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Student perceptions of teacher pedagogical practices in the elementary classroom

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Student perceptions of teacher pedagogical practices in the elementary classroom

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STUDENT PERCEPTIONS OF TEACHER PEDAGOGICAL PRACTICES IN
THE ELEMENTARY CLASSROOM

by

Veronica A. Sullivan

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 of
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

December 2010

Copyright 2010 Veronica A. Sullivan
ii

Dedication

This work is dedicated to my father, Odis Sullivan, who told me, “An education
is something that no one can take from you.” Although you have not been
physically present at any of my college graduations, I know that you have
been watching from above with a sense of pride and with a big smile on your
face.

iii

Acknowledgments

No words can express how grateful and appreciative I am to my friends
and family who have supported me though this journey. Your kind words of
encouragement and prayers have not gone unnoticed. I could not have made
it through this process with out you.
To my mother, sister and nephew, I love you and thank you for all the
unconditional support during the times when I doubted if I would be able to
finish. Karen, Glenda, and Janelle I will always cherish our friendship. To all
the new friends I have made along the way Karen C., LaShawn, Misook, and
Sherita, our study groups and “academic” meetings played a significant part in
the completion my journey. All of my church family, your support and prayers
have lifted me to greater heights.
I would like to acknowledge my committee members, Dr. Baca, Dr.
Filer, Dr. Hollins, and Dr. Melguizo for accepting the responsibility of working
with me to complete my dissertation. Dr. Fischer, thank you so much for your
unconditional support, positive comments, and constructive criticism. Dr.
Ahmadi, thank you for the important role you played in getting me through a
critical point in the dissertation process.

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Table of Contents

Dedication ii
Acknowledgments iii
List of Figures vi
Abstract vii
Preface viii

Chapter 1: Purpose and Overview 1
Background of the Problem 1
Statement of the Problem 5
Purpose of the Study 6
Framework 8
Definition of Terms 17
Table 1 Pedagogy 24
Organization of the Study 25

Chapter 2: Methods 26
Historical Insight 27
Synthesis of literature 33
Teacher Preparation & Culture 33
Culturally Relevant Teaching 43
Student Voices 47
Multiculturalism vs. Western Traditionalist & Afrocentrist 58
Conclusion 63

Chapter 3: Methodology 65
Qualitative Research 65
Participants and Research Site 70
Participants 70
Research Site 70
Instrumentation 71
Interviews 71
Observations 73
Collection of Archival Documents 73
Data Collection 73
Analysis 75
Coding 76
Validity 76
Role of the Researcher 76

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Chapter 4: Findings 79
Description of school 80
Staff 82
Classroom Description 83
Participants 84
Teacher Background 84
Students 85
Independent 86
Instructional 86
Needs Assistance 87
Research Findings & Discussion 88
Results for Sub-Question One-Student Perceptions 88
Results for Sub-Question Two- Teacher Pedagogical Practices 94
Equity Pedagogy 100
Emerging Themes 103
Discipline 104
Warm Demander 105
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy – Caring 106
Need for Further Pre-Service Preparation 109
Student Voices 113

Chapter 5: Summary of Findings 115
Limitations 122
Implications for Practice 123
Research Implications and Future Studies 125
Conclusion 129

References 131

Appendix A Teacher Interview Protocol 141
Appendix B Student Interview Protocol 142

vi

List of Figures

Figure 1 Teacher Demographics in California 2

Figure 2 Case Study 69

Figure 3 Three Elements of Transformational Pedagogy 95

Figure 4 Pedagogy of Poverty 99

Figure 5 Pedagogy of Caring 109

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Abstract

In California, the teaching force is predominately middle-class, White
and female. With the student populations being essentially minority, there are
issues with cultural congruency, specifically with African American students.
Very often, the teacher’s cultural background differs from the students that
s/he teaches. As a result, there is dissonance between the pedagogical
practices of classroom teachers and the learning style of students. This
research investigates the pedagogical practices of a fourth grade teacher
positioned in an independent (private) African American school in the heart of
Los Angeles. In addition to researching the pedagogical practices of a fourth
grade teacher, how students perceive their learning in the classroom will also
be evaluated.
The results of this study indicate that (1) discipline is a factor in the
learning process, (2) students appreciated the warm demander form of
discipline, (3) culturally relevant pedagogy is an effective teaching practice, (4)
there is a greater need for pre-service teacher preparation in the area of
culture and multicultural education, and (5) there is value in listening to
students’ voices in the classroom.

viii

Preface
The teacher has just asked her first grade students to come to the back
of the room to get construction paper to make self- portraits. Tables one, two,
and three have gotten their paper and are starting their project. A young girl,
Lauren, is the only student who has not selected a sheet of paper. She is
slowly looking at the colored construction paper- Southwestern pink, black,
brown, and white. She has a perplexed look on her face “What’s wrong
Lauren? “You don’t like the colors on the table?” the teacher asked. Lauren
shakes her head no. The teacher responds: “I have some paint. We can mix
colors until you find one you like.” The teacher spends the next ten minutes
mixing colors for her bi-racial, African American and White student until a
smile stretches across the child’s face. “I like this color!” “It looks like my skin!”
In another situation, it is after school and a student is waiting in the
classroom for his mother to pick him up. He is not in his usual pick up spot,
which is outside sitting on the nurse’s office back step. He knows his mother
will look for him in the classroom if he is not waiting for her outside. When his
mother reaches the classroom door she sees her son talking to the teacher.
As the student’s mother enters the classroom the child said to his mother,
“Look mama, this is Samoan!” The mother’s mouth parted to speak, but no
sound came out. She finally looks at the teacher and says, “Where did you
get this?” The teacher responded, “Oh, I got it from our district resource
center (a facility that has supplemental science, history and multicultural
ix

resources). I thought since we are reading about a Hawaiian girl in the story
for this week, I wanted students to make a connection from the story to what
we have in the classroom.”
“Where did you get this?” The parent asked the teacher again. Again
the teacher responded, “I borrowed it from the Teacher Resource Center.
“This is tap cloth isn’t it? It’s what you lay out on to keep cool on warm days in
Hawaii and in Samoa.” An emotional smile appeared on the mother’s face as
she explained; “When I was a little girl in Samoa, we sat on tap cloth and
made leis.” These two events occurred in the elementary classroom of the
researcher during her second year of teaching. Both situations are examples
of how an educator is being sensitive to the needs of students while tying
directly into the school curriculum.
In Cynthia Ballenger’s book Teaching Other People’s Children (1999)
she noted how Haitian workers, parents and extended family members spoke
to children in the New York school where she was working. They spoke in a
manner that she considered gruff. This form of communication was in stark
contrast to Ballenger’s cultural background and upbringing. It was only after
speaking with Haitian children and staff, and observing in the community did
Ballenger conclude that this approach was used to show that parents, workers
and extended family members, cared about their children. Ballenger came to
realize that the training she received as a pre-service teacher did not provide
her with strategies or cultural capital necessary to work with students she was
now teaching. In addition to observing in and around the community,
x

Ballenger learned to speak Haitian Creole to effectively communicate and
teach her students.
In all three of these scenarios, the teacher made connections with
students. The teacher in the first two examples, an African American female,
validated and respected these two students and their respective cultures by
understanding their need to freely express themselves and knowing that
confirmation is a form of caring. Both teachers showed sensitivity to their
students, which had a positive effect on the student’s academic progress.

1

Chapter 1: Purpose and Overview
Background of the Problem
In the United States, we live in a society where the ethnic population of
public schools has become more diverse. By the year 2010, at least a third of
all children in the United States will be members of groups currently
considered minorities (National Commission on Teaching & America’s Future,
1996, Stoicovy, 2002). Garcia (2002) predicts that by 2020 the foreign-born
population of the United States will be 1 out of 7 people. Based on data from
the California Department of Education Statistics (2009), students enrollment
in California during the 2007-2008 school year was approximately 6,275,469.
Of this number, 28.53% of enrolled students were White, 7.43% African
American, 48.71% Hispanic, 6.3% Asian/Pacific Islander, 7.6% American
Indian/Alaskan Native, and 3.05% of students who had responded as multi-
ethnic, or provided no response. Based on information from the California
Department of Education, the total demographic number of teachers in
California schools for the 2007-2008 school year was, 310,361. This total
population included the following ethnic breakdowns: (a) White 70.7%, (b)
African American 4.4% (c) Hispanic 16.1%, (d) Asian 5.1% (e) Pacific Islander
0.3%, (f) Filipino 1.4% and (g) American Indian 0.6%.
As the above data reveals, there is a vast disparity in the diversity of
students and the diversity of teachers. Most poignant is the number of middle-
class, White, female pre-service teachers is increasing, while teacher diversity
is decreasing. Thus, the teaching population is becoming more mono-cultural,

2

while the student population is becoming more multicultural (Reed, 1998). In
California, according to the California Department of Education-DataQuest
(2008), the demographic background of teachers has remained consistent
over the last five years, (see Figure 1):

Figure 1 Teacher Demographics in California. Information correlated from the
Department of Education, DataQuest, 2008

As a result of the incongruity between the ethnic backgrounds of
students and teachers, there is a gap in the academic achievement of
students of color, particularly African American students. The National Center
for Educational Statistics (2006) published data in The Nation’s Report Card,
on 4
th
Grade Reading for the year 2005, which showed that African American
students scored 30 points less than White students and Hispanic students
scored 33 points less than White students. Moreover, suspension and
expulsion rates are typically higher for African American students in
comparison to other students (Conchas, 2006). Obviously, the more time a
student spends out of the classroom for disciplinary reasons, can contribute to

3

lower academic achievement. Additionally, African American students are
disproportionately recommended for special education where they are labeled
as learning disabled. African Americans make up 16% of the nation’s school
enrollment yet they represent approximately 30% of students in special
education classrooms (Howard, 2004, p. 287). Conchas (2006) believes the
disproportionate numbers of African Americans in special education is due to
teachers, who have not been adequately trained to work with minority children,
misinterpreting students’ (culturally related) behavior. Gay and Howard (2000)
also point out that many teachers do not share the same “residential
backgrounds” as the students they are responsible for educating. Teachers
not having the same socioeconomic background as the students they teach is
another reason why pre-service education needs to explicitly teach
multicultural education and provide meaningful field experiences.
Mitchell’s and Salsbury’s (2002) book Unequal Opportunity: A Crisis in
America’s Schools? discussed the history of the education system, critics and
supporters of the system, and an action plan for schools. As part of their
research process, the authors addressed issues of multicultural education.
Included in their analysis of what schools should do to meet the needs of all
students, was to strengthen teacher education programs by adequately
preparing teachers for working with diverse cultures before entering the
classroom. The goal of one institution was to equip teachers with appropriate
teaching strategies and teach multicultural education philosophies. To

4

strengthen potential pre-service teachers’ experiences, they were required to
work with students whose cultures differed from their own.
Many minority students are placed in a quandary over assimilating into
mainstream culture or remaining true to their own culture. Delpit (2002) in
comparing her own values and perspectives to those of a woman who grew up
in Trinidad states: “We (my classmates and I) struggled to achieve different
goals for separate reasons and thus, I was left defenseless against the
accusations of trying to sound White” (Delpit, 2002, p. 8). The woman from
Trinidad further explained how she donned a mask of obedience during her
early high school years as Catholic nuns forced students not to speak
Trinidadian in the classroom. Instead, students were to speak “right”. As a
result of British domination, this meant conforming to a linguistic pattern of
speech that was free of dialectic influences from other cultures. According to
Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995), a respect for culture and cultural differences is a
major component to culturally relevant pedagogy. Respecting students and
the cultural differences they bring to the classroom can have a positive affect
on student achievement. The education system is predominately based on
Western ideologies and philosophies, and does not acknowledge the need for
learning or considering other cultures as an integral part of the educational
process. Consequently, many students whose cultural background does not
parallel to Western ideologies are not academically successful.
A characteristic that needs to be thoroughly researched is how students
view their education, how they view themselves as learners and how they

5

believe they learn in an academic setting. Finding out from students, with
explicit questions, how the classroom setting contributes to their learning and
how it affects their academic performance is important. These inquiries are all
part of culturally relevant pedagogy (Gay, 2000).
Statement of the Problem
Western philosophies and ideologies continue to prevail in our schools.
These one dimensional philosophies have had negative effects on the
successful academic achievement of African American students. “Too often,
students are presented homogenized curriculum, one that is most likely to
meet the academic and affective needs of White students in upper-income
brackets” (Ford & Harris, 1999, p.xii). By listening to various voices within the
classroom, we should gain a more diverse perspective of the stakeholders in
our educational system. Students’ voices are often left out of educational
reform movements (Nieto, 1994). This research will examine the importance
of valuing student voices and actively including them in any intervention or
reform discussions.
Students’ perceptions about their learning are attached to students’
perceptions about their self identity. Howard (2006) suggests students of color
are extremely perceptive about stereotypes that manifest in a classroom. In
addition to navigating school stereotypes, students, particularly high school
students, must learn to navigate their personal identity along with their gender
and academic identities. All of these factors can have a direct affect on
student academic success.

6

Students’ voices are often absent from academic discussions about
academic failure. Their perspective may be a link to what is missing in the
education equation. Policy makers, community stakeholders (the general
public, business owners, religious organizations, education advocates, and
cultural organizations) and educators often debate what is best for students.
In many instances, students are not asked their opinion about their learning
and what they need in order to be academically successful.
Along with students’ voices and perceptions, the incorporation of
effective pedagogical practices is important to the success of African American
students (Fox & Gay, 1995; Grant, 1988; Gay & Howard, 2000; Darling
Hammond, 2000; Hamerman & Post, 1998; Hollins, 1993; Hollins, 2006). The
diversity in our current student populations dictates that teachers need to have
a wide repertoire of strategies to effectively meet the needs in the existing
educational system.
Purpose of the Study
The overall goals of the proposed research are to qualitatively examine
what practices a fourth grade teacher utilized to promote achievement in an
ethnically diverse elementary school. Teacher pedagogical practices will be
evaluated along with students’ perceptions of the teacher’s pedagogical
practices. With in-depth, thick observation and teacher interviews, the
research reveals those strategies that the teacher employed to enhance
student learning and achievement in a diverse classroom setting.
Observations show how a teacher adjusted her conversations or interactions

7

with students whose background may have differed from her own. It was
anticipated, that through interviews, a teacher would be able to explain how, or
illustrate if, she supplemented her curriculum to meet the needs of her
students. The interviews were expected to provide insight into a teacher’s
perception of pedagogy and how her students were viewed as learners.
The research questions that guided this study were as follows:
What is the role of equity pedagogy, as part of a multicultural curriculum? How
does equity pedagogy influence student perceptions about their learning
process? And, What is the teacher’s awareness of equity pedagogy as it
relates to student achievement?
(1) What are student perceptions of their learning?
(2) Are teachers aware of their pedagogical practices and the
influences it has on overall student achievement?
This study will consider how a teacher views her pedagogical strategies and
how and if these strategies influence learning outcomes. It was the intent of
this research project, to assess the extent of equity pedagogy, through
classroom observations and teacher-student interaction. The structure of the
class, how lessons were conducted and how the teacher gave students
instruction and explanation of lessons were also observed. By observing
dynamics in the classroom, the researcher would be able to see what
pedagogical approaches emerged from the teacher’s lessons. The interview
process adopted for this research study, provided for open dialogue, thus
allowing the teacher to elaborate on the theories and methodology that were

8

incorporated into her lessons. Through the interview process, gaining a
concise rationale behind teacher practices, dialogue between teacher and
students, lesson execution and the amount of student interaction may give
credence to studies conducted by Howard (2001) and Nieto (1999) and
substantiate the need to value student voices in the classroom.
Framework
Given that multicultural education covers multiple areas of needs for
under-represented students, equity pedagogy will be the primary aspect
monitored and observed in a natural classroom setting. The teacher’s
pedagogical practices will be examined and analyzed against the core
elements of equity pedagogy.
Equity pedagogy is one dimension of James Banks’s (2004a) model for
multicultural education. Banks’ model includes five dimensions, content
integration, knowledge construction, prejudice reduction, empowering school
culture and equity pedagogy. The following are the definitions of each
multicultural dimension: Content Integration: deals with the extent to which
teachers use examples and content from a variety of cultures in their teaching
(Banks 2004 b). Greater content integration can exist in subject areas such as
English and social studies (Banks, 2006). However, multicultural education
can be taught cross-culturally in all subject areas including science and
mathematics. With effort from teachers, they can provide students with an
education that is inclusive. Students can learn about contributions from

9

Aztecs regarding math, for example, and what the Egyptians taught us about
building construction and how Native Americans contributed to agriculture.
Knowledge Construction: teachers need to help students understand,
investigate, and determine how implicit cultural assumptions, frames of
reference, perspectives, and biases within a discipline influence the ways in
which knowledge is constructed (Banks 2004 b). According to Banks (1993)
knowledge construction has four approaches that should be used to ensure
that students have a strong knowledge foundation. Contributions, additives,
transformation and social action are the approaches Banks (1993) believes
should be implemented. These four approaches have a spiral effect when
being implemented with students. As a foundational beginning point, content
knowledge begins at the elementary level with students being introduced to
discrete cultural elements such as cultural heroes, holidays and cultural
contributions. In middle school students should progress to learning concepts
and themes (additive) and delving deeper into issues and events from a
cultural perspective (transformation). In high school, students should be
learning how to make decisions about issues and begin taking an active role in
helping to solve issues that are important to them and society as a whole.
Responsibly teaching students how knowledge is created and that it is
directly influenced by race, ethnicity, gender and social class (Banks, 1993a)
is integral to knowledge construction. Teachers need to have a clear
understanding of how race, ethnicity, gender and social class have influenced
their own personal knowledge. As they are actively involved in teaching,

10

teachers need to be acutely aware that their background knowledge,
influences and position in society are reflected in how they teach and how they
relate to students (Banks, 2006).
Prejudice Reduction: focuses on the characteristics of students’ racial
attitudes and how they can be modified by teaching methods and materials
(Banks 2004 b). Banks (1993) reports that African American, White, and
Mexican American children are acutely aware of racial differences and
preferential treatment favoring Whites by the age of four. In the classroom
teachers have the ability to help students develop positive racial attitudes by
utilizing teaching materials that show realistic images of ethnic groups (Banks,
1993). Modifying children’s attitudes is layered in curricular intervention,
reinforcement, perceptual differentiation and cooperative learning (Banks,
1993). Curricular intervention involves utilizing teaching materials that can
assist with instilling positive self-images in students. Cooperative learning
allows students to interact with one another, thereby learning from each other
and experiencing interacting with other cultures. Working in a group setting
also allows students to possibly change or modify unseemly perceptions about
other cultures.
Empowering School Culture: involves changing and restructuring the culture of
a school so that all students, regardless of ethnic background, educational
experience equality (Banks, 2006). Empowering the school culture includes
incorporating parents and community into the school fold, working together to
ensure that all students are learning and achieving. Additionally, “grouping

11

and labeling practices, sports participation, disproportionately in achievement,
and the interaction of staff and students across ethnic and racial lines must be
examined to create a school culture that empowers students from diverse
racial, ethnic, and gender groups” (Banks 2004 b, p. 22).
Equity Pedagogy: refers to modifying pedagogical practices and the
way the curriculum is framed to incorporate the perspectives, prior
experiences, and knowledge valued by students from diverse cultural and
experiential backgrounds as a way to support their learning. “Equity
pedagogy exists when teachers modify their teaching in ways that will
facilitate the academic achievement of students from diverse racial, cultural,
gender, and social-class groups” (Banks, 2004b, p.22).
The focus of this research will be on Bank’s equity pedagogy
dimension. According to Banks (2004), equity pedagogy occurs when
teachers vary their teaching techniques to ensure academic success for
African American and other underserved students. Equity pedagogy
addresses the social context within the classroom and its effect on student
learning (Banks, 2004). When students are allowed to participate in small
groups, they are freely interacting with each other. Cultural differences
become evident when students are allowed to interact and discuss presented
topics among each other and during classroom discussion. Classroom
discussion and dialogue allow for information to be exchanged and can have a
positive effect on prejudice reduction as students begin to learn and interact
with one another. In the school setting, teachers are socio-cultural mediators

12

who have the ability to negatively or positively influence their classroom
setting. Students’ educational experiences are based on their ability to learn
in the school setting and culture.
Equity pedagogy is inclusive, and goes beyond teaching students the
basics of reading and writing (Banks, 1995) and should include teachers
learning more about their students to ensure students achieve academically.
Learning different cultural communication styles and integrating them into the
curriculum (Banks, 1995) is one teaching practice that can ensure academic
success.
Jerry Lipka (1991) concluded in his ethnographic study of a Yup’ik
Eskimo teacher and his students in Alaska, that engaging students in familiar
discourse styles that paralleled their cultural background was a powerful
teaching strategy. Tapping into students’ prior knowledge was another
strategy that was significant in student learning and achievement.
Unfortunately, the successful methods the teacher used to obtain academic
success with his students were not being replicated in the university pre-
service teaching programs in Alaska.
In the article “Explaining School Failure, Producing School Success:
Two Cases,” Vogt, Jordan and Tharp (1987), conducted a study on Hawaiian
and Native American Students. The study was a result of the constant
academic failure of Hawaiian and Native American students who were taught
using traditional classroom pedagogical approaches. The Kamehameha
Elementary Education Program (KEEP), a privately funded research project

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devised to remedy the failure of Hawaiian students, was used in both studies.
Once results were observed with Hawaiian students, it was questioned if the
same strategies would work for Native American students.
The study concluded that: (1) the program designed specially for
Hawaiian children worked for them, (2) the same program was culturally
incompatible with Native American students, (3) once the elements that were
incompatible with Native American students were changed, academic results
were achieved, (4) the conclusion was drawn that the culturally specific
content of the KEEP program had a positive direct effect on Hawaiian and
Native American student’s academic achievement, (5) cultural congruence can
be an indication of academic success for students, and (6) no cultural
congruence can be a cause of academic failure.
In the above examples, equitable pedagogical strategies were used to
assist students with achieving academic success. In all instances, the
teacher was an integral part of the process. Student voice was a key element
in the research conducted by Vogt, Jordan and Tharp (1987). The Native
American students reacted differently than Hawaiian students, causing the
teacher to pause and re-evaluate the strategies she was implementing. In this
situation, the teacher altered her tone and request when she wanted a male
student to follow her directions. Once she did this the student complied and
did not cause any further disruption in the classroom. In another instance the
teacher listened to, acknowledged, and incorporated her third grade students
approach to a reading lesson. The teacher had been utilizing a linear method

14

of teaching story plot when a student suggested using a spiral approach
based on the conflict in the story. These examples of equity and culturally
relevant pedagogy set the foundation for the rest of the paper. They provided
a glimpse of the themes that emerged from this research.
The classroom environment should reflect the ethnicity of students
being taught. In addition to the classroom environment being child centered,
the cognitive approaches a teacher utilizes to ensure student mastery should
be reflective of the student population. In a child centered classroom, the
students’ desk may be formed in groups or pods of four of five. This
arrangement allows students to easily exchange thoughts and ideas. In
contrast, if student’s desks are facing the teacher’s desk in perfectly paralleled
separated rows, the focus is off of the students and centers on the teacher.
According to Banks, (1995) this arrangement can send a subliminal message
to students that they are not an integral part of the classroom or the learning
process. Further, when desks are all facing the teacher in columns or rows,
the expectation is that students are the same and should perform tasks in the
same manner.
In an article by Gilmore (1983), school culture literacy-related skills
were contrasted with peer-related skills. Observations, interviews and
interactions were conducted with African-American students in a Philadelphia
school who were considered skill deficient, in accordance with school culture.
Gilmore (1983) specifically examined the verbal interaction of students as they
socialized on the school playground (and various times in the classroom)

15

using rhyming as a form of verbal expression. Gilmore (1986) refers to the
skills utilized and demonstrated by students in peer context as sub-rosa
literacy. Sub-rosa literacy is a form of communication that students use to
communicate with each other and unless thoroughly examined by teachers
could be thought of as non-important.
Gilmore (1983, 1985,1986) discusses how students made use of
language in their playground games and how it is directly relates to the
school’s formal literacy instruction. While Gilmore (1983, 1985, 1986) reports
that there was substantial value in the oral communication displayed by
students on the playground, even though some teachers and parents believed
the type of peer communication being displayed by students was vulgar.
Word analysis, (rhyming, syllabification, and identifying initial and
medial blends) were skills teachers believed students needed to successfully
navigate the school sanctioned literacy program. Through her research,
Gilmore discovered that when students performed their playground step
routines, played Dungeons and Dragons or demanded ‘gimme room,’ that
students were indeed proving that they do have literacy skills. The skills
students demonstrated were part of their peer, secret or sub-rosa language.
This language, in many instances, is part of the culture that students are born
into. The phrase ‘gimme room’ is student language for let me show my style,
creativity, and individuality (Gilmore, 1985 & 1986).
When teachers only evaluate and see students within the context and
boundaries of school norms, they are eliminating the cultural values that

16

students, particularly African American students, bring to the classroom and
playground. Gilmore (1986) concluded that “students are capable of doing
more with language when they are given the room and respect to do so. By
listening to student and understanding who they are and what they need.” (p.
167).
Information derived from the above articles are examples of valuing and
incorporating equitable pedagogical practices into the school curriculum.
When equitable pedagogical approaches are utilized, teachers give students
detailed feedback on assignments. As part of the process, teachers utilize
written comments to encourage students to revisit and revise their work
instead of giving students a traditional letter grade. Included in the written
comments, and conferencing, are suggestions for student improvement and
positive reinforcement for work that meets the correct criteria (Banks, 1995).
Additionally, having a wide breadth of knowledge is extremely important for a
teacher that uses equity pedagogy. This means knowing key concepts of
multicultural education such as culture, immigration, racism, sexism, cultural
assimilation, structural assimilation, ethnic groups, stereotypes, prejudice and
institutional racism (Banks, 1994; Sturz, 2005). Teachers should likewise be
able to make comparisons and contrast theories related to diversity and
cultural differences, deficits, genetics and ecology (Banks, 1993).
Reflecting on the over arching concepts of Multicultural Education, the
appropriate place to begin teaching diversity is in the primary grades (Banks,
2004). Teaching students about race at an earlier age is easier than trying to

17

reeducate older students. Younger students have not been as exposed to
some of the various media outlets as older students. This may allow teachers
to more positively influence students’ belief system about race and culture. As
students become older, some become easily influenced by media outlets, their
peers, and society, making it more difficult for teachers to positively persuade
them. Banks (2004) believes that school experiences should include a
content that incorporates all races and diverse backgrounds. The images in
the classroom should be reflective of the student body. Cooperative learning
groups, small learning communities of three or four students within a
classroom, should to be actively implemented within lessons. This will provide
students with the opportunity to freely and respectfully express their opinion
(Banks, 2004). Realizing that actions speak louder than words, Banks
believes one of the most important components to Multicultural Education is
adults who model the attitudes and behaviors they are trying to teach (p. 23).

Definition of Terms
African American – People who are born in the United States whose
ancestors may have been brought to this country involuntarily or came
voluntarily from the continent of Africa (Mitchell & Salsbury, 1999).
Classroom Culture - With reference to multicultural education, culture
can also be synonymous with classroom environment. The culture in a
classroom, as it relates to multicultural education, is a culture that is inclusive
of other ethnic groups and provides an equitable education for all students
(Mitchell & Salsbury, 1999).

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Culture - Culture refers to the patterns that a specific group of people
follow (Mitchell & Salsbury, 1999). Culture includes values and behavioral
styles, languages and dialects, non-verbal communications, cultural
cognitiveness, identification, perspectives, worldviews, frame of reference and
microcultural groups and individuals (Banks, 2006). Values and behavioral
styles are derived from how people perceive their environment (Banks, 2006).
Language and dialects are reflected in cultural differences as are non-verbal
communications. Cultural cognitiveness is when individuals or groups are
aware of and think about their culture as distinctly different from other cultures
(Banks, 2006). With reference to perspectives, worldviews and frame of
reference, some views are prevalent within micro-cultural groups (the Civil
Right Movement) (Banks 2006). Individuals indentify with others
(microcultultural groups) who may share their gender, religion, social class,
race, ethnic group or other identifying factors and this allows for people to feel
as though they are part of a group (Banks, 2006).Culture is defined as the
underlying phenomenon guiding humanity” (Grant & Ladson-Billings, 1997, p.
72). According to Hollins (1996), when engaging in conversations about
culture and school learning culturally mediated cognition, culturally valued
knowledge, and culturally appropriate social situations are different aspects of
culture that need to be included.
Culturally Congruent - refers to the relationship between the students’
home culture and classroom practices, including learning experiences and the
way the curriculum is framed. Cultural congruence is based on the

19

relationship between teacher and student. When the teacher, regardless of
cultural background, is able to connect with a student and the student shows
academic progress. Cultural congruence is the teacher engaging students
through communication, cultural artifacts and varying their classroom
instruction (Nieto, 1999).
Culturally Relevant – refers to pedagogical approaches that incorporate
important aspects of the students’ home culture into the curriculum and
learning experiences, including values (aesthetic and moral), perspectives
(historical and contemporary), and practices (related to social discourse). A
pedagogical approach to teaching that encourages students to connect to their
cultural identities while achieving academically in the classroom setting (Gay,
2000). Teachers facilitate cultural relevance in the classroom by actively
connecting to students’ home and community environment. Teachers who
utilize culturally relevant approaches understand the importance of
acknowledging the unique gifts of each student and the rich experiences they
bring into the classroom. Respecting and honoring the difference that are
represented in the classroom are also integral part of culturally relevant
teaching. With respect and honor, teachers show students that they are
valuing their students. With teachers increased awareness and willingness to
become actively engaged with their students, teachers are actively influencing
student achievement. Culturally relevant teaching moves away from the
commonly used middle class European American way of teaching and

20

encompasses teaching methods that are more inclusive of other belief
systems (Gay, 2000).
Equity Pedagogy – refers to approaches to the curriculum, learning
experiences, and the social context in the classroom that empowers and
enables students from diverse cultural and experiential backgrounds to
experience equitable learning opportunities and to achieve the expected
learning outcomes. Equity pedagogy entails examining the systemic traditions
that have excluded African Americans (Banks & Banks, 2004). This exclusion
has formed a negative academic achievement gap between African American
students and White students. Equity pedagogy explores the benefits of
including African American students’ culture into the curriculum. Another
aspect of equity pedagogy is removing the cover off of the hidden curriculum
that is biased toward western beliefs and ideologies. Equity pedagogy is
teachers transforming the mandated curriculum to meet the needs of African
American students in their classroom. The changes in the curriculum are used
to facilitate maximum student achievement of African American students.
Holistic Teaching - Holistic teaching is concerned with teaching the
whole student. It includes academic knowledge as well as teaching students
how to find their own identity and their connections with the community at
large. This paper discusses holistic teaching with reference to African
American students and how they can utilize their academic knowledge to
navigate through society. This type of holistic instruction involves character
building, honesty, responsible behaviors, being respectful, skilled, cooperative

21

and sympathetic to others (Howard, 2001,b). Holistic teaching includes(1)
purposefully acknowledging and addressing students emotional, moral,
spiritual and intellectual concerns and struggles (2) holistic teaching views
students as multifaceted people who have very actives lives rich backgrounds
and multiple intelligences that are integral to the learning and teaching process
(3) holistic teaching attempts to eliminate such fairness to lasting teaching as
extreme power differences (4) holistic teaching seeks to provide a safe
environment for students to express their ideas and feelings openly.
Having a balance between cognition, being able to socially navigate various
social situations, coexisting with others in a respectable manner and being
able to follow societal norms is also included in holistic teaching. Holistic
teaching does not mean that teachers are instructing students to lose their
personal identity, but to be able to learn how to appropriately switch between
social situations and not reinforce negative stereotypes. Holistic teaching is
emotional, intellectual, mental, physical social and personal.
Multicultural Education – Multicultural education is an educational
process built upon the ideology of freedom, justice, equality, equity and human
dignity (Grant & Ladson-Billings, 1997). Multicultural education recognizes the
strength and richness of different cultures with respect to human diversity.
Multicultural education was cultivated from the Civil Rights Movements with
the main purpose of ensuring that African Americans receive a quality
education based upon the same opportunity afforded to Whites. Over the
years the definition of multicultural education has grown to include Latinos and

22

other ethnic groups, those with different sexual orientations, women and the
disabled (Banks, 2006). Implementing multicultural education means changing
the manner in which school curriculum is implemented, how curriculum is
structured and how pre-service teachers are taught to work with African
American students and other students of color.
Pedagogy - Pedagogy is the art of teaching or educating and is
synonymous with educate, instruct and teach (Van Manen, 1994). For the
purposes of this paper, pedagogy is style in which teachers educate the
students in their classroom. Pedagogy includes observing and training on the
part of the teacher. The observing includes, observing others in the profession
as well as observing students being taught. Additionally, as teachers instruct
they are also preparing students to be able to academically transfer what is
being learned (Van Manen, 1994). Teaching, instructing, educating and
utilizing various teaching methodologies and educational activities are all part
of the pedagogical process. At times teachers may need to scaffold, provide
hands-on activities or check and modify teaching methods in order to meet the
needs of students. Effective teachers are able to delineate practices that are
assisting students academically between those that are ineffective and
sometimes damaging (Van Manen, 1994).
Grossman (2005) believes that pedagogy is layered into two thick
categories: classroom instruction and tasks and assignment. Classroom
instruction includes interaction between staff and students during instructional
time. Incorporated in classroom instruction are strategies employed by staff,

23

instructional discourse, and the representations of content (Grossman, 2005).
More importantly than classroom instructional practices is the relationship that
is established between teacher and student and the impact teachers have on
shaping the knowledge they impart to students. Task and assignments
include how students may perform based on student journals, portfolios, case
reports and practitioner research (Grossman, 2005).
The information listed below gives a more details about what is included
in the definition of pedagogy base on information obtained from Linda Darling-
Hammond (1997).

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Pedagogy

Subject Matter
Teachers need to be able to organize subject
matter content so that students will be able to
make cognitive connections (text-to-self, text-to-
world, text-to-text) and structure the knowledge so
that it can be tested, evaluated and extended.

Pedagogical Content Knowledge
Teachers need to be able to
knowledgably present material in a strong
foundational manner that will allow students to see
how the material can be linked to their lives.

Knowledge of the Audience
Teachers need to be able to understand the
audience they are teaching. Having knowing of
what an audience knows and believes about a
topic and how to interest them is critical.
Formulating classroom activities such as: lectures,
learning centers, projects and discussions will
assist students with learning.

Differences
Teachers need to be able to recognize the cultural,
language, family, and community differences that
are represented in the class they teach and how
they impact the classroom culture.

Motivation
Teachers need to be able to structure assignments
that will challenge students without discouraging
them. Teachers need to have an understanding of
the self-esteem of students in their class and how
this can impact their learning.

Learning
Teachers need to have knowledge of various
learning styles. There is learning to recognize
information and learning to solve problems.

Assess
Teachers need to be able to assess a student’s
strengths and weaknesses. Being able to
recognize if a student relies on visual or oral
stimuli is important in assessing students.
Understanding how a student reasons, if they are
spatial or text oriented. Being aware of students
who are logical and mathematical inclined (multiple
intelligences) are important to recognize when
teaching children.

Teaching Strategies

Teachers need to have a variety of teaching
strategies to meet the needs of all students.

Curriculum Resource and Technologies Teachers should be able to provide students with
other resources outside of text books. This will
allow students to explore their ideas using
technology and acquire knowledge from other
sources.
Collaboration Teachers need to have an understanding of how
important collaborating with students is so that
shared learning can occur. Additionally,
collaborating with other teachers and support staff
can improve the overall learning at a school site.
Analyze and Reflect Teachers need to analyze and reflect upon their
teaching practices and refine and improve their
instructions based on their assessments.
Table 1 Adapted from Linda Darling-Hammond

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(White) Anglo American – People of European decent who were born
and reside in the United States whose parents or ancestors may have come
from a European country (Mitchell & Salsbury, 1999).
Organization of the Study

Chapter 1 presented an overview of equity pedagogy and how it is an
integral component of Bank’s multicultural model. Chapter 2 focuses on the
literature that supports multicultural education, and examines the views of
those who are opposed to multicultural education. The role of student voices
and culturally relevant pedagogy in education will also be discussed. The
methodology used to conduct the research is discussed in chapter 3. Chapter
4 will focus on the collected data. A summary of the findings, implications of
findings on future research and practice are discussed in Chapter 5

26

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter 2 will give a historical description of multicultural education and
a brief synopsis of the educational beginnings of African Americans in the
United States from the early 1800’s to the early 1900’s. The evolution of the
educational process for African Americans from slavery to the onset of African
Americans demanding and desiring to be educated to become productive
citizens and not productive subjects will be reviewed based on the opinion of
Howard Beale (1934). The discussion will then focus on teacher preparation
and culture and the importance of culturally relevant teaching. The works of
Gloria Ladson-Billings, Geneva Gay, Tyrone Howard, Etta Hollins and others
will build upon the importance and need for teachers to be adequately
prepared to work with students from diverse ethnic backgrounds. Student
voices will also be discussed. Sonia Nieto and Tyrone Howard’s research with
students voice and their perceptions of teacher pedagogical practices in the
classroom will be assessed. Differentiating between multicultural, western
traditionalist and Afrocentrist will be examined from the prospective of James
Banks, Diane Ravitch and M. Asante.
The electronic databases utilized to obtain quality, relevant articles and
books for review included: JSTOR, Scholars Portal, PsycInfo, ProSearch,
Gale Virtual Reference Library, ERIC and ProQuest. Keywords included in the
foundation laying process for the research were: equity pedagogy,
multicultural education, culturally relevant pedagogy, ethnic identity and

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student learning. The following authors were also input to obtain additional
resources, James Banks, James and Cherry Banks, Geneva Gay, Etta Hollins,
Tyrone Howard and Sonia Nieto.
The electronic databases, keyword and authors were used to explore
the following questions: What is the role of equity pedagogy, as part of a
multicultural curriculum, how does it influence student perceptions about their
learning process and teacher’s awareness of equity pedagogy as it relates to
student achievement?
(1) What are student perceptions of their learning?
(2) Are teachers aware of their pedagogical practices and the
influences it has on overall student achievement?
The literature review is based on the research questions above and is framed
by the disparities that exist in the academic achievement of African American
students in comparison to Whites. The literature review examines how
education began for African American’s in the United States and the perilous
path that has lead to the achievement gap in education. There are several
factors that have lead to the poor academic achievement of African
Americans. However, this literature review will focus on teacher preparation
and culture, the importance of culturally relevant teaching, and distinguishing
between multicultural versus western traditionalist and Afrocentrist.
Historical Insights
Past and current test scores have indicated that many students,
primarily students of color, are not reaching their academic potential (Lee,

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Winfield & Wilson, 1991). Katherine Au (2000) wrote in the following article, “A
Multicultural Perspective on Policies for Improving Literacy Achievement:
Equity and Excellence”, that “Although the gap has narrowed some over the
years, differences between the literacy achievement of students of diverse
backgrounds and mainstream students (White students) remains significant”
(p. 835). In order for all students to be competitive in our technological,
pluralistic society, they should be well-educated, literate and should be able to
use their minds when faced with daily challenges (Au, 2002).
One change in the educational system that has had a positive influence
on students of color is multicultural education and culturally relevant pedagogy
(Gay, 2000, Banks, 2006). Multicultural Education began in the 1960’s as a
direct result of the Civil Rights Movement (Banks, 1992). Prior to the
multicultural movement, there was the African American studies movement
headed by academics such as George Washington Williams, Horace B.
DuBois, Carter G. Woodson, Horace Mann Bond, and Charles H. Wesley
(Banks, 1992). James Banks has been the most prolific scholar and leader
for the multicultural movement. In addition to James Banks, Carl Grant,
Geneva Gay, Gwen Baker and H. Prentice Baptiste have also made major
contributions to the multicultural movement (Banks, 1992). Banks (2004)
believes that “multicultural education evolved from African American
scholarship and ethnic studies related to other ethnic minority groups in the
United States” (p. 12). The conclusion that could be drawn from his statement
is that other ethnic minorities are also concerned about student achievement

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and the social and systematic injustices that exist in the educational system.
The multicultural movement has expanded to included different ethnic groups,
peoples with differing sexual orientation, those with physical handicaps and
women. All of these groups are interested in receiving equitable treatment.
The initial phases of Multicultural Education include (1) educators seeking to
have institutions include information about ethnic studies in school and teacher
pre-service curriculum, (2) educators began to realize that the inclusion of
ethnic studies was not enough, (3) other groups began to see themselves as
victims (women and people with disabilities), and (4) looking at variables that
were developing from research, theories and practice as it relates to race,
class, and gender (Banks, 2004). The beginning and rationale behind the
Multicultural Education movement is very important. A review of the historical
aspects of education, as it relates to African Americans, can shed light on the
marginalization and exclusion of African Americans as being an integral part of
American society.
In 1824 African American students had seven free schools available to
them in New York before the city took them over (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln,
1968). One of the seven schools was founded by the New York Manumission
Society (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968). The Manumission Society
promoted the abolition of slavery and was headed mostly by wealthy,
influential White men. Other influential Whites also helped establish schools
for African American students (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968). A
Connecticut Quaker, Prudence Crandall, opened a school for African

30

American girls 1833. In protest, the community tried to burn the school down,
put manure in her drinking well, the medical doctor refused her students care
and the grocer refused to sell her food (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968).
When Crandall refused to abide by the Connecticut law that ruled it illegal to
establish an African American school, she was arrested. Her arrest and
subsequent conviction were overturned on appeal by the high court. Upon
learning of this, a mob broke out all the windows of her school. To protect her
students from further harm and disruption, Miss Crandall closed her school
and eventually moved away (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968).
In 1862, African American teachers traveled from New York to the Port
Royal area in South Carolina to teach African followers of the Union Armies
(Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968). Other educators taught African Americans
at night in schools that poor White children attended during the day. Many
abolitionists assisted in laying the foundation for African American people to
become educated. Additional assistance was also provided by the
Freedmen’s Bureau who established schools for African Americans as well as
Whites (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968). Under the Freedmen’s Bureau
4,000 schools were established, 9,000 teachers were employed and 250,000
African American students were enrolled. With the ending of the Freedmen’s
Bureau in 1870, the literacy rate among African Americans had increased from
one in ten newly freed slaves being literate to 21 percent of newly freed
African American’s becoming literate (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968).

31

By the early 1900’s, a shift began to take place in the education system
with respect to how African Americans were being educated. While the
intentions were admirable of those who started schools for African American
children and adults, there was an undercurrent that manifested and limited
what African American children were taught (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln,
1968). African Americans were being “trained” to be docile workers who
would not question the social, political or economical structure that was in
place (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968). Men and women of African descent
were told that the only jobs or work they were suited for were vocational or
domestic positions. African Americans were not content with this and began
inquiring how to become empowered citizens instead of productive subjects.
Many African American leaders were also beginning to question the restrictive
systems that were in place to prohibit the social, economic and political
empowerment of people of color (Hughes, Meltzer & Lincoln, 1968).
Howard K. Beale was one such person, who in 1934 wrote:
They must train professionals, artists, and leaders of the race,
and prepare for the cultural growth of the whole race. The great
task today is to transform schools, intended to make good cooks
and be efficient, but docile workmen, into institutions that will
develop into self-respecting, intelligent citizens. (Beale, 1934, p.
9)

In order to cultivate or improve upon the education of African Americans,
Beale believed that building on the: character training (moving away from a
slave mentality), cultivate the gifts and abilities of the African American
students’ race and learn the art of cooperation (Beale, 1934). Beale also
believed that: (1) those who have had advantages must help others, (2) the

32

quality of African American teachers and schools needs to be improved upon,
(3) the African American culture must be developed, (4) African American
teachers must develop a social philosophy and learn to think independently,
and (5) the slave psychology must be replaced by racial pride and self-
respect. With these five building blocks, as well as character training
cultivating gifts and abilities and learning the art of cooperation, African
Americans can begin taking the lead and creating a new and better social
order (Beale, 1934). An improved social order derived from the
aforementioned sets a firm foundation for other African Americans to follow.
The issues of African-Americans receiving an education that will prepare them
to be productive members of society during the time period referenced by
Beale, are the same issues African-American are currently experiencing.
Ladson-Billings (1994) states, “Burdened with a history that included the denial
of education, separate and unequal education and relegation to unsafe,
substandard inner-city school, the quest for quality education remains an
elusive dream for the African-American community (p. ix).”
The educational system is still operating under Western ideologies,
which essentially educates White students. Students whose culture is
different from Westerners continually fail academically. One factor that may
possibly alleviate some student failure is ensuring that pre-service teachers
are adequately and explicitly taught how to work with students whose cultures
differs from theirs. This is of particular importance because many teachers in

33

pre-service teaching programs are White, female, middle class and have little
to no experience working with students of color (Ladson-Billings, 1994).
Teacher Preparation and Culture
Teacher preparation and culture are significant components of
educational reform. It is imperative that pre-service teachers be prepared to
work with different cultural groups and have an understanding how their
personal cultural history influences their teaching philosophies (Hollins, 1999,
Gay & Kirkland, 2003, Gay & Howard, 2000). Hollins explains that
“perception arises from an individual teacher’s unique understanding of the
world derived from background experiences, professional knowledge and
competence” (p. 12). The background experiences are the environmental and
socialization an individual has growing up. For teachers, if their environmental
and socialization experiences differ from the students they teach, there can be
conflict in the classroom. The benefits of teachers understanding their own
cultural history, according to Gay & Kirkland (2003), is that teachers may
become aware of how their personal belief systems and instructional
behaviors can impact the classroom and the overall effect of student
achievement. Establishing what culture is and how having a working
professional working knowledge of what culture is can effectively benefit the
children they are teaching and can have a positive relational effect on student
achievement (Gay & Howard, 2000). Fear of teaching diversity, resistance to
dealing with race and racism, acquiring cultural knowledge of self and others,
and critical cultural consciousness are a few of the headings in the Gay &

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Howard article titled “Multicultural Teacher Education for the 21
st
Century.”
With teachers establishing what culture is and being self reflective, Gay and
Howard believe that this personal knowledge will positively impact the
teaching field resulting in academic gains for students.
Teacher Preparation
Education in the 21
st
century must better prepare African American
students, as well as other students from diverse cultures, to become
empowered citizens in our diverse society. The current trends in student
population indicate that Hispanic students will dominate student enrollment by
2010 (Nieto, 1999). It is predicted that there will also be an increase in
student population among Asian/Pacific Islanders (Gay & Howard, 2000).
Teacher preparation programs are still dominated by middle-class, White,
females (Gay & Howard, 2000; Gay 2000; Banks; Chizhik, 2003). In addition
to the areas listed in the introduction, Gay & Howard (2000) also believe that
techniques for developing ethnic and cultural self-awareness, developing
multicultural pedagogical knowledge and skills, multicultural communications,
multicultural foundations of education, multicultural pedagogical skills, and
multicultural performance assessment are areas that need to be strengthened
in teacher education programs in order to facilitate academic achievement
among students from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
In their 2000 article, Gay and Howard evaluated the rationale for pre-
service education programs to deliberately focus and explicitly teach White
teachers how to work with ethnically diverse students. Gay and Howard

35

(2000) stipulated that changes in student populations have increased faster
than the changes in teacher preparation programs. The current populations of
teachers in education programs have limited or no contact with people of color
(Howard, 2006). Similarly, Chizhik (2003) also found that, pre-service teachers
sometimes bring biases and eschewed views about students of color.
Chizhik’s research focused on the teaching shortage, the demographic shift in
cultural population, monolingual teachers entering teaching and her
experiences as an African American professor teaching pre-service teachers
about multicultural education. These erroneous views and biases can have a
negative effect on students and hinder their academic success (Marx &
Pennington, 2003).
Max and Pennington (2003) were two White teachers who examined
biases that White teachers consciously and unconsciously bring to the
classroom. The researchers conducted separate studies and reported in the
first study, which evaluated three White teachers in a school with a high Latino
student population, pre-service teacher were hesitant to discuss race until the
researcher of the first study discussed a story about how she dealt with racism
in the classroom. Pennington’s goal was to see if a study teaching White
teachers about race would be a positive experience. Pennington concluded
that White students were able to discuss race in a positive manner. This
conclusion was again drawn after the researcher shared her story about race
in the classroom near the end of the study. The goal of the Marx’s study was
to evaluate teachers on how they interacted with students they tutored for ten

36

hours during one academic semester. Marx ascertained that students, who
had no experience teaching students from a different culture than their own,
relied heavily on popular media induced stereo-types while interacting with
students.
The nine White teachers who participated in the second study were of
ages that ranged from 20 to 35. Marx found that some of the participants had
preconceived notions about the students before they began working with
them. Further, once teachers began working with students, some formed
opinions about a child’s family, culture and community based on a thirty
minute block of time. During this initial block of time the one Spanish-speaking
child did not speak. Because the student-tutor was not able to speak Spanish,
she was unable to effectively communicate with the child. Regardless of this,
the student-tutor wrote in her journal, “the child I tutored is not proficient in his
native language, let alone English (Marx & Pennington, 2003, p.10). Marx
further added that the student-tutors conclude that the students they were
tutoring had lives that were full of deficits, in complete opposite of their own
lives that were virtuous and the perfect model of what life should be (Marx &
Pennington, 2003).
Marx and Pennington (2003) concluded that this was a starting point in
evaluating pre-service students and race relations. They also found that
students who participated in the study were eager to discuss race.
Additionally, because a rapport was built between the researchers and the
participants, the researchers believed that the participants felt at ease

37

discussing race and their racism issues with them. One of the most important
findings of the research was that the pre-service teachers were able to see
how their deficit thinking negatively affected the students during tutoring.
Lastly, the pre-service teachers associated goodness with nonracist identities
(Marx & Pennington, 2003). Once some of the pre-service teachers
recognized their own racism, they began to feel that they were horrible people
(Marx & Pennington, 2003).
These articles give credence to the argument that changes need to be
made in pre-service training with regards to how multicultural education is
taught and at what depth it is taught. Additionally, race is another topic that
should also be included in any discussion when making changes to pre-
service education. In the Marx and Pennington article, the researchers where
White, thus the question arises, if the researchers had been from a different
ethnic group how would the results have differed? Although Marx and
Pennington stated that the participants were eager to share their point of views
about race and how they were feeling while working with minority students,
their expanded conversation did not occur until the end of the study. This may
be an indication that the participants were not as comfortable as the
researchers believed. In one instance, the participants only shared their true
feelings only after the researcher divulged her personal experience. The
researcher had this conversation with the pre-service teachers because she
believed that they were withholding their true feelings.

38

It is important for pre-service teachers to deal honestly with personal
feelings about race, before they begin working with students of color. As
previously stated in Chapter 1, statistics have continually shown school
populations are going to be dominated by students from varied ethnic groups.
Gay (2000), Howard (2003), Marx and Pennington (2003) have commented on
the negative effects harboring deficit views can have on student achievement.
The overall goal of teaching is to ensure that students receive an equitable,
quality education that will enable them to be productive citizens in our
pluralistic society.
Culture
A common view of culture is that it is very complex and layered
(Nieto,1999; Banks, 2006). Culture can include knowledge, belief systems,
art, morals and customs (Banks2004). Additionally, culture can also include
patterns in behavior that can change based on societal occurrences (Banks,
2006). Culture is not based on socio-economic status (Nieto, 1999) but on
survival strategies that people may incur while migrating within social
structures that exist in society. Because of the layers that may exist within a
culture, it is important to explore culture with profundity and sincerity.
Students are particularly astute to teachers who show a genuine interest, or
lack of interest, in them and their culture. Being culturally responsive to
students in the classroom can have positive academic consequences in the
classroom (Gay, 2000).

39

When culture is taught is it is very often on a “surface level” (Livingston
and Kurkjian, 2005). In their article, Livingston and Kurkjian (2005) refer to the
‘surface level’ of culture as the five F’s: food, fashion, fiesta, folklore and
famous people and believe that teacher’s classroom culture should be more
inclusive. According to Livingston and Kurkjian (2005), teaching about culture,
should include: fine arts, literature, philosophy, classical music and other forms
that represent the aesthetic achievement of a society. Further, social,
economic, and political systems of a society with people’s values and beliefs
could also provide a framework for all other aspects of culture.
While many would be in agreement with Livingston and Kurkijan’s
ideologies about what elements of culture should be taught, culture should be
effectively taught to pre-service teachers before they begin in the classroom
(Gay, 2002). Effectively teaching students of color should begin with pre-
service teachers dealing with negative preconceived notions they have about
race (Banks, 1995; Bakari, 2003). Open and honest dialogue should take
place before pre-service teachers enter into the classroom (Gay, 2002; Gay,
2003; Fox & Gay, 1995).
A theoretical framework into the rationale behind the academic failure of
minority students was given by Jim Cummins (2001) in “Empowering minority
students: A framework for introduction.” Cummins (2001) examined the
issues of academic failure of minority students, specifically African American,
Latino and Native American students. He analyzed the relationships between
teachers and students and between schools and the minority community. His

40

findings indicated that regardless of the economic condition of students or the
school, teachers still have the choice of whether or not to become involved in
the lives of students and their culture. Cummins (2001) argues, “The influence
of the societal power structure is mediated by the way educators define their
roles in relation to students’ language and culture, community participation,
pedagogy, and assessment” (p. 651). According to Cummins (2001), when
teachers take the initiative to learn and become actively involved in their
students lives that this effort is an important step in chipping away at the
inequity that exists in education. When educators learn about the populations
they are teaching, students believe that they are genuinely cared for. When
teachers step outside themselves and talk to students about their lives, without
being judgmental and critical, they are in essence showing students that they
not only care about their academic performance, but about them as a
complete person who is valued.
Ensuring that all students receive an equitable education was a central
underlying theme of the articles mentioned above. Knowing a students’
culture is essential to overall student achievement. These studies help
establish a foundation for this researchers’ evaluation of students’ perceptions
about their learning and teacher pedagogical approaches in the classroom. In
order for teachers to understand how students learn, teachers need to have
some information about their students. This knowledge will assist teachers in
how to best meet the needs of students in their classroom, particularly
students who come from a different cultural background than their own.

41

Ogbu (1987) and Erickson (1987) provide different framework for the
school failure of minority students. Ogbu had three different categories for
minorities: autonomous minorities, immigrant minorities, and castelike or
involuntary minorities. An autonomous minority (Jews or Mormons) are
people who do experience some discrimination, but it does not hinder them
from learning to read or having access to educational advances (Ogbu, 1987).
Immigrant minorities are people who voluntarily migrated to the United States
in anticipation of pursing economic and educational gains (Ogbu, 1987).
Castelike or involuntary minorities are individuals who were transported to the
United States against their natural will through slavery, conquest or
colonization (Ogbu, 1987). Castelike or involuntary minorities had the most
difficult time adjusting to Western ideologies and societal identities. Ogbu
(1987) gave in depth characterizations of immigrant minorities and casetlike or
involuntary minorities.
Essentially, Ogbu’s article (1987) focused on involuntary minorities,
specifically African Americans, and the examination of the academic failure
this particular group has experienced. Ogbu (1987) explained how castelike
or involuntary minorities were relegated to menial jobs and to no or inferior
education. With little or no education, African Americans were not able to
obtain the same jobs as their White counterparts. As the cycle continually
perpetuated itself, African American youth began to divert their attentions to
non–academic areas (Ogbu, 1987). This coupled with a mistrust of Whites the
educational system has had devastating academic results for African

42

Americans. Ogbu (1987) presented a layered rationale for the academic
failure of African American students. In conclusion, Ogbu (1987) stated that
“the academic failure of African American Students is inevitably due to
students having greater difficulty crossing cultural boundaries due to an
oppositional cultural frame of reference and oppositional identity” (p. 334).
Erickson (1987) analyzes the works of John Ogbu’s (1987) castelike or
involuntary minority groups from a labor market perspective and cultural verbal
and non-verbal communication between students and teachers from a critical
social theory perspective. Erickson’s goal in writing his 1987 article
“Transformation and School Success: The Politics and Culture of Educational
Achievement” was to review the social underpinnings of school failure of
minority students. After analyzing Ogbu’s (1987) perspective, Erickson
(1987) concluded that culturally relevant pedagogy should be included in the
educational process of students. He believes that the most appropriate place
for culturally relevant pedagogy is in the early elementary grades. While
culturally relevant pedagogy is not the final solution, according to Erickson
(1987), it should be included as part of a transformation that needs to take
place in the education curriculum. Additionally, Erickson also concluded that
culture and cultural differences do affect student success in school. By
reviewing Ogbu’s (1987) article, Erickson further discussed a common mistrust
of involuntary or castelike minorities. This mistrust stems from past
experiences that domestic minorities, Erickson’s definition of Ogbu’s
involuntary or castelike minorities have undergone, since being brought over

43

from different countries, being part of a conquest or being colonized from
different political regimes.
Both articles elucidate that teachers are important to the educational
process and have a direct effect on student learning outcomes. Educators
need to have a lucid understanding of, and also be cognitively aware of, how
culture characterizes and shapes students’ learning processes. African
American students, as expressed by Ogbu (1987) and Erickson (1987), have
been thought to come from a cultural, economic and social deficit. Thus, when
African American students have difficulty learning, it is thought to be a home
issue and not a teacher or educational issues. This shifts the blame to the
students instead of educators attempting to discover why these students,
African Americans, are not learning thereby increasing the achievement gap
between Whites and African American students.
Culturally Relevant Teaching
Culturally relevant teaching is a theory to ensure there are equitable
teaching practices in learning institutions. With culturally relevant practices the
desired outcome is that students of color, particularly African American
students, will increase their academic knowledge (Hollins, 1999). The
increase is contingent upon teachers who are willing to draw upon students
cultural and language strengths (Gay, 2000). One main protagonist on the
culturally relevant theory is Geneva Gay (Gay, 2000). Others who share in her
desire to increase academic success among low income minority students
include: Kathryn Au, Roland G. Tharp, A. Wade Boykin, Sonia Nieto, Lisa

44

Delpit, Jacqueline Irvine, and Gloria Ladson-Billings (Gay, 2000). The work
and philosophies of some of the aforementioned will be examined further in
this chapter. The works of these scholars delineate the course for delving into
practices that will work for minority children. A current practitioner who shares
and also desires to increase the academic success of African American
students is Keith Howard. Howard (2001) adds another dimension to student
achievement, student voices. Howard, along with a Nieto (1994), believes
that student voices are a missing building block to educational reforms.
Howard (2001) conducted a study of four elementary teachers from an
urban setting in a Northern California school. Howard’s study is an evaluation
of teacher pedagogical practices in an educational system that has
widespread African American academic failure. All four participating teachers
recognized and utilized culturally relevant pedagogical practices. The
teachers were considered to be effective by administration, parents, peers and
community members (Howard, 2001). The themes that emerged from the
study included: (1) holistic instructional strategies, (2) culturally consistent
communicative competencies and, (3) skill-building strategies to promote
academic success (Howard, 2001). Speech patterns used by teachers
paralleled speech structures used in many students’ homes. The teachers
validated student’s home language and incorporated it into the daily
curriculum. One teacher used a holistic approach to teaching students. She
did not believe in merely teaching her students academic tasks, but also

45

teaching them to use wisdom and strategies to help them successfully
navigate through different social settings (Howard, 2001).
According to Howard (2001), of utmost importance to the teachers was
that students learn academic skills. The teachers stressed that academic and
behavioral success in the classroom environment sets the precedent for
academic achievement. Changing the negative perceptions that students had
about themselves and learning was one obstacle that all of the teachers in the
study encountered. The negativity some students experienced was derived
from relationships they had with previous teachers. Some students expressed
that they had not felt valued or listened to by some of their previous teachers.
Very often, students did not feel they would ever be academically successful.
To circumvent the negativity, teachers used language that let students know
that skills are acquired over time. In other words the teacher would scaffold
lessons to ensure that students were obtaining and mastering a specific
concept. Instead of saying to a child, “you are smarter than that” they would
use the word skills which indicated that what they are learning is attainable
and will take practice to master.
In another study, Ladson-Billings (1992) examined the teaching
strategies of an Italian- American, female teacher. The aim of the study was to
identify practices and interpersonal skills teachers used to empower students
to be academically successful. Ladson-Billings conducted the research at an
elementary school in the Northern part of California. Ladson-Billings worked
with teachers who were confirmed by parents and teachers to be effective in

46

working with African–American students. The teacher-participant was an
Italian-American teacher whose spouse was African-American. This teacher
socialized with African-American women on a regular basis. Ladson-Billings
described the teacher as biologically White, but culturally black. Throughout
observed lessons, the teacher frequently checked for understanding and
provided students with the necessary schema to make connections to the text
being studied. She also used Venn diagrams to make comparisons between
the current story, a previously discussed story and supplemental text to
provide students additional academic support. Throughout the lesson she
asked probing questions which evoked higher order thinking skills from
students. The information gleaned from students was written on the board to
show the wealth of knowledge acquired.
The teacher also led a discussion about race with students that
included racial slurs. During the discussion she asked students their opinion
and successfully geared students toward a discussion that they had previously
engaged in about violence. She gave students strategies on how to deal with
personal and cultural insults without resorting to violence. The students were
able to employ these strategies in a real life situation that concluded with a
counselor being suspended for using racial slurs and epithets.
Ladson-Billings (1992) believed this teacher utilized culturally relevant
strategies to encourage and teach students in her predominately African-
American classroom. Students were comfortable choosing academic
activities and each individual student was appreciated and taught useful skills.

47

Real life experiences of the students were integrated into the curriculum and
the literacy base provided by the teacher allowed students to ask questions
and search out their own answers. A transformative curriculum was used to
engage students so they could see their place in a political society and see
themselves as an integral part of the political structure (Ladson-Billings 1992).
Teaching pedagogical practices has a direct influence on student
achievement. This is evident with the studies conducted by Howard and
Ladson-Billings. Teachers in the studies utilized culturally relevant teaching
practices to increase the student achievement of African-American students.
The teachers had an understanding of the student’s culture and implemented
this knowledge into lesson plans. When teachers learn about a student’s
culture, students perceive this as a sign that teachers cared about them (Gay,
2000). The aspect of caring will be evaluated in the research discussed in
Chapter 4. As previously discussed, student voices are important in
determining what strategies work best for them to experience academic
success. In the upcoming section, literature will be reviewed that further
explains the value of students’ voices in the classroom.
Student Voices
In “Lessons from Students on Creating a Chance to Dream”, Sonia
Nieto (1994) discussed roadblocks that prevented academic achievement for
many young people, specifically young people of color. Nieto (1994)
conducted research in 1992 and the information from that research study is
extended into her 1994 article. Students from her 1992 qualitative, case study

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research ranged in age from 13 to 19. The study included a range of boys and
girls from middle/junior high school to high school. The student participants
were heterosexual as well as gay and lesbian students, and came from both
single parent and two parent homes. Some of the students were monolingual
English-speaking, to fluent bilingual students. The commonality linking
students who participated in the study was that they were considered
academically successful, displayed positive attitudes about themselves and
their school. The roadblocks or hindrances mentioned in the article are
personal, social, political and economic challenges. These impediments have
long affected African American, Latino, Native American and poor European-
American students (Nieto, 1994).
In more recent years, with the influx of more immigrants, Asian and
Pacific Americans are also negatively affected by the aforementioned
roadblocks (Nieto, 1994). Nieto points out that those students are not
necessarily doomed to failure because of their economic status or home
situations. Nieto (1994) also believes that this should not be an excuse for
educators to justify student failure. The negative causal relationship that can
exist between students and school is directly related to the rapport between
teacher and student. Students and teachers often want to create the
environment they are most comfortable with. If the teacher and students come
from different backgrounds or environments, the classroom environment
sometimes implodes. Under such a dynamic, the stakeholders may
experience confusion, a feeling of being disrespected, anger, discontent and

49

mistrust. These elements can negatively take control of a classroom, causing
discipline problems, and consequently no learning takes place.
Nieto (1994) believes one way schools can effect change is through
instructional policies and practices. Schools that have been able to positively
impact student learning have matured their curriculum to include respect for
students’ languages and cultures, high expectations for all students,
encouragement for parental involvement in their children’s education and an
enriched and demanding curriculum (Lee, Winfield, & Wilson, 1991). While it
is Nieto’s belief that changing instructional policies and practices are integral in
changing academic outcomes for children of color, she also realizes that this
change is insufficient in making a total school transformation (Nieto, 1994).
Nieto believes that the one area of student education that has not been
extensively explored is listening to students about what they need from the
educational system and from educational professionals.
The value of listening to students, according to Nieto, can answer
important questions that can alter the manner in which students are taught in
the classroom setting. Questions Nieto explored with high school students
were: What does it mean to be from a particular background? How does this
influence your school experience? What experience would you change? What
were the effects of racism and discrimination in your education? How do you
feel about the curriculum you must learn? What do you think about the
pedagogical strategies your teachers use? Are your own identities an

50

important consideration in how you view school? What are your feelings about
the testing and disciplinary policies the school used (Nieto, 1994)?
The results of Nieto’s study indicated that students believed there was
an overall negative view about their specific culture and language. Many
students felt teachers did not respect them because of their cultural
background. The manner in which teachers treated them, or rather how
indifferently they were treated, made an indelible impression on students that
were interviewed for the study. Some students interviewed said that they
desired their teachers to know about their specific culture. During her
research, Neito (1994) found that some students chose to drop out of school
due to the cultural indifference of their teachers and the teacher’s attempts to
have them assimilate to Western ideologies and behaviors (Nieto, 1994).
Additionally, teachers also need to be flexible enough to allow students to
teach them about their culture. A Native American student felt discouraged,
after her teacher gave misinformation about the Native American culture.
When she attempted to provide a more accurate historical account, the
teacher took offense to her comments. After that negative interaction with the
teacher she was afraid to make any more comments in class.
Pedagogically, some students interviewed were disenchanted with the
manner in which lessons were presented. They continually mentioned
teacher’s uninteresting lessons and an over reliance on the teacher’s edition
(scripted lessons). Alternately, some students were appreciative of teachers
who showed that they cared about them and allowed them to utilize their

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primary language in the classroom. Students additionally mentioned teachers
that took an active interest in their culture as a motivating factor for their
positive academic progress.
During the interview process, Nieto (1994) noted that students were
eager to offer recommendations for teachers. Some of the suggestions
included: adding more activities into the day to make the class/lessons more
interesting, actively involving students in the lessons, using games to enhance
the learning process, bringing in supplemental books to augment the lessons,
learning some of the cultural nuances that affect student learning and making
themselves more available before school, after school and at lunch to show
students know that they are interested in them and their learning (Nieto, 1994).
Nieto (1994) also addressed issues of race and discrimination in their
personal lives while in school. Some students were under the impression that
teachers were discriminatory in the expectations they had for students. One
student stated that he wanted "all teachers to teach as if it were in an all-White
school” (p. 414). This student desired to have all teachers have high
expectations for everyone. Some students reiterated the insensitivity teachers
had about students speaking in their primary language. One student
expressed that a teacher was insensitive when he mispronounced words
because of his accent. These negative experiences had an effect on students’
self-esteem and ties into students’ belief that teachers do not care about them.
Nieto (1994) concluded that, “All of our students deserve to dream. Teachers

52

and schools are in the best position for creating a chance for them to do so”
(p. 422).
In general, the research conducted by Nieto (1994) revealed students
need to feel and believe that teachers genuinely care about them and desire
to see them successful. Beyond caring about them and their well being,
students also wanted teachers to be interested and respect their culture.
Showing warmth for students and their culture was pivotal for some students’
continuation in school. Those who believed teachers did not care about them
or their culture dropped out of school (Nieto, 1994). Affirming and listening to
students is also a way of showing care. Nieto (1994) wrote that students and
teachers spend the same amount of time in the classroom, but teachers are
usually the ones whose thoughts and opinions are sought out when
educational reforms are considered.
Another look at culturally relevant teaching from a student’s perspective
is “Telling Their Side of the Story: African American Students’ Perceptions of
Culturally Relevant Teaching” by Tyrone Howard (2001a). The article
evaluates and assesses elementary students’ perception about the academic
effect of culturally relevant teaching. The research was conducted, as part of a
larger study, with four elementary schools in Northern California. Howard
conducted interviews with a purposeful sample of 17 elementary students, ten
girls and seven boys. The study took place in the natural school setting during
the regular school day. From the interviews, Howard was able to extract
three themes based on a culturally relevant pedagogical framework. Howard

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believed students offer a different perspective and interpretation of teaching
practices. “Care, as an ethic in teaching, includes explicitly showing affective
and nurturing behavior toward students, which can have a positive influence
on students desire to learn” (Howard, 2001 p.138). The students that Howard
interviewed for his study responded better to teachers that showed an array of
emotions. Telling students that they were doing a good job, being strict with
them about completing assignments and chastising students that did not
complete assignments, were emotions that students believed teachers
showed when they cared about them. Students also believed teachers who
showed them respect, actively demonstrated that they cared about them.
Students who did not feel teachers were interested in them and their learning,
protested by copying other students’ work, disrupting class and withdrawing
from the class altogether (Howard, 2001).
Howard (2001) also noted that teaching practices influenced students’
perceptions about their academic performance. Teaching that was culturally
congruent to the students home culture yielded better academic outcomes
(Howard, 2001). One teacher was observed using circle time with her fourth
grade class. During this time students shared events that were going on in
their life and community. It was sharing activities like these that students
likened to their home environment, an environment that made many
comfortable. Additionally, some students believed that their teachers
reminded them of their mother or other family members. It was care and
nurturing that students recognized in their teachers that paralleled how they

54

were treated at home (Howard, 2001). Above and beyond caring about
students, teachers were also noted as using lessons that intrigued students
and made learning fun. Students believed that their academics improved
when the teacher was able to actively engage them in the learning process
(Howard, 2001).
The overall themes that emerged from Howard’s study were that
teachers cared, they established community in their classrooms and they
engaged students in the learning process. For the most part, students felt
comfortable with the pedagogical practices that teachers utilized. The
practices that students’ said influenced their learning are some of the
cornerstone philosophies of the Banks model. Howard’s research will set a
precedent for evaluating future research on student voices. This information
strengthens the research and evaluation completed by Nieto (1994).
In another qualitative study conducted by Howard (2003), high school
students were interviewed. A total of 20 students, 10 boys and 10 girls, were
selected for participation in the study. The students’ academic ability ranged
from students taking Advanced Placement (AP) classes to students in non-AP
and vocation classes. The 20 students attended schools where the student
population was upwards of 90 percent of students qualified for the free lunch
program. Teachers classified students as challenging, middle of the road and
college potential. This academic range allowed the researcher to obtain
varied opinions of the students’ perceptions about their learning. The following
perceptions about their learning were found to be important in their academic

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success: (1) believing in students, (2) believing that all students are capable
of going to college, (3) re-conceptualizing smartness, (4) discussing race,
racism and education, and (5) culturally and racially proficient education.
Students need to hear that someone believes in their ability to do well
academically. Howard recommends that teachers and school counselors
focus on the student’s strength and highlight it (Howard, 2003).
The study also found that students who believed in their academic
ability and desired to be placed in advanced college preparatory classes were
discouraged by school counselors. These students did not believe the
counselors had their best interest in mind, particularly when they saw students
of other races being placed in advance classes. This may be directly related
to the biases that counselors harbored against ethnic students. Howard points
out students bring in other competencies from outside the classroom that can
enhance their academic success in school. Howard believes that schools
need to tap into these skills which can be used to assist students in building
critical academic building blocks (Howard, 2003).
The research conducted by Howard (2001, 2003) adds to the scant
literature that evaluates student perceptions of their learning. This particular
study set the foundation for the research that will be presented in later
chapters in this study. With more literature based on student perceptions
about their learning, it is hoped that student opinions will be considered when
new education reforms are reviewed for implementation.

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In Patrick Lee’s (1999) study In “Their Own Voices: An Ethnographic
Study of Low-Achieving Students Within the Context of School Reform,” 40
students from varying ethnicities were interviewed from a San Francisco
school in California. The focal point of Lee’s study was investigating school
failure from students’ perspectives. The selection criterion for participating
students included at least two of the following: below average academics
(less than 2.0), students who needed behavior modification strategies
(students may have had two or more suspensions or expulsions from school
due to delinquent behavior), and chronic absenteeism. The 40 students who
met the specified criteria were interviewed by their peers who were trained and
paid a small stipend by Lee.
As part of the inquiry process, the interviewers focused on descriptions
of academic difficulties, the cause of the difficulties and areas of school reform
needed to improve performance (Lee, 1999). The following limitations were
also considered in the evaluation process: student interviewer biases, leading
questions, the students who were selected for the study may not necessarily
be reflective of typical low achieving students at the selected school site. Key
results indicated that negativity centered on absenteeism, perceptions of
racism, and personal relationships with teachers (Lee, 1999). Home
relationships and peer influence proved not be an influential factor. The
school factors that were directly related to academic difficulties, and school
reform were teacher-centered classrooms, perceived racism (assessment,
teacher-student interaction and teacher expectation), and a limited or non-

57

existence of a personal teacher-student relationship (a lack of caring, apathy,
and low expectations).
When teachers opted for lecture based lessons, which did not include
two-way communication, projects, activities and little engagement, students
indicated that they were more inclined to skip class (Lee, 1999). In addition to
lectured based lessons, students also felt that teachers did very little to explain
lessons and did not provide individual attention. All 40 students were able to
relate incidents they viewed as discriminatory. Students did not believe that
teachers, as well as counselors and administrators, wanted to see them
achieve academically. Students attributed racial tensions to teacher
stereotypes and cultural misunderstandings. Many students articulated that
there was a basic lack of caring among the teaching staff. They believed that
this lack of caring was reflective in how teachers perceived them as learners in
the classroom. Many students indicated that teachers had low expectations of
them academically. Moreover, students did not believe teachers knew them
as individuals. Students perceived teachers who remained distant as a sign of
not caring.
The results yielded from Lee’s evaluation of students’ perceptions
echoed results from Howard (2001) and Nieto (1994). Lee, Howard and Nieto
all concluded that students’ voices should be an essential component of
school reform. “Not only is the process of tapping into student experiences
important for studying the cause of academic failure but it is also essential as
a research tool to inform reform planning” (Lee, p. 242).

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Based on information gleaned from his research, Lee’s future research
implications for the school where the research was conducted included
working with students to be respectful of the school and to become active
agents in their own educational processes (Lee, 1999). Additionally, the
implications for the staff was to include meaningful learning in the curriculum,
increase personal relationships with students and augment the amount of time
staff is available for students to ask questions about lessons or the curriculum.
Student voices can be a catalyst for change in educational reform.
Research presented by Nieto (1994), Howard (2001, 2003), and Lee (1999)
have established a strong foundation and rationale for the value of student
voices. The research indicated that students are cognizant of teacher
pedagogical practices and how it influences their academic achievement.
Further, students believed when teachers took a genuine interest in their lives,
their culture, and in them personally, that they cared about them and their
academic success. In teaching it becomes important to determine if students
are aware of how they learn and the effect that teacher pedagogical practices
have on their academic performance.
Multiculturalism Versus Western Traditionalist and Afrocentrists

With every framework or pedagogical stance there are possible,
oppositional views. Opposition to multiculturalism as the umbrella for equity
pedagogy and culturally relevant pedagogy is no exception. In the Banks
(1993b) article, “The Canon Debate, Knowledge Construction, and
Multicultural Education”, scholars debated over what type of knowledge should

59

be included in school and university curriculums. Those who view multicultural
education as insignificant and deem Western culture as the dominant and
correct curriculum are Western traditionalist. Multiculturalists believe that the
experiences and contributions of women and people of color have been
marginalized by public educational systems. According to Banks (1993b),
multiculturalists believe that school curriculums should be transformed and
reformed to include a correct and accurate account of the historical
contributions by people of color and women. A third position Banks examines
in his article are Afrocentrists. Afrocentrists would like the African American
culture to be the focal point of school curriculum. They believe that with the
African American culture as a focal point of the curriculum, African American
students will see the important societal contributions of African Americans and
become more motivated to learn (Banks, 1993b). The two opposing views,
Western traditionalist and Afrocentrists will be examined below.
Diane Ravitch (1992) believes that schools should teach a common
culture. The common culture that should be taught in the public school is
United States American History. The realm of United States history should
include the who’s and what’s: Who are the American people and where did
they come from? What are the major turning points in American history? What
are the best pieces of literature that exemplify American people? What are the
values that have kept the people and the nation together (Ravitch, 1992)?
According to Ravitch, any ethnic teaching should be taught at home, in the
church and within the local community. Ravitch writes about an amalgamated

60

America, an America that recognized the “contributions” of other cultures.
While she argues her point, what is reflected in school text tells stories from a
White, Western, Eurocentric perspective. Ravitch’s views on multiculturalism
are that multicultural education separates the races, which can lead to
“contempt for the founders of the nation and for everything European or White”
(p. 8). Ravitch states that in order for multiculturalism to work it needs to:
(1) Teach the core democratic values that enable us to work together,
to reach decisions, and to live peaceably as citizens of the same
society, values such as tolerance, respect for dissenting opinions, a
sense of responsibility for the common good, and a readiness to
participate in civic life.
(2) It must also teach the history of the American people and the
institutions that made it possible to forge a nation from people of
many different backgrounds.
(3) It must teach children about the rest of the world beyond our
borders.
(4) It should demonstrate that racial and ethnic diversity may be a
source of strength – as they are in the United States – or a cause of
conflict and civil war – as they are many troubled nations.
(Ravitch 1992, p. 11)
The views expressed by Ravitch (1992) appear to be contradictory.
First, she states that ethnicity should be taught in the home, church and within
the community and then proceeds to say that students should know about
other cultures and should be taught about the world outside of the United
States. According to Kalu (1991), Ravitch made the same contradictory
statements in a 1991 article, “Multiculturalism Yes, Particularism No”.
In addition to pointing out the contradictions of Ravitich, Kalu (1991)
gives her view of multiculturalism in the form of a comparison. Multiculturalism
is the not answer to racism, but a vehicle to begin transforming the curriculum.
According to Kalu (1991), the questions multiculturalism asks are:

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(1) If America has been practicing pluralism, why do women still need
to explain their viewpoints?
(2) If the current pluralism is all-embracing, why are there still
ghettoes?
(3) Why are universities fighting over “minority” faculty?
(4) Why is there still a need to explain the various cultures of Eastern
and Western Europe, except those of France and England?
(5) Why are African Americans whose ancestors arrived in this geo-
political space at the same time as the “founding fathers” (not
“founding mothers”) still perceived as a marginalized people?
(1991, p. 63)
Kalu is referring to African men and women who were unwillingly brought to
America from Africa. White women were also perceived as second class
citizens even though they were also on the boats that brought over Europeans
who sought political and religious freedom. In addition to women being
considered marginalized, anyone who was not of European decent was
considered marginal or expendable. Overall, Kalu concludes that in a
pluralistic society, maintaining traditional Western ideologies will not benefit
anyone. Kalu also contends that real and honest dialogue is essential for
human relations and human advancement.
Asante, (1991) a leader at the forefront of the Afrocentric curriculum
movement. provides viewpoints and questions from a non-Western
perspective. The movement began when Asante desired answers to the
following questions: Why are children in Africa more motivated than African
American students? Why do African students, on the continent of Africa, learn
as many as five different languages? Why are African American students
often encouraged to take only one foreign language? The questions Asante
sought answers to were based on his 17 journeys to African during a period of

62

20 years. These questions were addressed in his 1991 article “Afrocentric
Curriculum”. Based on observation from both continents, he believed that
because African American children are not culturally centered or empowered
in their classrooms they were not able to achieve academically (1991).
Asante (1991) posits that (1) students should be centered, (2) students
should to be empowered through their culture, and (3) students are more
academically successful when there is cultural congruence between the
teacher and student. Centering African American students, according to
Asante, entails exposing students to the idiosyncrasies of the African
American culture and having nurturing teachers that make learning interesting
and intimate. The curriculum utilized would teach students about the various
historical accomplishments African American have made in society. Asante
believes that by only learning European history, African American students will
remain in the margins of society. With African American students learning
their culture, they will become more centered and begin to see themselves as
active participants, agents and actors in society.
Based on the literature, a number of conclusions can be drawn:
Ravitch believes that the Afrocentric curriculum alienates other ethnic groups
and is racist against Whites (Ravitch, 1992). While the Afrocenric curriculum
focus is on the African American culture, Asante (1991) states that classroom
teachers need to read information about every culture represented in their
classroom. By reading and adjusting lessons, the teacher will create a

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classroom environment that is empowering to all students. Ravitch’s view of
curriculum is inflexible to the possibility of accommodating other cultures.
African American students and students from other ethnic groups are
scoring well below European-American students (Gay & Howard; Cummins
(2001). The curriculum currently used is not meeting the academic needs of
the ethnically diverse student population (Au, 1980; Howard, 2003). Ravitch
argues that the curriculum should focus on American culture. Theses studies
serve as a platform to evaluate the practices used in the classroom by the
teacher-participant.
Conclusion
If all students were achieving and there were no achievement gaps
between various student populations, perhaps the Western traditionalist
should/could remain in place. However, since there is a great academic
variance that exists between African American and White students,
pedagogical practices need to be reviewed. Further cultural training is needed
in pre-service teaching programs to support teachers working with diverse
cultures. Teaching educators need to be self-reflective and to critically
analyze their teacher practices is equally important. Realizing that traditional
Western teaching approaches are not actively closing the achievement gap for
African American students is an issue that needs to be addressed. Culturally
relevant teaching approaches have been documented as being a possible
solution for effectively teaching African American students. Building
relationships with students, learning about their cultures, their communities

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and their home life is a significant part of becoming culturally aware as an
educator.
Actively listening to students, without being condescending shows that
teachers value what students have to say and it also shows that they are
genuinely concerned about their students. Throughout this chapter, the
literature presented has shown that caring and building relationships is
important to the overall culture of the classroom. Creating a culture of caring
is important for African American students. Students have the innate ability to
know when they are being treated fairly or unfairly. Providing an equitable
education for African American students entails providing teachers that are
properly trained and willing to work in the communities that provide education
for students whose cultural background differs from theirs.
Traditional Western ideologies are passé and have not met the needs
of our diverse student population. The United States boasts of being a
“melting pot” of cultures. It is comfortable not to change, but genuine change is
needed to provide African American students with an education that is
equitable.

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Chapter 3: Methodology
Students’ voices are often left out of education reform. This research
evaluates the importance of why students’ voices are important. Additionally,
a fourth grade teacher’s pedagogical approach will also be examined. The
research questions for this study were: What is the role of equity pedagogy,
as part of a multicultural curriculum, how does it influence student perceptions
about their learning process and teacher’s awareness of equity pedagogy as it
relates to student achievement?
(1) What are student perceptions of their learning?
(2) Are teachers aware of their pedagogical practices and the
influences it has on overall student achievement?
Qualitative methodologies were used to reveal what pedagogical
practices students believe attribute to their academic success. A teacher’s
pedagogical practices were examined. The chapter begins with an overview
of qualitative research and how it was used to examine the research
questions. Inquiry into the importance of the questions and who benefits from
the research is also discussed in this chapter. The sampling groups and site
are discussed in addition to how data was collected and analyzed.
Qualitative Research
The literature review in chapter 2 set the foundation and need for
listening to students’ voices in the classroom along with teachers knowing and
understanding their pedagogical practices. Utilizing qualitative strategies, this

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research adds to and supports the existing body of research in the field,
specifically with respect to listening to student voices and teacher pedagogical
practices.
By investigating these questions it may influence and facilitate how pre-
service teacher preparation programs are structured. The observed
pedagogical techniques, strategies and practices may also assist other
teachers when working with ethnic groups. Using strategies that can help
African American students become empowered in the classroom setting is
important to overall testing scores. Many research techniques described in this
chapter are derived from Creswell’s book titled Research Design: Qualitative,
Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches (2003). The purpose of the
book is to provide assistance to students for “scholarly journal articles,
dissertations or thesis” (p. xix).
Creswell (1998) describes qualitative research as, “an inquiry process
of understanding based on distinct methodologies [and] traditions of inquiry
that explore a social or human problem” (p. 15). According to Creswell, (2003)
there are eight characteristics that separate qualitative research from other
research strategies:
• Qualitative research takes place in the natural setting.
• Qualitative research uses multiple methods that are interactive and
humanistic.
• Qualitative research is emergent rather than tightly prefigured.
• Qualitative research is fundamentally interpretive.
• Qualitative researcher views social phenomena holistically.
• The qualitative researcher systematically reflects on who he or she
is in the inquiry and is sensitive to his or her personal biography and
how it shapes the study.

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• The qualitative researcher uses complex reasoning that is
multifaceted, iterative, and simultaneous.
• The qualitative researcher adopts and uses one or more strategies
of inquiry as a guide for the procedures in the qualitative study.

Most qualitative research takes place in the participants’ natural setting,
allowing researchers to make observations that would not be visible in
quantitative research. The natural setting allows the participants to freely act
and not be inhibited once a rapport has been developed between participants
and researcher. To gain a more dimensional view of the developments
between participants, different methods are utilized. Observations, interviews,
documents, emails and journals are some of the research methods that are
integral to qualitative research. Interviews allow for more in depth
conversations to take place. With the utilization of open-ended questions,
participants are able to explain their views and expand upon the questions.
The interview also allows the researcher to ask more concise and specific
questions based on the answers the participants provide. The researcher is
also able to observe non-verbal communication and facial expressions as
participants respond and answer questions.
Time needs to be spent in the field with participants in order to gain a
more accurate account of the interaction between participants. Different
themes often emerge with qualitative research (Creswell, 2003). These
themes are seen through observations, interviews and documentation
quantifying the need for time to be spent in the participant’s natural setting.
Qualitative researchers view and interpret the collective data through a

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personal lens. The researcher needs to be aware of their own biases, reflect
on who they are and their role in the research.
There are five different traditions of qualitative research: (1) biography,
(2) phenomenology, (3) grounded theory, (4) ethnography and, (5) case study.
After careful consideration, the best approach for this study is the qualitative
case study approach (Creswell, 1998). A case study approach entails focus,
discipline of origin, data collection, data analysis and, narrative form (Creswell,
1998). The information below will give a more in depth explanation of case
study research.
“Case study is an exploration of a ‘bounded system’ or case over time
through detailed, in-depth data collection involving multiple sources of
information rich in context” (Creswell, 1998 p. 61). Yin (2003) believes that a
case study is “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary
phenomenon with its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between
phenomenon and context are not clearly evident” (p. 13). In a second portion
of his definition, Yin defines case study inquiry as a strategy that includes
design, specific data collection and data analysis techniques (Yin, 2003). Both
Creswell and Yin (2005) describe three different types of case studies in
Qualitative Case Studies (2005): (1) intrinsic case study – a person wants a
better understanding of the selected research topic, (2) instrumental case
study – a research topic is examined to advance understanding in the field, (3)
multiple case study / collective case study – researching a number of cases
(little interest may be in one case). By combining more than one case it may

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lead to a better understanding or theorizing larger cases. The figure below
gives a visual representation of the research process.

Figure 2 Case Study
This research examined students and teachers in their natural setting.
The observed information was collected, analyzed and triangulated for
reliability. Student artifacts were collected and analyzed. The design plan is
set forth to understand student perceptions about their learning and how this
affects their academic performance. The strategies and organizational figure
mentioned above were utilized to examine student voices in the classroom
and how teacher pedagogical practices influenced them academically.

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Participants and Research Site
Participants
The teacher participant was from an elementary school in a large urban,
cosmopolitan area of Los Angeles that services a high number of African
American students. The teacher, Sis Williams, was enrolled in a credential
and masters program at the University of California Los Angeles. This teacher
was selected at the recommendation of the school’s director.
A random group of six students were selected from the teacher’s fourth
grade class to participate in the study. The selected participants were
grouped according the following school criteria: (1) independent - a student
that is able to take teacher direction and work independently, (2) instructional
- a student that takes teacher direction and needs minimum teacher
assistance and, (3) needs additional assistance – a student that takes
direction, but needs frequent academic support.
Fourth grade students were selected for the case study because of the
learning threshold between third and fourth grade. In this instance, “threshold”
means the following: In grades kindergarten through third, students are
learning to read. In grades fourth and up, students are reading to learn. If
students have not obtained the necessary skills needed in third grade it may
be an indicator of further academic difficulties.
Research Site
One school was investigated for the purposes of this case study
research project. Star School is located in Los Angeles County and services

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approximately 100 students. The majority of the student population is African
American. This independent school was started in 1975 to address the
academic needs of African American students. The motivation for the founder
of the school, was to ensure that African American students were receiving a
quality education and that they were prepared to be successful in college and
beyond.
Instrumentation

The study was conducted by utilizing observations conducted under natural
classroom conditions. The study included face-to-face interviews with some
reformulated questions utilized from Hollins Culture in School Learning (1996).
Open-ended questions were used to allow participants to elaborate on what
was being asked. In addition to interviews, observations were conducted at
the beginning of the school year in the natural classroom setting for
approximately three to four hours over a period of nine to ten days. Additional
interviews and observations were also conducted towards the end of the
school year for the purposes of triangulating data. Some student artifacts
were also collected and evaluated as part of the research process.
Interviews
Face –to- face interviews were utilized with the teacher and students. The
initial interview entailed obtaining an oral history of each participant. The
interview questions (see appendixes A and B) were open-ended questions,
reformulated from Hollins (1996), designed to encourage honest dialogue with
participants. Section 0.0 of the teacher interview protocol, were questions

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used to determine what the teacher believed about her students in comparison
and in relationship to her own personal belief system. Questions in section
1.0 were asked to gain information on the teacher’s knowledge of her
pedagogical practices and are these pedagogical practices used to meet the
needs of students in her classroom. In the last section, 2.0, the open-ended
questions were designed to get an honest assessment of the multicultural
education training the teacher had received.
The student interview protocol questions were designed and
reformulated to allow students participants the freedom to truthfully and
candidly express themselves. When students were interviewed, protocol
section 4.0 was asked first. This methodology was followed in order to
develop a better rapport with students and to extract personal information from
them. These questions were asked in a group setting with two to three
student participants. The group interview was used to get the participants
familiar with the researcher and to allow students a preview of what to expect
when they were interviewed individually. Sections 3.0 and 5.0 were conducted
one-on-one with the researcher. Section 3.0 delved into the students'
personal experiences and their current school and previous schools they have
attended. The last section was utilized to get student perspectives about what
a school curriculum should include, to get information about their perceptions
of what teachers should teach and how they should be graded.

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Observations
Observations were videotaped and tape recorded to ensure accuracy. Field
notes of each session were taken to document any behavioral changes and
make record of additional questions to ask at the conclusion of an observation
session. The observation method of information gathering was used to
triangulate and analyze data.
Collection of Archival Documents
Student artifacts (vocabulary test, social studies examinations, writing
samples and mathematics assessments) were collected or observed around
the classroom. The artifacts were used in member checking during second
interviews. Students were asked about their academic performance as it
related to specific content areas. The samples were also used in comparing
teacher pedagogical approaches and student outcomes.
Data Collection
Before the formal evaluation took place, the researcher visited the
school in an attempt to develop a rapport with participants. Visits were made
during the week and during extra-curricular school activities. One extra-
curricular activity included a school carnival. The data collection began at the
beginning of the school year in September 2007, and ended at the termination
of the same school year in 2008. Observations were made in the classroom
between 2:00 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, over a period of
three weeks. All interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis. In

74

the course of this time, student interviews were conducted during the students’
snack break, which generally lasted for approximately twenty to thirty minutes.
After initial interviews were conducted and transcribed, some
preliminary analysis took place and other student interviews were conducted.
The secondary interviews included member checking and interviewing the
teacher. The student interviews were again conducted during the students’
snack break. Some interviews were conducted after school during study hall.
There were two interviews conducted with the teacher. One interview was
conducted at the beginning of the study and a more detailed second interview
was completed after school for a period of 90 minutes. The teacher had
limited time to be interviewed due to her work and school schedule.
Archival documents were collected during course of the study.
Documents were collected from participants and analyzed at a later date.
Some artifacts were sent home with students for parental review. This limited
the researcher in the number of artifacts collected. The documents included,
and were not limited to copies of student artifacts (in class work, formal and
informal assessments). The documents were used to ensure accuracy of
interviews and other pertinent information. All documentation was dated and
time stamped to ensure an accurate chronological timeline.
The artifacts were triangulated with observations and student/teacher
interviews. Member checking was also part of this process and lead to
additional questions being asked of students with reference to what would
have made a difference in their academic success.

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Analysis
Thick descriptions of the environment and its participants were an
integral part of the research process and final analysis. The collected
information was analyzed using triangulation. The process included
information derived from interviews, field observations, videotaped field
observations and document artifacts. To ensure and maintain validity of the
research, my responsibility as the researcher was: to listen and allow the
participants to provide the information for the research, to ensure that all
recordings were properly maintained, keep accurate notes and to include all
information for final analysis. All interviews were stored on a cassette tape
and/or CD for easy retrieval and analysis.
To solidify the gathered information, the six step process described by
Creswell (2003) was applied. Step one included preparing interviews,
observation field notes, and other collected data and arranging them into
appropriate group classification. Step two involved reading all data for a
general sense, overall meaning and tone. At this juncture notes were taken
and general thoughts begin to develop. Detailed analysis and coding was the
third step. The coded information generated descriptions and served as a
foundation for step four. With step five, themes began to develop and a
narrative was used to provide examples of the themes that have been yielded
from the coded information. Step six was interpreting and making meaning of
collected and analyzed data.

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Coding
To assist with the accuracy of information, a coding system was
developed to capture relevant information and any naturally occurring
phenomenon that took place during the observation or interview process. The
ATLAS .ti 5 Qualitative Data Collection Software was used to assist with data
correlation. Coding categories were established to ensure accuracy of
information.
Validity
The information obtained from the interviews, observations/field notes,
student documentation were triangulated. The information was triangulated
because each method of data collection may yield different results. The
information was then analyzed, cross checked for reliability and member
checked. The purpose of checking and rechecking the information was to
prevent errors and biases in the study (Yin, 2003a). The information was
assessed using member-checking, which has been described by Creswell
(2003) as taking the final information and presenting it to the participants to
ensure accuracy. Rich, thick descriptions (Creswell, 2003) were used to bring
the reader into the setting and share in the experience.
Role of the Researcher
“In qualitative inquiry, the researcher is the instrument” (Patton, 2002, p.
14). As the instrument in this study it was important to provide the reader(s)
with background information about myself. During my 13 years in education I
have had the opportunity to teach 1
st
, 2
nd
, 3
rd
5
th
and 8
th
grades and have also

77

been a reading specialist in the elementary grades. While teaching students
at those different grade levels, I learned numerous intricacies about the
curriculum. All grade levels had supplemental texts available in the core area
of the curriculum, reading/language arts, math, science and social studies.
Even with the traditional curriculum and the supplemental text, I noticed that I
still needed additional materials to meet students’ needs. In schools where I
have worked, the student demographics were predominately African-American
and Hispanic.
I found myself providing additional text to give students schema about
lessons that were covered. As an educator I was (and am still) willing to
supplement the curriculum where students were/are not making connections
with the adopted curriculum. Unfortunately, there are some educators who
rely solely on the adopted curriculum to meet the needs of all students. If a
multicultural curriculum was utilized in schools, all students would have the
opportunity to learn tolerance and respect for other cultures. I am not naïve in
thinking that a supplemented curriculum alone will enhance student learning.
However, I believe it is a step that is greatly needed and long overdue.
I believe in addition to a multicultural education, that culturally
responsive teaching will not only meet the needs of students, but also address
the silence that eludes people when race and culture are brought up in
conversations. We are living in a diverse pluralistic society that is looked upon
as a global power. Our children deserve the best education possible to help

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ensure that they will be able to compete with other nations and be productive
members of society.

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Chapter 4: Findings
The global peripherals of the study were: What is the role of equity
pedagogy, as part of a multicultural curriculum, how does it influence student
perceptions about their learning process and teacher’s awareness of equity
pedagogy as it relates to student achievement?
(1) What are student perceptions of their learning?
(2) Are teachers aware of their pedagogical practices and the
influences it has on overall student achievement?
The research took place in a fourth grade classroom at an independent school
in the city of Los Angeles. All of participants in the study were African
American.
The study began in September 2007 with observations taking place
over a period of four weeks. Classroom observations occurred three times a
week during this time span for approximately three to four hours in the
afternoon. All of the classroom observations were videotaped and recorded.
A total of nine to ten days were dedicated to classroom observations in the
students’ natural setting. Most of the student and teacher interviews occurred
after the observation had taken place. The teacher was interview two times,
briefly at the beginning of the year and again towards the end of the year after
student interviews had been transcribed.
The student interviews were conducted out of the classroom in an
area of the school campus where there was less student traffic. Some

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interviews were conducted in a group setting, while others were conducted
one-on-one. The one-on-one interviews yielded more concise and honest
answers as opposed to the group interviews. During group interviews
students appeared to want to talk over each other and be more “creative” with
their answers. All of the student participants were eager to discuss their
school experiences. On observation days some of the students eagerly asked
when they would be interviewed.
After student interviews had been conducted and transcribed, students
were given the opportunity to review their answers. Interviewees were given
the opportunity to change or add to their answers for clarification purposes.
This was done as part of the member checking process and to validate
answers and conversations that took place between the interviewer and the
interviewees.
The chapter will begin with a rich description of the school site and staff.
Secondly, the teacher and student participants will be introduced. Following a
description of the school and introduction of participants, the research
questions will be answered based on information gleaned from field notes,
videotaped classroom observations and audio taped interviews. The
predominate themes that emerged during the study will also be discussed.
Description of School
On a busy street in the heart of Los Angeles, Star Pre-School and
Elementary/ Middle Schools are easy to locate (a pseudonym was used for the
school’s name). The exteriors of both buildings are painted in bold black,

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green and red. These colors stand for the Civil Rights Movement that was led
by a prominent civil rights pioneer. Red represents the blood of African
people; black symbolizes the strength and nobility of African people and green
represents the large land mass that is Africa which supplies vast natural
resources. On one side of the street, occupying the middle to end of the block
was a single story building where pre-school students learned the alphabet,
prepared for oral presentations and dance presentations. On the opposite
side of the street, in a three story building that occupied a corner lot, was the
elementary / middle school. With the safety of the students a top priority on
both campuses, anyone that entered the school must enter using a pre-
assigned security code before gaining entry into either building.
The interior of the elementary/middle school utilizes the same color
palette as the exterior. The main entrance of the school had darkly tinted
glass doors to block out the penetrating rays of the sun and allow for privacy.
There were white walls with three inch stripes of red, black, and green along
the long narrow hallway. The tiled floor was mostly white with square patterns
of red, black and green tiles strategically placed throughout the long corridor.
Hallway walls on the first floor were decorated with pictures of African
Americans that have made major societal contributions to the African
American community and the community at-large. In addition to framed
pictures that lined the walls, kindergarten and first grade work was also
displayed. Upon entering the building a constant buzz of kindergarten
students reciting addition, subtraction or multiplication facts was heard.

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The hallways on the second floor followed the same color scheme as
the first floor. There were samples of students work displayed on either side
of classroom doors. There was a distinct sound difference on the second
floor. Teacher’s or student’s voices could be heard reading aloud from
assigned text and/or giving lectures. On all three floors the entry ways had
corners filled with an abundance of green plants of varying heights. The
primary grades occupied the first and second floors. Middle school students
and a computer lab composed the third level. The school cafeteria and dance
room were located on the second level.
Staff
The staff at the school consisted of a director, accounting director, two
pre-school teachers, and one teacher in grades one through five and two
instructors in the upper grades, sixth through eighth. Additional staff included
an office manager, nutritionist and custodial staff. All of the administrative
staff, teachers and support staff were African American. The one hundred
plus students that attended the school were also African American.
The focus of Star school is academic success and a self-awareness of
being African American. Students in pre-school were taught eleven subjects,
students in kindergarten through fifth grade were taught fourteen subjects and
the upper grades are taught fifteen subjects. All students were taught
mathematics (which can include arithmetic pre-algebra, elementary algebra,
algebra one or geometry), science (earth, life, physical or chemistry), reading
and literature, language and English writing, phonics, spelling and vocabulary.

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Once at the secondary level (kindergarten through eight grade) the subjects
included penmanship, health, beginning Swahili, beginning Spanish,
geography and world geography, African and African American History, U.S
and world history, introduction to computers, citizenship and behavior and
physical education. The secondary subjects were taught twice a week or
more at the discretion of the teacher.
Star prides itself in students being academically astute, academically
competitive and grounded in the African, African American cultures. All
students were referred to as brother or sister. Students addressed all staff
and some parents as sister or brother and their first or last name.
Classroom Description
Sister Williams’ (pseudonyms have been used for the teacher and
students) class was approximately twenty feet by twenty feet. There were
fifteen middle / high school student desks (one piece metal seat and desk
combination with a basket underneath). On the first day of observation, the
teacher’s desk was at the back of the room in the corner with her looking at
the backs of students. On the subsequent days her desk was at the front of
the room with her facing the students in the opposite corner where the desk
was previously.
On the side wall there were a row of small windows covered by
horizontal blinds. Underneath the windows there was a five foot book case
with a variety of multicultural books neatly stacked. The back of the room had
another five foot book case with text books. Upon closer observation, the

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books on the shelf were from a sixth grade curriculum. On the wall opposite
the windows, student work was displayed along with literary genres and writing
strategies posters. In front of the room, behind the teacher’s desk, was a
lined, dark green chalk board. On one side of the chalk board the classroom
rules are written. On the opposite side there were sentences written from the
day’s lesson and a poster of the tongue and its different tasting areas. The
classroom does not have some of the amenities that a standard public school
may have. Some of these things included a classroom phone, classroom sink,
an over head screen or an overhead projector.
Participants
Teacher Background
Sister Williams was a transplant from the South and delightfully shared
her upbringing with her grandmother to give students schema for various
lessons. Sister Williams worked as an instructional assistant in the Los
Angeles Unified District before she arrived at Star. Estimated to be in her late
twenties or early thirties, Sister Williams had a very mature and maternal
manner in her speech and dress. Sister Williams has a Bachelors Degree in
Child Psychology and an Emergency Teaching Credential. She had been
attending the University of California Los Angeles seeking a Masters Degree
in Behavioral Psychology and was also working on her Teaching Credential in
a separate program. This was Sister Williams first year teaching at Star
school.

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Students
Students were all dressed in uniform. Brothers, as they are
affectionately called, were dressed in belted black slacks (non-sagging) and
red, green or black polo shirts. The sisters are dressed in the same red,
green, and black colors. Some are wearing black skirts or red, black, or green
apron dresses. The girls wear the same red, green or black polo shirts that
the boys wear. The students were encouraged to purchase their uniforms
from a local vender to support the community and also have the school logo
stitched on each of their shirts. In addition to the polo shirts, some of the
young ladies elected to girls wear Peter Pan shirts in red, green or black to
compliment their skirts or apron dresses. Some of the female students elected
to wear black trouser pants as an option instead of the skirts or apron dresses.
A total number of six students agreed to participate in the study and all
were from the same fourth grade classroom. Some of the students have
attended Star since pre-school and others have migrated from other schools.
There are a total of 11 students in the class, three girls and remaining students
were boys. The number of students fluctuated during the school year but did
not negatively affect the study. Two boys left the school and one male student
was added, from a fifth grade class, to the class at the beginning of the school
year.
Students that participated in the study (student’s names have been
changed) were categorized into three academic categories: (1) independent -
a student that is able to take teacher direction and work independently (2)

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instructional – a student that takes teacher direction and needs minimum
teacher assistance and (3) needs additional assistance – a student that takes
direction, but needs frequent academic support. The students were selected
from each perspective group in order to gain a varied dimension of opinions.
Independent
Anne was a very confident young lady. I discovered that she spends a
great deal of time with her grandparents, in particular her grandfather. Anne
was very proud of the fact that her grandfather was a popular jazz musician
who played locally in the Los Angeles area. Through her conversation it was
easy to see that Anne spent a great deal of time with adults or older people.
Anne stated that one of her goals was to be an FBI Agent.
Alan, who was considered by his classmates to be smartest in the
class, was very quiet and not easily influenced by his classmates. Alan’s
mother educated and provided child care for small children from her home
school. This provided Alan with a strong academic foundation. While his
parents were separated, both parents were equally involved with his
education. Alan stated that their involvement provided his motivation to
conduct himself appropriately in the classroom. Alan was a very focused
student who was able to block out his classmates disquieting behaviors.
Instructional
Isaac provided comic relief for the classroom. Extremely intelligent, he
had a tendency to frequently challenge the teacher. His actions often left him
with little to no recreation time so he could ruminate on how and why he

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should adjust his sometimes disruptive behaviors. Isaac had very high self-
esteem and believed himself to be one of the smartest in the classroom.
During one interview, Isaac stated that one of goals was to attend Harvard
University.
Kyle was a smart and playful student who enjoyed the teacher’s stories
about the South. Kyle was able to make connections with her stories based
on some experiences he had with his grandfather who lived in the South. Kyle
happily shared during one interview that he and his grandfather killed a deer
and ate some of the deer meat and stored the rest in a freezer. During
observations it was noted that Kyle was attentive during class and was eager
to learn the information that was presented. Kyle began the school year at
Star but did enroll in another school mid-way through the research.
Needs Additional Assistance
Helen was a very talkative young lady who was eager to participate in
the study. She had an infectious smile and was easily influenced by her
dominant classmate, Anne. When Helen was by herself she was self-assured
and talkative. However, when Anne came around she would shy back away
like a turtle protecting itself when in danger. Kim was very quiet, shy, and
unsure of herself academically. She was reading at grade level however in
her particular class most of the students were reading at a fifth or sixth grade
level. Kim received reading tutoring two times a week by the curriculum
leader. She was joined in tutoring with another fourth grade student who was
repeating the fourth grade. Kim was categorized as primary at the beginning

88

of the year. By the end of the year she was reclassified as intermediate.
Both of Kim’s parents were born and raised on the continent of Africa.
Research Findings and Discussion
The research findings discussed are based on the overarching
question: What is the role of equity pedagogy as part of a multicultural
curriculum. The two sub-questions that will be addressed are:
(1) What are student perceptions of their learning?
(2) Are teachers aware of their pedagogical practices and the
influences it has on overall student achievement?
A discussion about student perceptions will be presented first followed by
teacher pedagogical practices. The next section will review the role of equity
pedagogy and influences as part of a multicultural curriculum. The last section
will review the predominate themes which emerged from the data.
Results Sub-Question One: Student Perceptions
The school environment set the precedent for student learning and
overall academic achievement. Students randomly selected for this study had
definite opinions about their school experiences. How they were treated by
teachers played an important role in how they viewed school.
Kim: I remember when … it was something bad I remember where I
was, like I was in this classroom. I was in third grade and I had
to stay in the class just for some reason, and the other people
they went to go to, like, a little party and we didn’t go to . . . me
and my friend didn’t get to go. Because I think . . . I don’t really
remember the reason, but I think because we were laughing for
some . . . about something, and then our teacher made us
jealous just because they had candy at the party that he brought.
Oh, like, the other classmates got to get some candy (and we
didn’t). It made me feel embarrassed.

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When Kim, a very quiet and shy student, discussed what she liked
about her current school she stated that she was learning things that she had
never learned before. The one subject she really enjoyed was African
American History. Complex math was another subject Kim stated she
enjoyed. The subjects mentioned were areas of studies that were not taught
at her previous school or at the level that they are being taught at Star.
Kim was asked about how she learns in the classroom, she said if she
does not understand a concept Sis. Williams explains the information until she
understands it. When asked if the teacher gets upset or aggravated with her
when asking for further explanations of a lessons she stated, “No, she just
explains it until I get it.” Another student explained how he learns in the
classroom and what helps him academically:
Isaac: She (Sis. Williams) teaches it different ways because there’s
different ways in every subject. So she teaches every way. And then
we study it for a whole week or a whole two weeks, so I get it in my
brain.
This gives an indication that the teacher varied her teaching techniques. Isaac
was not able to verbalize or give names of the techniques the teacher used.
However, as an observer, direct instruction was used during math lessons that
dealt with exponents. During Swahili and Spanish total physical response and
choral response were utilized by the teacher. Call and response are
frequently used in the African American culture, particularly in the African
American church. A teacher in a study conducted by Ladson- Billings (1995)
used students’ interest and love of rap music to teach students poetry. “While

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students were comfortable using their music, the teacher used it as a bridge to
school learning” (Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 161). In order to have cultural
congruence, the teacher researched a ‘lyrically clean’ rap song for her lesson.
She and the students selected a song and the lesson was based on their
selection. Encompassing students’ culture and school culture, the teacher
was able to achieve her goal of having students master a form of poetry
(rhyming) and students were engulfed in the lesson (Ladson-Billings, 1995).
In Sister Williams’ classroom, during one classroom observation, she allowed
the students to ‘teach’ the class during a math lessons. This allowed students
to feel empowered and also gave them the opportunity to learn from and teach
each other.
The type of teacher that motivated Kim was one who, “explains things
to us . . . over and over again.” As previously mentioned, Kim said she
sometimes needed things to be repeated so she would have a better
understanding of the subject and that the teacher did not have a problem
explaining the concept to her again. “She just explains it one by one until you
get it right, and know how to do it.” Another student, Isaac, explained that he
likes a teacher to motivate him by being ‘strict’.
Isaac: A strict teacher, like, that is strict when you do stuff, like, my . . .
like Sister Williams, she’s a good teacher. Like I said, she’s my
inspiration. And she’s strict and nice at the same time.

From an outside perspective this may appear to be harsh, however, this
is how some students believe that teachers genuinely care about them.
“Teachers need to be strict about having work done. You need to have them

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(students) study and write down notes and stuff or test. If she (the teacher)
hollers, it just means she cares about us” (Howard, 2001, p. 138). Another
student in Howard’s study explained that teachers cannot holler for no reason
and if teachers never chastised them then they would feel that the teacher did
not care about them. Students are able to decipher the difference between a
teacher raising their voice with them who cares and one who does not. Both
evoked an emotional response, however, students responded in an
academically positive manner when they believed a teacher cared about them
and sometimes negatively when they believe a teacher did not care. Howard
(2001) mentioned that it is important for teachers to maintain a healthy
balance of being warm with students and applying discipline. The balance
comes in the form of being a warm demander, which will be discussed later in
the chapter.
During the course of interviewing students, the question was asked if
they would be able decipher good or bad teaching.
Kim: Good teaching is when a teacher teaches you something new or
review something that you already know, and bad teaching is
when a teacher just says, oh, wow, students, just do whatever
you want and just doesn’t care, and then when students act bad–
Helen: I got it. Well when you’re like – when you’re teaching
like other students stuff they haven’t learned before. I know what
bad teaching (is) because I’ve seen that before.
Kim: Bad teaching is when you don’t teach the students anything. You
just sit around and you take naps – Yep, I’ve seen that.
Anna: A bad teacher is like when they teach you something bad and
they, like, ignore you and they like, let you do whatever you
want because they’re bad. I think so. A bad teacher is like
when they teach you something and they, like, ignore you and
they like, let you do whatever you want because they’re bad.

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Kim gave a first-hand account of her experience with bad teaching. She
attended a Saturday School (not affiliated with Star) where teachers, “had no
control over the students.” While describing the scene from a Saturday she
attended, she appeared to be very disturbed. Her brow was furrowed and her
shoulders tensed up. She explained that she did not like this type of
environment. It was unclear whether or not she would continue attending the
Saturday School. Through the interview process, more than one student
explained that undesirable student behavior led their parents to remove them
from previous schools and enroll them at Star.
Beside how they were treated and how they viewed school, the
students interviewed all believed that they were personally responsible for
their grades. Overwhelmingly, all of the interviewees stated that they were
responsible for their education and if they did not learn a concept, they were at
fault.
Kim: The student’s fault? Because they didn’t listen. Well, they didn’t
try. They should try hard and try to study a little. It’s not the
teachers fault. The teacher is not going to be always there
everywhere. They should, like, spend some time and, like, read
some of their notes, like, some of the subjects that the teacher
told them to write down. Sis. Williams and my parents told me
that. My parents said the only thing the teacher can do for you is
teach you and it’s my responsibility to pay attention and learn.
Helen: My dad said it is my responsibility to learn and the teacher’s
responsibility is to teach. He said it’s your responsibility to learn.
Alan expressed that both of his parents (the father is out of the home, but very
active in his life) have high expectations for him. Both parents told him that it
is his responsibility to learn all materials presented to him. Alan said he felt
tremendous pressure to maintain A’s in class from both parents. When asked

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if this is why he does not talk in class he said, “Yes, because I don’t want to
get in trouble.” He mentioned being put on punishment if he did not maintain
A’s.
The student stakeholders showed a high level of maturity. To a certain
extent students are responsible for their education. However, teachers are in
the classroom to ensure all students are academically successful. Teachers
are leaders in the classroom and depending on a child’s situation, can become
more.
Another interesting point students made during a group interview, was
about race and the race of teachers.
Helen: The race of a teacher does not matter. You can’t look at a
teacher and say, oh, you’re White, you can’t teach me, I’m black,
or oh, you’re Mexican, you can’t teach me, I’m White. Well it
doesn’t seem- well, some people do that anyways, but not
intelligent people. Intelligent people will look at them just so they
can come and learn.
Anna: Oh you can’t teach me because I’m black and you’re White. I
don’t need you teaching me, or if a White person goes up to a
black person and says, oh your black, you can’t teach me
because I’m a White person and I’m better than you. You can’t
do that. It’s like I wouldn’t do it because, you ain’t – you’re not
going to get anywhere, so you just need to stop that and don’t
look at a teacher by their race.

“Whoever our students may be, whatever subject we teach, ultimately we
teach who we are” (Palmer, 1999, p. 10). More important than race is who we
are as educators. We all bring our experiences into the classroom. With the
teaching force primarily middle-class, White females, African American
students do not have teachers in the classroom whose culture parallels to their
ethnic background. “Black teacher are more likely to understand black

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students’ personal style of presentation as well as their language” (Irvine,
1989). Additionally, Irvine concluded that African American students
responded better to a teacher that had a more authoritative teaching style,
was familiar with the black vernacular and had an understanding of the
students’ belief system (Irvine, 1989).
Results Sub-Question Two: Teacher Pedagogical Practices
There are many experiential, social, political and cultural underpinnings
that influence teacher’s behaviors in the classroom. These influences can
determine and shape how educators interact with colleagues, teach, react and
relate to students, and parents.
A task for all teachers, especially those who will be working with
students whose culture differ from theirs, is to complete an honest, detailed
cultural history. By completing an honest, detailed cultural history potential
teachers will be able to examine any biases that may hinder them from
effectively teaching students, particularly students of color. Additionally, the
cultural history may unearth memories that are worth sharing with students.
Grappling with your beliefs (self examination), building your functional cultural
knowledge (learning different instructional approaches) and practicing
responsive and responsible teaching (learning to distinguish between deviancy
and difference) are the three beginning steps Neal & McCay (2001) discussed
in their research about student movement and how teachers react to African
American students’ cultural movement styles. Howard’s (2006), Achievement

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Triangle: Transformational Pedagogy. Howard believes with these three
elements in

Figure 3 Adapted from Howard, 2006
place, teachers will be rewarded with: students who respect them, students
who want to learn, and everyone (including the teacher) learning.
One of the most important jobs a teacher has is to learn about their
students. Additionally, being able to articulate about educational theories that
can enhance student learning is equally important. Being able to honestly
self- reflect about lessons, in an effort to learn what improvements can be
made to a lesson, is essential element of effective teaching.
There are a variety of methods that can be used to obtain information
from students. Sister Williams used a survey and classroom discussions to
gain information about her students to help facilitate her teaching and the
students learning process.
”I do know that they come from a diverse [backgrounds] – I have a
diversity of students, you know different cultures, different beliefs,
different goals and ambitions. And so what I try to do is find out how

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each one is unique. And what it is about them that they possess, and
what their personal goals and ambitions are, and they trying to help
them reach, you know- maybe help them- well, not maybe, but I know
that help them along the line to establish themselves in what they want
to become. We have a few students in here who are Muslims. We
have others who are Christians. We have others who come straight
from Africa to America. And they would be considered African
Americans, because they are here (in the United States). But the ones
who come from Africa here, they’re able to give us some reality
check(s) on where they’re coming from and their personal experiences
in Africa versus America.”
Within an African American classroom many different cultures and
countries can be represented. This can also be true within the Hispanic
culture. Even though many are under the umbrella of Hispanic or Latino,
many cultures can be incorporated. Students or their families can hail from
South America, Central America or Mexico. Within these cultures are
phenotypic characteristics.
When Sister Williams was asked to describe the type of theories she
utilized in the classroom, she stated she relied on her past experiences as a
teaching assistant and as a teacher at a pervious location. She was not able
to specifically name any theories or theorist she patterned herself after.
Not a particular theorist. I think I learned from a little bit of every place
that I’ve been. I started off as a teacher’s assistant. And I learned the
techniques of what’s involved, the task and the responsibilities of what’s
involved in that area. And that was enhanced by student teaching. And
of course, all of that is shadowed by what I learned at a college
campus.
Sister Williams, who was in the process of obtaining her teaching credential,
had not yet developed what Banks and Banks call a sophisticated knowledge
base. Banks and Banks (1995) believe that “skills, knowledge, and attitudes

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necessary to successfully implement equity pedagogy are the result of study,
practical experience, and reflective self-analysis” (p. 156). Based on the
statement above, Sister Williams has a practical experience platform that she
draws upon in the classroom.
Upon further discussion Sister Williams was in the process of
completing her teaching credential program and is currently on emergency
teaching credential. In addition to her emergency credential, Sister Williams is
concurrently working on her Masters in behavior psychology.
I’m doing it separately because I may not – I do believe in having other–
being exposed to other careers along the way. And I know that
psychology covers a diverse set of fields. And so if I’m not teaching, if I
decide to no longer continue teaching in the near future, at least I’ll be
able to use the behavioral and psychology degrees in a different field
rather than to be going through a teacher’s credential program and
have that primarily under my belt.

To obtain an in-depth reflection of a lesson Sister Williams completed,
she was asked what she would do differently with a particular lesson. Sister
Williams was very defensive and curt with her answers. On the day in
question, individual students were asked to come up to the board to complete
a math problem. Other students were not engaged in the lesson and were
frequently asked to be quiet (by the teacher) while the teacher was working
one-on-one with a student at the board. At the end of the lesson, while the
students were on break, Sister Williams was asked what she would have done
differently to ensure that all students were engaged in the lesson. She stated

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that her primary focus was on the individual student at the board. When asked
about the other students, she stated they were to sit and watch. The
questions being asked of Sister Williams were not asked to condemn her
teaching practices, but to see if she was able to critically reflect her own
teaching.
During another interview at the end of school year, Sister Williams was
asked how she varied her lessons to meet the needs of her students. “I begin
with a prompt, move into discussion, questions, and any other information
student may have from previous experience”. Jordan-Irvine (2003) believes
that teachers should be competent enough to have multiple delivery
presentations for a specific skill to assist students in comprehending and
mastering a concept. Additionally, they should also have knowledge about the
student’s home lives so there is cultural congruence.
As educators we need to be reflective in our teaching. One reason
educational practitioners need to be reflective is so that we do not fall into
what Haberman (1991) calls the pedagogy of poverty. Each arm steaming

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Figure 4 Pedagogy of Poverty Adapted from Haberman 1991
from the pedagogy of poverty are teaching acts that Haberman has observed
in urban classrooms since 1958. He stated that these teaching acts are
ineffective in teaching students in urban schools. Further, Haberman
mentions that record keeping (a paper trail so the district will not be sued),
parent conferences, staff meetings, and assorted school duties, can be
indicators that a school may be perpetuating a pedagogy of poverty. At Star
the aforementioned does not take place. During her interview, Sister Williams
stated that they (the teaching staff) had approximately two staff meetings thus
far (this interview was conducted toward the end of the school year). There
were no assorted school duties, unless a teacher volunteered to undertake
such duties.

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Equity Pedagogy
Equity pedagogy does not ascribe to the belief that students are
culturally deprived (Banks, 2004). Equity pedagogy looks at the value of, and
respects the differences, that all students bring to the classroom. Teachers,
administration, and other school staff at Star school validated and respected
the students’ various cultures. The entire school was reflective of the African
American culture. The manner in which adults spoke to children was
equivalent to a parent instead of an educator or administrator. The color of the
school uniform was reflective of the African culture, red, black and green. The
director dressed in elegant African clothing accessorized with African earrings,
bracelets and head wraps. African art adorned her office. In the event that a
student had to visit her office, sitting in the hallway they could view pictures of
notable African Americans.
Equity pedagogy emerged throughout classroom observations and
school observations. Students were taught United States / Western history as
well as African American history. The lessons taught were not exclusive but
inclusive. The history books that were used to teach United States / Western
history were given to the school by the public school system when they were
upgrading their text books during text book adoption years. The donated
books did not explicitly teach about other cultures. The main emphasis in
these books was Western history and ideologies. The school supplemented
history with an African American history book and taught African American
history as a separate subject.

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Through classroom interviews and classroom observations, it was very
evident that students had developed a strong sense of ethnic pride. When
African American History was taught the entire class was electric with
excitement. Students talked over each other and the teacher, not out of
disrespect, but with excitement about the topic. It appeared that each student
wanted to share what their parent(s) had told them about the topic or what
they had learned about the topic from a previous teacher.
Students were learning skills that would enable them to become
effective agents of social change (Banks, 1995). By learning United States /
Western history and African/African American history, students are obtaining
an equitable balance of their cultural history and the history of the country in
which they live. One American History lesson that was observed was a review
lesson about the Great Lakes. This review lesson was followed by a lesson
about a great wonder of the world, the Grand Canyon and its topography.
Students were then led into a lesson of Swahili, a Bantu language spoken by
many East African countries including Tanzania, Kenya, Congo Burundi and
Uganda.
By learning about, and having a strong foundation in their own culture,
as well as learning about other cultures, students are learning tolerance and
respect for other cultures. One student stated that one thing she likes about
Star School was that, “we learn things that we never learn like African history.”
These factors may inevitably transfer over into positive behaviors and
mindsets that are needed to “function effectively within, and help create and

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perpetuate, a just, humane, and democratic society” (Banks, 1995, p. 152).
Another cultural aspect is environmental. The environment of Star School was
one of learning and based on the African American home environment.
At Star School the school culture is based on students and student
achievement. The social interaction between students and teachers is based
on characteristics of the students’ home life. On one or more visit the
researcher overheard a student say, “Mamma, I mean Sis. Williams.” The
classroom environment was indicative of the home environment of students
and this allowed students to feel that they are welcome and free to learn.
Teachers who utilize equity pedagogy are challenged to vary their
teaching strategies (Banks & Banks, 1995). Varying teaching strategies
means migrating away from the norm of teaching, memorization, and focusing
on generating new knowledge and new understandings (Banks & Banks,
1995). In a classroom setting where students are generating new knowledge
and understandings, the focus is not on the teacher but on students and their
academic success. When equity pedagogy is incorporated into education,
students are encouraged not to think laterally, but existentialistically, to think
intelligently and derive meaning based on information presented. This was a
strategy used by Sis. Williams while she taught United States / Western
History and African American History.
One area that was not observed during the four week period was
cooperative grouping. Cooperative groups can be an effective method of
allowing students to discuss topics and possibly expand their knowledge base

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(Banks & Banks,1995). Cooperative grouping can allow for students to
discover multiple meanings, solutions, and perspectives if used correctly.
Used incorrectly, cooperative grouping can reinforce stereotypes and
inequality (Banks & Banks, 1995). Initially, the uniformity of Sister Williams’
classroom was not conducive to cooperative grouping. The teacher’s desk
was in the back, right corner of the room facing the front chalkboard and all of
the students’ desks were linear facing the front of the classroom. The second
day of observation, the teacher’s desk was moved to the front of the room,
with the teachers back facing the chalk board and facing the students. The
size of the classroom, along with the size the students’ desk did limit a more
creative classroom configuration. However, students could have been placed
in a two or three person configuration for cooperative groups. Upon further
examination and interviews with the students, they did indicate that worked in
cooperative groups during morning sessions.
Emerging Themes
The five major themes that emerged from the classroom observations,
were as follows: (1) discipline methods, (2) warm demander behaviors
exhibited by the teacher (3) culturally relevant pedagogy – caring, (4) need for
further pre-service preparations with regards to developing and refining
research based pedagogical teaching approaches and (5) student voices
about their learning.

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Discipline
When disciplining students, the teacher used a motherly tone and was
not disrespectful of students. The tone used was similar to the tone Ballenger
(1999) referred to in her study of the relationship between Haitian children,
their parents and the Haitian community. The tone was not threatening, but
was firm and caring. The tone and discipline method used by the teacher in
this research worked in sync with the warm demander method.
“Put the sharpener away. I don’t want to see the sharpener on your
desk. That is one less unnecessary item that I need to see.”

“When we go inside the snack area, everyone will be sitting together. I
do not want to see my class sitting with the younger students.”

“It is not the other student’s responsibility to supply you with paper and
pencil. It is your responsibility.”

The quotes above were made by Sister Williams as reminders of what was
expected of students. Sister Williams repeatedly reminded students of her
expectations for them. She did not raise her voice when addressing students.
Her voice was very calm but firm. Constant reminders were necessary for the
students because it was the beginning of the school year and the students in
the classroom had strong personalities. Once she advised students of what
was expected, students did begin to act more responsibly.
In addition to being firm with students, Sister Williams also encouraged
them to do their best at all times. She constantly reiterated that the best was
expected of them by her and also their parents. Sister Williams was not afraid
to be vulnerable with students allowing them to see that she is human and not
immune to making mistakes. “I’m sorry, thank you for letting me know; ‘you’ is

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always going to be the exception to the rule. I did forget to put in the word
‘you’ right there.”
Asserting discipline in the classroom can improve the overall learning
process for students. However, when coupled with genuine caring, it is
possible for students to excel academically and increase their self-esteem.
Warm Demander
Besides utilizing culturally relevant pedagogy, Sister Williams engaged
what Judith Kleinfeld (1975) coined “warm demander” in her study of Eskimo
and Indian students. A warm demander teacher utilizes a “teaching style that
elicits a high level of intellectual participation . . . where teachers establish
positive interpersonal relationships, not only between teacher and students,
but also with the student groups” (p. 336). Warm demanders “are tough-
minded, no-nonsense, structured, with a disciplined classroom environment for
kids whom society has psychologically and physically abandoned” (Vasquez.
1989).”
With caring and respect being the foundation for discipline, Sister
Williams routinely admonished students who were not exhibiting appropriate
classroom behaviors. Some students were given more flexibility behaviorally
while others were guided back to task immediately. Given that Sister Williams
knew her students and had developed a rapport with them, she was able to
determine who she could allow to have more freedom and who needed
stronger boundaries. This was demonstrated with the tone of her voice. Her

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tone was warm but demanding. The students innately knew when it was time
to demonstrate academic behaviors opposed to miss guided playfulness.
The manner in which students were disciplined in Sister Williams’ class
would also fall under the guise of care. In many instances when students
were being disciplined Sister Williams took on a maternal tone. On one
occasion a student addressed Sister Williams as ‘mama’, laughed and quickly
corrected himself. This may have been a slip or he may have said mama
because the manner in which she treated him paralleled to the way he is
treated at home.
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy – Caring
Another theme that occurred was the teacher caring about students.
Creating a culture of respect in caring is important in the educational process.
Students are innately able to decipher if a teacher genuinely cares about them
and their success in school. According to Howard (2001) students see care
manifested in the classroom, which included and are not limited to: showing
interest in students’ personal lives, being allowed to participate in classroom
discussions and being allowed to take ownership of their own assignments by
adding their own ideas.
Sister Williams appeared to genuinely care about her students. She
surveyed the children about their likes and dislikes and what they wanted to
learn during the school year. Additionally, the teacher obtained some family
information about each of her students. In addition to obtaining information
through a survey, the teacher stated that she also used classroom discussions

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to glean more information about students. Several times during the
observation period, the teacher addressed the students by their last name, Mr.
Smith or Ms. Rodgers. This was also a practice used by the director when
addressing students. This allows the students to see that they are being
respected and cared about. When a student asked why they were being
called by their last name, they were told when they own their own business
people will address them by their last name, so she wanted them to get used
to hearing their last name. By addressing students using their last name
instills in them a sense of responsibility they may assume in the future.
Sister Williams routinely showed that she cared for her students and
had high expectations for all. One way she demonstrated this was in the
manner which she spoke to students.
So make sure that if you do not have a dictionary at home, let me know
before leaving class today because I will then give you a dictionary to
take home and define the words.
And by the way you guys did very well with the map and coming up and
finding the location of a variety of natural elements and resources on
the pay and finding bodies of water. So, good for you. Give yourself a
tap on the back.
Some of you guys are working really hard on this. I’m so proud of you
because geography requires a lot of listening skills and good work skills
and wonder investigators.
Instead of a voice that says I am the teacher and you must obey me, her tone
was more maternal, firm and, encouraging. On observation days, teachers
throughout the school used maternal and paternal voices with the students.
“This kind of caring is one of the major pillars of culturally responsive
pedagogy for ethnically diverse students. It (caring) is manifested in the form

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of teacher attitudes, expectations, and behaviors about students’ human
value, intellectual capability, and performance responsibilities” (Gay, 2000, p.
45). Sister Williams spoke to the students as young adults and frequently
used phrases such as, “when you grow up” and “when you go to college.”
When there was an instance when students believed Sister Williams was
being unfair in their eyes, she would briefly stop the lessons and address the
students’ concerns. Both students and teacher were respectful towards each
other. The students were allowed to respectfully express themselves. If they
were disrespectful, the teacher’s maternal voice would stiffen and remind them
that they are speaking to an adult.
The researcher also noticed that one of the male teachers often
referred to his third grade male students as “son”. Very often, on observation
days, he could be heard admonishing a student, “Son that is not what you are
supposed to be doing” or “Son thank you for completing . . . “Teachers and
administrative staff used students’ home culture as a basis of communicating
with students.
As previously mentioned, in Culturally Responsive Teaching by Geneva
Gay, caring is considered one of the cornerstones of culturally responsive
teaching. She describes the concept of caring as (1) caring is concern for
person and performance (2) caring is action-provoking (3) caring prompts
effort and achievement and (4) caring is multidimensional responsiveness.

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Figure 5 Caring Adapted from Gay, 2000
All elements of caring are relational, child centered and somewhat scaffolded.
When teachers have developed a real relationship with students, where
students believe teachers genuinely care about them, there is greater
academic success.
Based on observations it was evident that students were thriving
academically. Students displayed a strong sense of self-awareness and self-
confidence. Many students were articulate. This was noted due to Sister
Williams and other teachers allowing students the freedom to respectfully
verbally, express themselves during classroom discussions.
Need for Further Pre-Service Preparation
Because multicultural education has many dimensions, obtaining a
teacher definition of what multicultural education is can have a profound effect
on how and what is taught in the classroom. To gain a better understanding of

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Sister Williams’ personal belief systems, she was asked to discuss her
multicultural training and give her personal definition of multicultural education.
This is a great big world. And there’s so much practical experiences
that I have yet to become a part of. And as I become exposed beyond
the school campus, it enlarges my – it enlightens me. And I become
more insightful and, I would say, more insightful, more educated. From
those other experiences that I’m exposed to in the real world, in dealing
with those individuals or groups of people, it becomes more valuable.
And it helps me to hold on to something that I never had on campus.

When asked to describe of define Multicultural Education, Sis. Williams
explained:
If asked to describe Multicultural Education I would say that
Multicultural Education is important. It’s pertinent to a child’s everyday
life, because it helps them to not just see a person as an individual. But
it helps them to understand why an individual or group of people are the
way they are. And I would think that it helps people to become more
tolerant of their races, other people’s background, other peoples’
beliefs, instead of being judgmental about it. I think that it really – the
exposure of multicultural education really helps people to understand
what life is all about, that it’s not just – it doesn’t stop at them being
black, African American, celebrating Kwanzaa, or Spanish, you know,
celebrating Cinco de Mayo. It goes beyond those boundaries. So it is
very important.

Sister Williams was asked what five words she would use to describe
Multicultural Education:
I would use – hmm, let me think about it for – I would say pleasurable.
Oh wow, it’s like aside from this interview, I’d have so many other
words. But it seems like, you know at that time, it’s just so – but I’d say
pleasurable, I’d say – mm, it teaches tolerance, I would say it also gives
you information on – but you said words, huh? I’m not going words.
Okay, pleasurable, tolerance, insightful – three. Oh wow, informative,
colorful. And that’s just they I feel about it. It’s just very colorful. It
covers everything, all boundaries, colorful and unique.
Students were very perceptive and definitive about how they wanted
and like to be treated as a person. Sister Williams provided them with a
classroom environment that was safe enough for them to trust her, and freely

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express their opinions. The respect was present with both the students and
teacher. Sister Williams made an effort to understand the students she was
working for and was able to build a rapport with them. It had been instilled in
the students that they were responsible for their learning, and if they did not
understanding what was being taught that it was their fault and not the fault of
the teacher. If teachers are meeting the needs of students by caring for them,
listening to them, being reflective practitioners of their own teaching,
understand the need to learn about their students and the students culture,
allowing students to make decisions for themselves instead of doing things for
them, having a sense of humor and are friendly and nice to students while still
maintaining a teacher-student boundary then perhaps students should be the
ones responsible for their learning. However, students cannot be held
accountable for all of their learning when teachers are not fulfilling their
responsibilities as educators.
Even though students were academically achieving above their grade
level, there was evidence that further pre-service preparation was necessary.
When Sis. Williams was asked to elaborate on the pedagogical practices she
utilized in the classroom she was not able to verbalize any theories or theorist
in the field of education. The teacher participant relied heavily on culturally
relevant pedagogy in her classroom. She showed students that she cared
about them personally and about their academic success. The teacher
participant was enrolled in college courses and in the process of obtaining her
teaching credential and degree, this could be an indication that she is still in

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the infancy stages of learning theoretical or pedagogical teaching strategies.
As previously stated, she employed culturally relevant pedagogy strategies
throughout her lessons. Additionally, she provided students with an equitable
education by adjusting the curriculum to fit the needs of students in her charge
and supplementing when necessary.
While students respected her, some still attempted to take advantage of
her. The manner in which she handled certain situations could not be taught
in a college classroom setting. The types of disciplinary actions exhibited by
the teacher participant were learned from hands on field experience. Included
in the teacher participants’ field experiences was her employment at other
schools with similar student populations. During the interview process the
teacher participant explained that she was able to learn from teachers she has
previously worked with and for.
I think I learned from a little bit of every place I’ve been. I started off as
a teacher’s assistant. And I learned the techniques of what’s involved,
the task and the responsibilities of what’s involved in that area. And, of
course, all of that is shadowed by what I learned at a college campus.
So it’s a little bit of everything, everywhere I go that helps me to
become what I am.
Through the research it was also determined that there was a greater need for
the explicit teaching of multicultural pedagogical approaches. When asked if
the teacher participant received enough multicultural training her response
was:
I don’t. I don’t, because there’s - you know, this is great big world. And
there’s so much practical experiences that I have yet to become part of.
And as I become exposed beyond the school campus, it enlarges my –
it enlightens me. And I become more insightful and I would say more
insightful and educated. From those other experiences that I’m
exposed to in the real world. In dealing with those individuals or groups

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of people, it becomes more valuable. And it helps me to hold on to
something that I never had on campus.
In our pluralistic society, it is paramount that pre-service teachers have the
opportunity to have lengthy field experiences that allow them to work with
students from different cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Student Voices
Some student participants had clear and concise ideas about how they
learn and what the teacher can do to assist them. These ideas superseded
what some were being told at home by their parents. Some parents told their
children that if they were not learning that it was their (the child’s) fault and not
the teachers. In one instance, when asked whose responsibility it was if a
student was failing a student participant stated:
My parents said the only thing a teacher can do for you is teach you
and it’s my responsibility to pay attention and learn. It is the student’s
fault [if they are failing] because they didn’t listen or didn’t try. The
teacher is not always going to be there. They [students] should spend
time reading some of their notes that the teacher told them to write
down.
Other students believed that they flourished better in a classroom where the
teacher was a strict disciplinarian. All of the student participants believed that
being in a classroom environment where the teacher genuinely cared about
them and their academic success complimented their learning.
Students also believed that teachers that had high expectations for
them and encouraged them gave them justification to strive for academic
excellence. Overall, some students believed that they were responsible for
their learning and others relied on the teacher to guide them to academic
excellence. The teacher participant varied her lessons according to the

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capabilities of her students. One student described her as a pusher (someone
who insisted on academic excellence). Sister Williams provided students with
a classroom environment that was warm and caring. The classroom
environment was an extension of the overall composition of the school.

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Chapter 5: Summary of Findings

African American students routinely do not reach academic pinnacles
that White students have successfully mastered. Research has found that this
may be due to teachers not having the same cultural background as their
students and teachers not recognizing that students enter the classroom with
their own cultural capital (Banks, 1995; Hollins, 1993; Howard, 2003). The
rational behind these studies is with changes in the curriculum and changes in
the pedagogical approaches that teachers utilize, African American students
can be academically successful. The questions that were focused on in this
research were: What is the role of equity pedagogy, as part of a multicultural
curriculum, how does it influence student perceptions about their learning
process and teacher’s awareness of equity pedagogy as it relates to student
achievement?
(1) What are student perceptions of their learning?
(2) Are teachers aware of their pedagogical practices and the
influences it has on overall student achievement?
This research yielded five findings: discipline was a factor to learning; the
warm demander approach to discipline was appreciated with this particular
group of students, culturally relevant pedagogy is an effective teaching
practice, the need for greater pre-service preparation and most importantly,
the value of student voices in the classroom and as an equitable partner in
education reform.

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First, discipline as a factor to learning emerged as a significant finding.
Discipline occurred throughout the lessons being taught in the classroom and
also through daily interaction between other staff and students. Many staff
members at Star School could easily be described as warm demanders,
teachers who lovingly encouraged academic excellence by utilizing a
disciplinarian tone of voice. Discipline methods utilized by the teaching staff at
Star School parallels with culturally relevant pedagogy. The main focus of
culturally relevant pedagogy is caring about students personal, emotional and
academic well being.
The fourth grade participants in this study were acutely aware of
teacher practices that influence their academic achievement. Students
appreciated that their teacher provided them with boundaries in the school
setting. This was stated by Helen, who referenced a Saturday school where
there was a lack of discipline. “They (the teachers) don’t have control. When
it’s boring, it’s all crazy, be quiet, sit down! They’re not doing a good job,
they’re too nice.” Isaac, who enjoyed challenging the teacher, appreciated the
discipline the teacher provided to him in the classroom claiming Sister
Williams was strict but nice. Isaac stated, “I like a teacher that is half nice and
half strict.” Kleinfeld (1975) stated that warm demanders develop positive
interpersonal skills and elicit high levels of intellectual participation. These are
skills that many students in Sister Williams’ fourth grade class described and
being influential in their academic success.

