linguistically diverse students to the office when
they misbehave in ways that the teacher feels are culturally inappropriate.
58. If culturally and linguistically diverse students are not grasping instructional material,
teachers’ should refer those students to the school’s academic support services.
59. A disproportionate number of African American students are suspended and expelled.

Inability or Ability to understand how meritocracy operates (conceptions of socioeconomic
status matter)
Educators’ mind-sets
60. Some students have a natural aptitude, ability, or skill for success. (Reverse)
61. All people are born with the same opportunities.
62. If people just follow the formula for success – work hard, put forth effort, and follow the
law – then they will be successful.
63. If students do not succeed, it is because they are not working hard enough. (Reverse)
64. If students do not succeed, it is because of other factors that may be outside of their
control.
Instructional Consequences
65. Teachers should give students multiple chances for success even when they believe the
students could work harder.
66. Teachers need to delve deeply into the reasons behind students’ lack of engagement or
why students do not complete their homework because usually students are working hard.

Adapted from: Milner, H. (2010). Understanding diversity, opportunity gaps, and teaching in
today’s classroom: Start where you are, but don’t stay there. Massachusetts: Harvard Education
Press.

TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY

118
Appendix D
Personal Beliefs About Diversity Scale (PBADS)

67. There is nothing wrong with people from different racial backgrounds having/raising
children.
68. America’s immigrant and refugee policy has led to the deterioration of America.
(Reverse)
69. Making all public facilities accessible to the disabled is simply too costly.
70. Accepting many different ways of life in America will strengthen us as a nation. (post-
hoc deletion to improve reliability – this item is measuring beliefs about society not about
people)
71. The reason people live in poverty is that they lack motivation to get themselves out of
poverty. (Reverse)
72. People should develop meaningful relationships with others from different racial/ethnic
groups.
73. People with physical limitations are less effective as leaders than people without physical
limitations. (Reverse)
74. In general, people of certain ethnicities and races place a higher value on education than
do some people of color. (Reverse)
75. Many women in our society continue to live in poverty because males still dominate most
of the major social systems in America.
76. Since men are frequently the heads of households, they deserve higher wages than
females. (Reverse)
77. It is more important for immigrants to learn English than to maintain their first language.
(Reverse)
78. In general, men make better leaders than women. (Reverse)
79. Society should not become more accepting of gay/lesbian lifestyles. (post-hoc deletion to
improve reliability – this item is measuring beliefs about society not about people)

Pohan, C.A. & Aguilar, T.E. (2001). Measuring educators’ about diversity in personal and
professional context. American Educational Research Journal, 38(1), p. 159-182.
Running head: TEACHER BELIEFS, REFLECTIVENESS, TEACHER SELF-EFFICACY

119
Appendix E

Conceptual Development of Research Questions
Figure 1. Clarifies the conceptual development of each research question. Copyright 2014 by Xiomara
Mateo Gaxiola, University of Southern California.

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This study applies social cognitive theory and social cultural theory to understand the relationships between teacher beliefs and teacher practices. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of teacher beliefs about diversity, teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, and reflectiveness on teacher self-efficacy. Using on-line survey response data, multiple regression techniques were tested on a sample of teachers teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students in any grade level and any subject area. Findings from this study indicate that reflectiveness can be used as an important variable to understand teacher self-efficacy and teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. In addition, the study suggests that teacher beliefs about diversity can be used to understand teacher beliefs about opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students. This study highlights the continued need for reflectiveness to be an important element of professional development and support systems for teachers of culturally and linguistically diverse students.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Mateo-Gaxiola, Xiomara (author)

Core Title The relationships between teacher beliefs about diversity and opportunities for culturally and linguistically diverse students, reflectiveness, and teacher self-efficacy

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 08/29/2014

Defense Date 05/14/2014

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag diversity,OAI-PMH Harvest,professional development,reflectiveness,teacher belief systems,teacher self-efficacy,teacher support systems

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Ott, Maria G. (committee chair), Crew, Rudolph (committee member), Robles, Darline P. (committee member), Slayton, Julie M. (committee member)

Creator Email x.gaxiola@gmail.com,xmateo@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-467176

Unique identifier UC11286989

Identifier etd-MateoGaxio-2866.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-467176 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-MateoGaxio-2866.pdf

Dmrecord 467176

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Mateo-Gaxiola, Xiomara

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA