Abstract
Posted: January 4th, 2023
Abstract
A training intervention for middle school teachers on culturally relevant Instruction and culturally relevant classroom management strategies. [INSERT NAME, YEAR]: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice. Keywords: Culturally relevant instruction, culturally relevant behavior management, Title I middle school.
This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effectiveness of Middle School Teacher Training Intervention (MSTTT) on the application of culturally relevant instruction and classroom management instructions by teachers in a Title I middle school in central Florida. This school lacked cultural relevant instruction and behavior management, despite its teachers having undergone the MSTTT program. It also had significant identifiable gaps in the academic achievement of its students, which raised questions about the efficacy and inclusivity in its educational environment. The lack of cultural competence of school teachers and administrators contributes the suboptimal performance of students from minority communities in the United States, which is reflected in the Title I middle school in central Florida.
The researcher conducted interviews and focus group discussions with teachers in Title I middle school in central Florida with 808 6-8 graders. Ten teachers participated. Their perceptions on the state and effectiveness of culturally-relevant instruction and classroom management instructions in teacher training and teaching practice were explored.
The findings indicated that MSTTT had influenced the adoption of culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies in the school, although the teachers with more than 10 years’ experience were influenced more than those with fewer years. More experienced teachers used more complex, diverse, and broader instructions and behavior management strategies than their less experienced colleagues. However, the prevalence of single strategies among all participants indicated the pervasiveness of underlying self-efficacy beliefs and indecisiveness in choosing multiple strategies due to reactance and inability to translate theory into classroom practice. Future interventions should focus on translating theory into practice to facilitate instruction and behavior management practices that are truly culturally-relevant.
Table of Contents
Contents pages
4.1 Findings from the Interviews. 6
4.1.1 Demographics of the Interviewees. 6
4.1.2 The Results from the Responses to the Interview Question Prompts. 7
4.1.3 Findings from Interviews Based on the Years of Teaching Experience. 15
4.1.3.1 Complexity and Diversity of CRI and CRCM Strategies. 16
4.1.3.2 Self-Efficacy of interviewees in implementing CRI and CRCM strategies. 17
4.2 Findings from the Focus Group Discussions. 17
4.2.1.1 Cultural sensitivity. 18
4.2.1.2 Strategy Improvement. 18
4.2.1.3 Strategy diversity. 19
4.2.1.4 Integration Challenges. 19
5.1.1 Preconceptions about Implementation and Integration of Culturally Relevant Strategies 23
5.1.2 Contextualization of Findings on Integration of Culturally Relevant Strategies. 25
5.1.3 Implication of Findings on Integration of Culturally Relevant Strategies. 28
5.2.3 Implications of findings on role of teaching experience on culturally relevant strategies 32
5.3.2 Contextualization of findings on the changes of teachers after MSTTT. 33
List of Tables
Table 1. Demographic details of the interviewees (N = 10) 5
Table 2. Interviewee sentiments supporting various students’ outcome improving objective themes 7
Table 3. Interviewee statements on CRI and CRCM approaches used to meet learning objectives 8
Table 4. Interviewee statements on how their lessons address students’ culture. 9
Table 8. Interviewee sentiments regarding the use of group activities. 13
Table 9. Categorization of interviewees based on their years of teaching experience. 15
Table 10. Complexity of CRI and CRCM strategy based on teaching experience. 16
Sub-questions
SQ1: Will MSTTT change the culturally relevant instructional practices of teachers?
SQ2: Will MSTTT change the culturally relevant management practices of teachers?
SQ3: will MSTTT influence the culturally relevant instructional practices of teachers when years of teaching experience is considered?
SQ4: Will MSTTT influence the culturally relevant management practices of teachers when years of teaching experience is considered?
Procedures
Focus group
The 10 interviewees participated in the focus groups. Focus groups met on Mondays for a month in the morning before class. Discussions were conducted using prompts derived from the research questions. Specifically, discussions were initiated according to the prompts that were aligned to the research questions and sub-questions. The emerging themes and main points expressed by the participants were noted down for further analysis.
Chapter 4: Findings
This chapter presents the findings from the interviews and focus group discussions. The findings are arranged according to the responses provided by the interviewees for each question. While the overarching major themes that emerged from each response are summarized, unique sentiments expressed by individual interviewees are provided separately as quotes. A combination of narratives and tables are used to present the findings. This study sought to answer the following questions and sub questions:
- How and in what ways you integrate culturally-relevant instruction and behavioral management strategies after taking part in Middle School Teacher Training Intervention (MSTTT)?
- To what extent did the MSTTT change your culturally-relevant classroom management practices?
- To what extent did the MSTTT influence your culturally-relevant instructional practices when your years of teaching experience are considered?
- How and in what ways did MSTTT influence your culturally-relevant management practices?
The transcripts recorded during the interviews were inspected for completeness and accuracy of the statements before identifying the common ideas that were presented in each question. These ideas were then condensed into theme statements, while the unique statements that deviated from these themes were flagged.
4.1 Findings from the Interviews
4.1.1 Demographics of the Interviewees
Ten teachers were interviewed for the study. The demographic details that include, gender, ethnicity, age, years of teaching experience, and grade and age of students taught, are summarized in table 1.
Table 1. Demographic details of the interviewees (N = 10)
| No | Gender | Ethnicity | Age | Years of Teaching | Age of entry into teaching | Grade | Students’ age |
| 1 | Female | African American | 38 | 5 | 33 | 6 | 11–12 |
| 2 | Male | Caucasian | 48 | 15 | 33 | 8 | 13–14 |
| 3 | Female | Caucasian | 51 | 23 | 28 | 7 | 12–13 |
| 4 | Female | Hispanic | 41 | 17 | 24 | 6 | 11–12 |
| 5 | Female | African American | 45 | 12 | 33 | 7 | 12–13 |
| 6 | Male | African American | 57 | 26 | 42 | 8 | 13–14 |
| 7 | Female | Caucasian | 35 | 7 | 28 | 6 | 11-12 |
| 8 | Male | Hispanic | 42 | 11 | 31 | 8 | 13-14 |
| 9 | Male | Caucasian | 53 | 21 | 32 | 7 | 12-13 |
| 10 | Female | African American | 55 | 20 | 35 | 8 | 13-14 |
| Mean/average | 46.5 | 15.7 |
Of the 10 teachers, 4 of them (40 %) were male and 6 (60 %) were female. Also, the teachers were drawn from diverse ethnicities, with the African Americans and Caucasian comprising 40 % (4) each, while the remaining 20 % (2) were of Hispanic descent. The teachers were aged between 35 and 57 years with their teaching experience ranging between 5 and 55 years. In this respect, 3 teachers (30 %) started their teaching careers when aged below 30 years, while the rest were over 30 when they started teaching. In addition, they taught children aged between 11 and 14 years in grades 6, 7, and 8. In this respect, 3 (30 %) teachers taught 6th graders, 3 (30 %) taught 7th graders, and the remaining 4 (40 %) taught 8th graders.
4.1.2 The Results from the Responses to the Interview Question Prompts
The teachers responded to 8 questions during the interview session, with the exception of interviewees 2, 5, and 7, who did not respond to question 8. However, this question had asked for participants to make any further suggestions or comments about the interview, with most of them having no additional information to offer. Nonetheless, all interviewees discussed questions 1 to 7.
Question 1: How do Culturally Relevant Instructions (CRI) and Culturally Relevant Classroom Management (CRCM) meet its overall objectives of improving students’ learning outcomes? Briefly, elaborate on your response.
The overarching themes that emerged from the responses to this question included i) improving the cultural awareness among students, ii) using culturally relevant materials and backgrounds to improve understanding among students, iii) enabling the students to interact in a non-prejudicial and non-judgmental manner, encourage the development of trusting relations between students and between the students and teachers, iv) help students eliminate negative stereotypes and biases about different cultures and v) boosting the confidence of students. These themes are demonstrated in some of the sentiments expressed by the interviewees regarding the use of CRI and CRCM in achieving the overall objectives of improving the learning outcomes of their students, as summarized in table 2.
Table 2. Interviewee sentiments supporting various students’ outcome improving objective themes
| Theme | # | Sentiments |
| Culturally relevant materials and backgrounds | 3 | “…creating an environment that is conducive to culturally diverse information and concerns… can establish a foundation of understanding and can therefore build upon their prior knowledge” |
| 6 | “I use a great deal of visuals of different cultures to help students learn” | |
| Development of trusting relations | 7 | “I encourage my students to research and share information about their ethnic background as a means of fostering a trusting relationship with fellow classmates” |
| Elimination of negative stereotypes and biases | 5 | “can improve students’ learning outcomes by eliminating biases and negative stereotypes that often hinder the learning process, thus level the playing field for all students” |
| Boosting confidence | 4 | “While living in a society that is referred to as a ‘melting pot’… embrace and implement classroom management strategies that foster confidence and academic success in every learner, despite his or her culture” |
| 8 | “Teaching from a CRI background has allowed my students to be involved in discussions and have shared background information without reservation that they will be judged” |
Additionally, specific issues were identified by individual participants. Notably, the use of cultural artefacts was common with some teachers in making their classes culturally relevant. The specific statements made about instructional artifacts and approaches are summarized in table 3.
Table 3. Interviewee statements on CRI and CRCM approaches used to meet learning objectives
| Interviewee | Statement |
| 2 | “I incorporate relatable aspects of my student’s daily lives into the lesson by using familiar aspects of their culture including prior knowledge, and extracurricular interests such as music and sports” |
| 6 | “I mostly teach in English, … I speak Spanish as well. I use a great deal of visuals of different cultures,… videos, multimedia presentations, Google Translator…, Google Classroom to help organize instructional resources … sometimes in multiple languages” |
| 9 | “…by having a word wall in my classroom with pictures from different cultures.” |
However, Interviewee 1 faulted the use of teaching guides for cultural instruction and classroom management because of their ineffectiveness in delivering the intended outcomes when the teachers were unaware or did not understand their own cultural beliefs and their negative influence on students’ achievements. Her specific sentiments were, “I also believe that a cookie cutter guide to cultural instruction and classroom management will not be effective without an instructors own understanding of their own cultural beliefs and how it may hinder or foster various student achievement outcomes”. In addition, misinterpretations of the objectives of CRI and CRCM in fostering inclusivity in the classroom were evident among some teachers. Notably, Interviewee 9 noted that “I find that having students in homogeneous groups allows them to adapt to speaking and understanding each other without judgment”.
Question 2: How will you provide all students with a representation of themselves in the lesson? (i.e. through literature, lesson examples, etc.)
The overarching representations of students that the teacher would provide during their lessons included stocking the classroom with books from diverse cultures, music, world maps and stories. More specifically, Interviewee 1 responded that she would use real world experiences to link to the students own experiences as a way of representing themselves. In the same vein, Interviewee 2 revealed that he would use sports while Interviewee 3 would use KWL charts to provide students with representation of themselves during lessons. Interviewee 7 revealed that she would use a multilingual approach for the same purpose. Altogether, the interviewees appreciated the use of diverse modes of representations that would suite all their students during their lessons.
Question 3: How will your lessons help to address the cultures of your students?
Although the interviewees revealed that they would use different strategies in their lessons to address the cultures of their students, the common lesson strategies that emerge include the creation of an inclusive environment in which different cultural experiences could be shared, the use of culturally diverse teaching materials, application of diverse cultural representations and utilization of students own experiences. However, unique ways that individual teachers would use also emerged. For instance, Interviewee 1 revealed that she would use students’ names to introduce culturally-oriented engagements, while Interviewee 7 revealed that she would use the dictions of students in class to address the various students’ cultures. Notably, interviewee 2 revealed that he would use the findings from students’ questionnaires and surveys to create a culturally-inclusive class environment while Interviewees 6 and 9 would use the different cultural heritages of the students and compare them to that of the United States to bring out the cultural diversity in their classes. The actual statements of the interviewees that demonstrate these themes are summarized in table 4.
Table 4. Interviewee statements on how their lessons address students’ culture
| Theme | # | Statement |
| Inclusive environment | 1 | “Incorporate student’s names, ask them to add to the scenario and what they have experienced or believe will occur in the environment in which they know” |
| 2 | “…make time to talk with each of them, and encourage them to share information about themselves and this will allow me create an environment that is culturally inclusive for all students to understand the lesson” | |
| 7 | “I will use student diction to capture attention and build understanding before using academic terms” | |
| culturally diverse teaching materials/content | 6 | “by comparing the history of their country to the history of The United States” |
| 9 | “I will use information about different cultural and ethnic heritages that are not in the curriculum to build lesson plans” | |
| Utilization of students own experiences | 6 | “…if there is something in the lesson that is familiar to something that they have gone through or that is similar to home” |
Question 4: How have you built/promoted your classroom community so that students feel comfortable participating in the class discussions?
Seven of the teachers (70 %) revealed that they encouraged sharing of cultural experiences by creating a classroom environment that guaranteed safety to all students. In their classes, students were free to interact without being judgmental, thus creating an inclusive classroom culture. However, in this respect, interviewees 1 and 4 noted that they also created rules of engagement that were to be followed during engagements and interactions. Respect for each other’s opinion was emphasized to facilitate inclusive discussions. This strategy was revealed in some of the statements made by the interviewees, as sampled in table 5.
Table 5. Interviewee statements on strategies used to promote student community in the classroom to facilitate participation in discussions
| # | Statement |
| 1 | “Create an atmosphere of acceptance and mutual respect. Allow for students to share freely but set guidelines that are relatable to the collective community” |
| 4 | “Students are encouraged to participate in classroom discussion because there are no wrong answers. My students have to acknowledge each other with a “thank you for sharing” after a classmate shares his or her response during the classroom discussion” |
| 5 | “I have established a classroom culture where students feel safe to be themselves and express themselves” |
| 8 | “Students are asked to share something about their culture that the class can learn from” |
| 9 | “I allow students to interact with each other diverse groups so that they can learn to value diversity and use it problem-solve. This allows them to work effectively with their diverse peers” |
Some teachers used unique strategies to promote a sense of community in their classrooms. Notably, Interviewee 3 revealed that she had created a cultural day in her class in which the diverse cultures of students were showcased and celebrated. Moreover, she used Channel One News to generate discussions about contemporary cultural issues in society. In the same vein, Interviewee 5 noted that he engaged with his students and their parents to discover their backgrounds and build ethnographies of his class. He then shared this information to inform his lesson plans and facilitate classroom engagements. The actual statements are summarized in table 6.
Table 6. Unique strategies used by interviewees to promote a sense of community in their classrooms
| # | Statement |
| 3 | “I created culture days within the classroom to create an atmosphere of diversity. We use Channel One News as well to generate topics for writing” |
| 5 | “In my classroom diversity is highly valued and respected. I make sure I get to know about my students’ backgrounds” |
Question 5: What will you do to overcome biases that may be present in any of the teaching materials, student ideas, etc.?
The interviewees revealed that they looked out for any biases either before or during their lessons and addressed the issues rather that ignore them. Moreover, the teachers encouraged diversity of opinion without being prejudiced or judgmental to encourage students to be knowledgeable and respectful of each other’s cultures. However, a variety of techniques were used by teachers to address the cultural biases in teaching materials and students opinions. For instance, interviewee 2 avoided projecting how personal viewpoint, preferring instead, to collate and integrate the diverse viewpoints of his students to generate a collective perspective. His comment was, “As a culturally responsive teacher I teach by using student-centered stories, vocabulary, and language that will benefit my students. I try not to teach from my own point of view but a collective view”
Regarding the cultural biases that may be embedded in the teaching materials, interviewees 5 revealed that she provided her students with supplementary learning materials that presented diverse perspectives to address any biases that were revealed in class. Similarly, to address ideological biases, interviewee 2 noted that he integrated the diverse students’ language and stories in his classroom to provide opportunities for addressing any biases that emerged. Similarly, interviewee 5 brought in guest speakers into her classes to provide different cultural perspectives and address any biases that the students had. However, interviewee 4 avoided cultural biases by remaining objective using culturally-neutral materials and ideas.
Question 6: What information do you anticipate learning about/with your students while engaging in this lesson?
The overarching themes that emerged about what the teacher would learn about their students included ways of keeping them engaged in the lessons and the cultural diversity of the students. Similarly, the major themes on the lessons the teachers would learn with their students included, the diverse problem solving approaches of world issues, and the different ways of having engaging class experiences.
However, specific lessons, which teachers anticipated to learn about and with their students, emerged. For instance, Interviewee 2 hoped to discover and develop a new model that incorporated the students experienced into the traditional curriculum to increase its impact on individual students. Similarly, interviewee 3 anticipated to discover the different perspectives held by her students regarding the impact of Covid-19 pandemic. Likewise, Interviewee 5 hoped to learn alongside her students, the inaccuracies in the diverse learning materials and sources used in her class. In addition, she expected that her students would appreciate the use of diverse learning materials and sources to enhance their learning experiences. Interviewee 6 hoped that learn about being culturally-responsive to each other. The specific statements about the lessons that the teachers and students would learn while engaging in classroom lessons are sampled in table 7.
Table 7. Interviewee sentiments on specific lessons that teachers and students anticipated to learn from the lessons
| # | Statement |
| 2 | “I anticipate keeping my students engaged by creating a model to integrate the traditional curriculum with material that is relevant to students’ lives” |
| 3 | “I anticipate learning and reviewing of the effects of Covid 19 from the student’s perspective” |
| 5 | “Through this lesson, my students will learn the importance of analyzing multiple sources for information. They will learn to not rely on one source alone as the information can sometimes be inaccurate” |
| 6 | “I anticipate being culturally responsive to make positive changes on instructional materials, student-teacher relationships, classroom climate, and self-awareness to improve learning for my students” |
Question 7: What opportunities will your students have to collaborate with each other to foster a well culturally relevant managed classroom?
The single overarching theme emerging from the participants’ responses regarding the collaboration opportunities in class is working in groups. The various activities that would be undertaken within these groups include engaging in group discussions. Notably, interviewees 4 and 5 revealed that they would create projects that allowed students to engage in collaborative work that had cultural components. The specific sentiments of the teachers using group work to facilitate collaboration are summarized in table 2.
Table 8. Interviewee sentiments regarding the use of group activities
| # | Statement |
| 1 | “Team learning, accountable talk, and partnering occurs to foster collaboration in a culturally sensitive environment” |
| 3 | “Students will participate in small groups with varying rolls of participation which will include sharing of cultural diversity” |
| 4 | “Throughout the school year, my students complete and present a group project that represents the various cultures within the classroom” |
| 5 | “My students will have opportunities to engage in small group discussions such as reading and analyzing texts. They will also be assigned group projects periodically, especially hands on activities” |
| 8 | “Students are assigned group assignments that will allow them to learn from each other” |
| 10 | “Students are assigned group assignments that will allow them to learn from each other” |
Some specific individual strategies that some teachers would use to facilitate collaboration also emerged. For instance, Interviewee 7 revealed that she would present culturally-oriented problems that would allow her students to collaborate while seeking their solutions. Similarly, interviewee 2 and 9 noted that they would use class-wide dialogues to facilitate collaboration in the entire class. Interviewee 2 revealed that she could encourage and facilitate interactions in her classes, although she did not elaborate the activities in which such interactions would be structured.
Question 8: Do you have any suggestions and comments to be added to this interview?
Although 5 of the participants had not further information to add to the interview, the rest made specific comments to add on to what had been discussed. Specifically, interviewee 3, who was a 51-year-old female Caucasian teacher with 23 years of teaching experience, underscored the need to improve the cultural intelligence of teachers when she said that, “Teachers should avail themselves to better understanding diversity in cultures or at least have the mindset to be flexible and tolerable to others.”
Interviewee 4, who is a 41-year-old female teacher of Hispanic descent and has taught for the last 17 years revealed her concerns when she commented that, “I hope to see a better representation of students’ cultures within the instructional setting.”
Interviewees 8 and 10 gave similar sentiments about their broader perception of the importance of culturally-relevant instruction and management practices when they said, “as a culturally relevant teacher, I support the social consciousness of my students and I do engage in conversations that they care about.” Interviewee 8 was a 41-year-old male teacher of Hispanic descent while interviewee 10 was a female African American teacher aged 55 years. Both teachers had a teaching experience spanning over 10 years. However, only one teacher, a 53-year-old Caucasian male with a 21-year teaching experience, who expressed the wish to learn more about CRI and CRCM.
4.1.3 Findings from Interviews Based on the Years of Teaching Experience
The teaching experience of the interviewees ranged between 5 and 26 years with all but three teachers having started their teaching careers at age 30 and above. In this respect, the years of teaching experience corresponded to the age of the interviewees. Therefore, these findings are divided into three categories based on the teaching experience of the interviewees. These are the responses of interviewees with less than 10 years teaching experience, interviewees with a teaching experience spanning between 11 and 20 years, and participants that had taught for over 21 years. The interviewees are distributed in these three categories as summarized in table 9.