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Discipline in the classroom is a foundational cornerstone of holistic
teaching. Holistic teaching involves teaching the whole child and not merely
teaching academics. Howard, (2001) suggests an integral part of holistic
teaching, is a teacher instilling self-respect and responsibility in students.
Sister Williams was routinely observed telling students what was expected of
them in the classroom and she frequently reminded students that they were
expected to give and do their best at all times. This was consummated by
holding students responsible for assignments as well as being responsible for
their own behavior. Part of discipline is preparing students to become
emotionally and socially adjusted so that they will be able to positively function
in society (Howard, 2001). Teachers who effectively, yet warmly, communicate
to students that they are responsible for their own education and are able to
extract positive academic outcomes are sometimes referred to as warm
demanders.
Warm demanders are disciplinarians who elicit and expect students to
succeed academically within a classroom that exudes mutual respect. The
second finding demonstrates that the warm demander approach is coupled
with caring. Without caring, the warm demander could possibly be considered
malevolent or uncompassionate. In this research, Isaac stated that Sister
Williams had high expectation for all of her students and that she encouraged
them to get off of Thought Street and Think Street.
My teacher says let’s get off of Thought Street. So I’m going to Know
Street. She tells us we need to sell the house on Thought and Think
Street and focus on Know Street. She says we need to know stuff and

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we cannot always say I thought this or I thought that. We have to get
information so that we know things.
In Howard’s (2001) study some teachers were categorized as educators that
used the warm demander approach. Students described teachers as strict
about wanting them to keep up with assignment, but also caring because they
showed their emotions. One instance during the research, Sister Williams
reminded students that they needed to be mindful of the classroom standards,
“You’re not doing what you’re supposed to do. That is unacceptable. There is
no talking in the middle of a lesson.” Students equated teachers’ passionate
emotions to them (teachers) caring about their academic success (Howard,
2001). Similar to the Howard study, the research conducted at Star School,
revealed students appreciated and noticed when a teacher genuinely cared
about them.
The third finding is that culturally relevant pedagogy is an effective
teaching practice. Students in the research believed that their teacher cared
about them and their education. Students were able to differentiate and
decipher various voice intonations that their teacher used. Helen stated,
“Sister Williams does not scream at us. She raises her voice, but says it in a
nicer manner. Like calm, but she’s still raising her voice.” In addition to using
voice inflections, Sister Williams took time to give explanations and
clarification when students did not understand a specific component. This was
implemented to ensure that lessons were effectively being taught. Helen
stated, “She explains it until I get it.” Caring components, along with discipline,
equals a significant portion of Gay’s (2002) culturally relevant pedagogy.

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Culturally relevant pedagogy encompasses genuinely caring for a student and
their performance, it is action provoking, multidimensional and is concerned
with students’ academic, emotion and physical well being (Gay, 2000). These
elements of culturally relevant pedagogy were routinely seen on observation
research days.
The fourth finding indicates a need for greater pre-service preparation.
Despite the teacher participant in this research not having a wide knowledge
base about theories and theorists, students were still achieving above their
current academic grade level. The teacher participant developed a rapport
with her students and showed them both caring and high expectations which
influenced them to excel academically. During the interview process the
teacher participant, Sister Williams, stated that there was a greater need for
per-service teachers to receive more concentrated training in multicultural
education. As part of the training, pre-service teachers need to have a clear,
concise and honest conversation about their cultural history (Hollins, 1996).
Teachers need to be cognizant of how their own experiences can possibly
negatively or positively affect their teaching practices in the classroom,
particularly if their cultural background is different from the students they
teach. Without having any cultural background knowledge of the students
they teach, teachers are in danger of making erroneous, negative
assumptions. These negative conjectures can have an adverse affect on
students’ academic progress.

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Finally, by listening to students, teachers are innately learning about
them and their culture. Learning about student’s differences shows students
that teachers care about them. During the first weeks of school Sister Williams
surveyed students. “I know that my students come from diverse backgrounds
and that they have different cultures, different beliefs and different goals and
ambitions. I allowed students to share who they are individually during social
studies and cultural studies.”
Kuykendall (2004) indicates when teachers use eye contact, correct a
specific behavior, and show genuine concern for students physical,
psychological and emotional well being, students are more inclined to act in a
positive manner and have greater academic success. Listening to students
can energize and motivate them academically. Many students may feel
encouraged that someone wants to listen to them and values their opinion
(Nieto, 1999). Sister Williams continually allowed students to respectfully
express themselves during class time. Students were given the opportunity to
share what they knew about a lesson as well as ask questions when they
needed clarification. This was very similar to research conducted by Howard
(2003) and Nieto (1999), they found students’ voices should be an integral
element of educational reform. Students are perceptive enough to know when
teachers genuinely care about them and are interested in their well being.
When care, respect and discipline are embedded in the classroom
environment students are able to thrive academically.

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At Star School, there is an overwhelming correlation between students’
cultures and the culture of the school. The overall school culture is based on
high academic standards. Secondly, the ethnic culture of students is
secondary to maintaining high academic standards. The school curriculum
does not include all elements from the standard educational ‘cannon’ with
respect to what is being taught in a culturally standard school. However, there
is an emphasis on contributions made by Africans and African American. In
the same way, Gay (2000) posits, the inclusion of cultural elements to
enhance the educational process for students parallels to the ideologies of
culturally relevant pedagogy.
In addition to students’ culture, high emphasis is placed on students’
background and how that may impact their learning. According to Irvine
(2003) teachers need to share their cultural experiences with their students,
listen to them and relate to them culturally. The manner in which the
curriculum has been established at Star School is such that the African
American students will be academically successful and will transfer their
learning into a diverse, pluralistic society. The school is instilling self pride and
not discontent for other cultures. Students were learning at an accelerated
pace, with most students testing two or more grades above their own grade
level. Those students who were testing at grade level received additional
academic assistance from support staff.
Star is different from a standard school because of the high level of
personal intimacy between teachers and students. The reduced student to

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teacher ratio allowed for Sister Williams, and other teachers at the school, to
build a closer rapport with her students. Many students in this particular fourth
grade class had matriculated from Star since kindergarten or pre-school.
Also, some of their younger or older brothers and sisters had also attended
Star. Consequently, some family members have had the same teacher
allowing the relationship between home and school to be very strong and a
positive influence of student achievement. Gay (2000) emphasized learning
more about students is another element of culturally relevant pedagogy as it
relates to showing care for students, their well being and academic success.
As an independent entity, Star was able to capitalize and focus on academics
in a manner that is productive for their students. Providing students with
immediate feedback on their assignments was easily done due to the low
students to teacher ratio. As suggested by Banks (1995) the environment at
Star school epitomizes many elements of equity pedagogy: teachers using
pedagogical practices that generate knowledge and create new
understandings, altering standard educational practices, and providing
students with the necessary skills to be effective agents of social change.
Limitations
The examination in this research was limited to a specific grade level,
fourth grade, and a small sample size. The study took place in an
independent school setting. Independent schools abide by different guiding
principles that may not parallel to the public school sector. Therefore, the
results yielded through these examinations may not transfer in a public school

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setting. Other limitations in the research occurred with the research data
collection. Student artifacts were sent home for parental review and were
sometimes delayed in being returned to the classroom teacher. As the
researcher, my presence in the classroom may have been seen as intrusive
both to the teacher and students. My presence in the classroom may have
also stifled the natural reactions of both the teacher and students. It was my
goal to make all participants comfortable with my presence in the classroom.
Implications for Practice
Established from the research, three implications for practice emerged:
(1) the need for honest self-reflection, (2) reflection of pedagogical practices,
and (3) extended field experience. Honest self-reflection is a means
educational practitioners can utilize to ensure that their teaching approaches
are best meeting the needs of all students. Knowing different pedagogical
practices includes knowing different theoretical models of teaching and being
able to effectively implement the practices that will best meet the needs of
students. Field experience needs to be extended so that it can include pre –
service teachers explicitly and purposefully learning about different cultures in
the students’ (that they will be teaching) natural classroom setting.
Self-reflection is not describing ideas or events and stating personal
belief (Gay & Kirkland, 2003), rather “Self-reflection and cultural critical
consciousness involves thoroughly analyzing and carefully monitoring both
personal beliefs and instructional behaviors about the value of cultural
diversity, and the best ways to teach ethnically different students for maximum

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positive effects” (Gay & Kirkland, 2003, p.181). Schmit (1998) has suggested
that: (1) pre-service teachers do autobiographical writing, (2) biographical
writing about a culturally different person, (3) cross-cultural analyses of
similarities and differences of individuals, (4) cultural analysis of differences
with attention to personal response, and (5) communication of plans for
literacy development for home school/school connections.
Educators have to reflect on their pedagogical practices in order to
have a better understanding of children. By having a better understanding of
children means gaining insight into a child’s character and being. As a whole,
pedagogy means to understand children and being able to determine what is
appropriate or inappropriate for them (Van Maxen, 1994). This is an awesome
responsibility for educators to undertake. Being self reflective means looking
deep into your own being and saying: “I could have done this better”, “This
would have worked better this way” or “Maybe this profession is not for me”.
Educators cannot forget that we too should be learning as we work with other
people’s children.
In addition to being reflective practitioners and having an array of
pedagogical techniques, pre-service teachers should have extensive field work
experiences in the culture where they will most likely be working. Research
indicates that pre-service teachers are not receiving adequate field experience
training (Hollins, 1993). Having adequate field service training can have
different forms; pre-service students (can) tutor children in cultural contexts
that are not primarily White and middle class. Becoming part of the

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community in which they will work will give them an invaluable experience.
Another valuable field work experience would be to “teach students
ethnographic research skills, then have them complete a research project in
an urban community or school” (Sleeter, 2001, p. 99).
Research Implications and Future Studies
The implications yielded from this research are not exhaustive but can
be used as a starting point to implement further studies. African American
students are still performing well below White students on state tests.
Implementing a multicultural curriculum and reflecting on pedagogical
practices to circumvent low test scores is one possible solution examined in
this research. Other studies that may provide additional information on
improving pedagogical practices could be:
• A more comprehensive study on the effectiveness on multicultural
education being taught to pre-service teachers. The study would focus
on pre-service teachers examining their own cultural beliefs and how
their belief system can negatively or positively affect student outcomes.
• A study that follows pre-service teachers and/or a cohort of experienced
teachers into the classroom and examines the pedagogical practices
they use. The study would examine how the teachers self-reflect and
adjust their practices to meet the needs of their students.
• Involving parents in a study that examines what their practices are in
the home and how they believe their personal belief system positively
or negatively affects their child’s academic progress. Parents are able

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to provide insight on their child’s emotional and social well being
(Hollins, 1993). This insight can assist teachers with creating a plan
that will empower students and also add to the classroom teacher’s
repertoire of classroom practices.
In the classroom setting, educating all children should be the ultimate
goal of educators. Utilizing multicultural education as a strategic approach to
ensure all children in our pluralistic society learn is a feasible approach.
Banks (2006) believes the infusion of multicultural education has made an
impact on the educational system. “In the elementary and high schools, much
more ethnic content appears in social studies and language arts textbook
today than was the case 20 years ago” (Banks, 2006, p. 131). Other changes
that have occurred since the induction of multicultural education include
teachers assigning literature from people of color, classroom teachers
receiving more multicultural training and a multicultural education standard has
been adopted. Additionally, colleges have begun to require ethnic studies as
part of their curricular requirement, elementary and high school books have
begun to include more diversity, and parents are beginning to make their
request for changes more vocal. Currently, there is now a market for more
multicultural literature and textbook publishers are beginning to carry literature
to meet the demands of the diversity that exist in public schools (Banks, 2006).
If teachers are committed to making a difference in the lives of children,
the cultural congruence gap between school and children/home should be
dissipating. However, according to the achievement gap, continual work

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needs to be implemented. All teachers need to build upon their functional
cultural knowledge base in order to meet the needs of all students. Student’s
cultures genuinely need to be respected. The first step in respecting a culture
is to learn about the culture. You cannot learn or teach what you do not know.
The current pre-service teaching programs are trending toward White,
middle-class females. This can translate to pre-service teachers being naïve,
having little to no understanding about other cultures, misinterpreting student
actions and not being confident when teaching students of color (Sleeter,
2001). Proper multicultural pre-service training can assist pre-service teachers
in working with diverse populations. Some pre-service teachers believe the
purpose of multicultural education classes is to provide them with lesson plans
that will assist them with teaching students from diverse cultures. They also
believe that they will learn about different cultures or learn about minorities in
general (Chizhik, 2003). However, the main purpose of teaching multicultural
education in the educational setting is to peel back layers of educational
organizations that have catered to those who have economic capital and to
critically analyze the effect this has had on the educational system. Critically
examining issues that have hindered certain ethnic groups from attaining
academic success and becoming culturally sensitive to issues within ethic
groups should also be the focus of programs that endeavor to teach
multicultural education (Chizhik, 2003; Sparks,1994).
Suggestions from Gay and Kirkland (2003) on how to activate
participation in pre-service classes include (1) having students work together

128

to construct positions statements – these papers will then be presented to
family or friends for review, (2) role-playing – pre-service students act out
different situations from an ethnic students point of view, (3) convert ideas –
changing an inequity into an essay or using a discourse and translating it into
a metaphor, and (4) utilizing the cooperative group jigsaw learning strategy.
These strategies, which pre-service teachers can use in their own classrooms,
help build relationships between students and it is hoped that they will be able
to effectively address the inequalities that exist in the educational system.
Actively recruiting teacher candidates from diverse cultural
backgrounds to enter pre-service programs is also an issue that can be used
to circumvent the overwhelming number of White, middle-class females that
are trending towards teacher education programs. The concern with a high
number of White, middle-class, female teachers is their limitations and
unfamiliarity with other cultures besides their own. Very often, when these
teachers begin their pre-service training they believe they will be placed in an
education setting which parallels their own culture. Unfortunately, this may not
be where they are placed to teach upon completion of their per-service
training. They may be placed an urban areas where there are a high number
of culturally diverse students. Consequently, many of them feel ill-prepared for
teaching children whose culture differs from theirs (Chizhik, 2003).
Another issue with pre-service programs is that upon completion, pre-
service teachers are not receiving feedback on how or if they are
implementing multicultural strategies they have learned in training. “Research

129

in teacher education needs to follow graduates into the classroom and our
work need to extend beyond per-service education linking pre-service
education with community-based learning and with ongoing professional
development and school reform” (Sleeter, 2001, p. 102). While there is no
‘official’ feedback, when analyzing and disaggregating test scores and drop
out rates of culturally diverse students and measuring the achievement gap,
there are issues that still need to be addressed.
This research provided information on multicultural education and why it
is needed for African American students. The information gleaned from this
study has implications for other cultures. All cultures need to be respected
and not marginalized. If educators continue to view students’ cultures as a
deficit, students of color will continue to be on the frays of academic success.
Future studies can provide hope for future generations. However, if proven
studies are not implemented, we will repeatedly address the same issue of
African American students not academically achieving year after year.
Conclusion
Sister Williams had a limited grasp of what multicultural education
entails. With continued studying she will hopefully expand her knowledge
base and continue meeting the needs of students in her charge. Regardless
of her educational or career goals, a multicultural knowledge base can only
help with these endeavors. Establishing a rapport with students, as she did,
showed students that she cared for them, academically, emotionally, and
personally.

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As educators, we have to remember that we teach who we are and
what we have experienced. A narrow, contrite knowledge base will stifle
students and lead to frustration for teachers and students. Extra care needs to
be given when working with students from diverse backgrounds. It will take
extra work, but it will help with the overall goal of educating all students and
empowering them to be productive citizens.

131

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Appendix A
Teacher Interview Protocol

0.0 What are your beliefs about your students?
0.1 What do you know about your students’ background?
0.2 What do you believe about the relationship between students’ background
your current teaching practices?
0.3 How does your belief system differ from your students?
0.5 What are some of the similarities between your belief system and your
students’ belief system?
1.0 What pedagogical approaches are utilized in your classroom to
meet the needs of all students?

1.1 In your opinion, what do you believe good teaching is?
1.2 Thinking about your teaching practices, are some of your practices better
suited for some students than others?
1.3 What should the classroom environment look like when good teaching is
taking place?
1.4 What attributes would a student need to benefit from your teaching
approach?
1.5 What are the attributed of the students for whom your teaching style is
less suited for?
1.6 How can your lessons or instructional approaches reflect the attributes of
all students in your class?
1.7 How would it be possible to alter your instructional approaches to assist
Struggling students?

2.0 What type of training have you had in Multicultural Education?

2.1 Whose philosophies or theories are apart of your instructional practices?
2.2 How would you define Multicultural Education?
2.3 How would you define a diverse multicultural setting?
2.4 Do you believe your teacher training program prepared you work in an
ethnically diverse classroom setting?
2.5 What other staff development do you feel you need to meet the needs of
all the students in classroom?
2.6 Did your pre-service teacher training include working in an ethnically
diverse setting?

142

Appendix B
Student Interview Protocol

3.0 What are some of your personal experiences at school?

3.1 What are some of the first thoughts that come to mind when you think
about school?
3.2 What was your most memorable experience in school?
3.3 Tell me what you like most about the school you attend now?
3.4 What is the most painful experience you have ever had at school?
3.5 What is your favorite subject in school? Why?
3.6 What kind of teacher do you like the most? What did he/she do?
4.0 What are some of your activities outside of school?
4.1 When I am not at school I enjoy __________ Why?
4.2 ___________is the person I spend most of time with because _________.
4.3 The one person I admire the most is ___________ because ____.
4.4 I would wish for ___________ because ___________ if I were give one wish.
4.5 Of all the places I could live in the world I would choose ______ because ______.

5.0 How would you describe your perfect school and how would you
benefit from the teachers?

Finish these sentences:
5.1 I think the school curriculum should include ____________________.
5.2 I have a problem with _________________ and I think my teacher could
help me by _____________________.
5.3 My teacher does not know I can _______________________ .
5.4 One of the biggest problems I have learning is ___________________.
5.5 If I need help with something I can (go) _________________________.
5.6 What would your classroom look like?
5.7 How would students be disciplined?
5.8 How would you be graded?
5.9 Do you think you would be an important part of the school
5.10. Describe some of the classes you would have?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract In California, the teaching force is predominately middle-class, White and female. With the student populations being essentially minority, there are issues with cultural congruency, specifically with African American students. Very often, the teacher’s cultural background differs from the students that s/he teaches. As a result, there is dissonance between the pedagogical practices of classroom teachers and the learning style of students. This research investigates the pedagogical practices of a fourth grade teacher positioned in an independent (private) African American school in the heart of Los Angeles. In addition to researching the pedagogical practices of a fourth grade teacher, how students perceive their learning in the classroom will also be evaluated.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Sullivan, Veronica A. (author)

Core Title Student perceptions of teacher pedagogical practices in the elementary classroom

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 10/08/2010

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

Tag culturally relevant pedagogy,equity pedagogy,multicultural education,OAI-PMH Harvest,student voices,Teacher Training

Place Name California (states), Los Angeles (city or populated place)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Baca, Reynaldo R. (committee chair), Filer, Janice (committee member), Melguizo, Tatiana (committee member)

Creator Email sullivanv@verizon.net,vsulliva@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-m3501

Unique identifier UC1491415

Identifier etd-Sullivan-2598 (filename),usctheses-m40 (legacy collection record id),usctheses-c127-409167 (legacy record id),usctheses-m3501 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Sullivan-2598.pdf

Dmrecord 409167

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Sullivan, Veronica A.

Type texts

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

Repository Name Libraries, University of Southern California

Repository Location Los Angeles, California

Repository Email cisadmin@lib.usc.edu