Table 9. Categorization of interviewees based on their years of teaching experience
| No | Teaching experience (years) | No of interviewees | Percentage (%) |
| 1 | 0-10 | 2 | 20 |
| 2 | 11-20 | 5 | 50 |
| 3 | Over 21 | 4 | 40 |
| Total | 10 | 100 |
4.1.3.1 Complexity and Diversity of CRI and CRCM Strategies. The interviews revealed that teachers with over 10 years of teaching experienced used more diverse strategies of CRI and CRM compared to those of teacher with a lower experience period. Similarly, teachers with experience of 10 years and below used simpler strategies of seeking culturally-relevant teaching strategies such as using students’ names and diction, while those with over 10 years experienced used broader more structured strategies such as sharing cultural heritages and studying their students qualitatively through surveys to understand their cultural orientation. The summary of these findings are presented in table 10
Table 10. Complexity of CRI and CRCM strategy based on teaching experience
| Strategy | Complexity | # | Teaching experience | Above/below 10 years (%) |
| Using students’ names | Low | 1 | 5 | 1 below (100) |
| Using students’ diction | Low | 7 | 7 | 1 below (100) |
| Using culturally diverse materials | High | 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 | 15 23 17 12 26 7 11 21 20 | 1 below (11) 8 above (89) |
| Sharing cultural heritages | High | 2 4 6 7 8 9 | 15 17 26 7 11 21 | 1 below (17) 5 above (83) |
| Studying students | High | 2 | 15 | 1 above (100) |
| Using multiple languages | High | 2 6 7 | 15 26 7 | 1 below (33) 2 above (66) |
4.1.3.2 Self-Efficacy of interviewees in implementing CRI and CRCM strategies. Teachers with experience of 10 years and below had higher self-efficacy in their ability to implement CRI and CRM in their classes because they faulted the inadequacies in teaching guides. This was demonstrated by Interviewee 1 who questioned the teachers’ guides to culturally relevant instruction and behavior management for teachers that lacked cultural intelligence by terming them as “cookie cutter guide(s)”. However, when the complexity of CRI and CRCM strategies are considered, teacher with more than 10 years can be said to have a higher self-efficacy because of their confidence in using diverse strategies regardless of the challenges that presented.
4.2 Findings from the Focus Group Discussions
The results from the focus group discussions were arranged according to the responses as they were guided by discussion prompts based on the research questions and sub-questions.
4.2.1 How and in what ways teachers had integrated culturally-relevant instruction and behavioral management strategies after taking part in Middle School Teacher Training Intervention (MSTTT)
The discussions revealed that the teachers endeavored to change their instruction and management strategies to make their classes more culturally accommodative. They agreed that it was easier to use culturally-relevant strategies when dealing with an ethnically-homogenous class than in a class with students from diverse cultural backgrounds. They also agreed that it was easier to instruct and manage the behaviors of a class whose students were of the same cultural background as that of the teacher than when the teacher and the students differed in cultural backgrounds. The also noted that with the increasing number of students from African American and Hispanic descents, among other cultural backgrounds such as Asian and Arabic descents, their classes were increasingly becoming more diverse culturally, which challenged their cultural-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies. Altogether, the teachers’ unearthed specific themes related to the approaches of integrating culturally relevant instruction and behavior management, which included cultural sensitivity and strategy diversity.
4.2.1.1 Cultural sensitivity.
The teachers revealed that they had become more culturally-sensitive about cultures that were different from their own. Notably, the teachers revealed that they were already conversant with the dominant American culture. Similarly, teachers from ethnic minorities, in this case, the teachers of African American and Hispanic descents, were culturally-sensitive to their ethnic cultures as well as the dominant American culture. In this regard, the Caucasian teachers were more informed about the African American and Hispanic cultures. Consequently, they were using the knowledge gained from MSTTT to learn more about the minority cultures and implement culturally relevant strategies in their classes with students from the three cultures, namely, the Caucasian, African American and Hispanic cultures. Similarly, the teachers from ethnic minority communities (African American and Hispanic American) were using their skills from MSTTT to make their classes more inclusive. In this respect, the teachers agreed that their classes were more culturally responsive after having taken time to learn about the diverse cultures in their classes and in the country.
4.2.1.2 Strategy Improvement.
The teachers revealed that they had developed better strategies for integrating culturally relevant instruction and behavior management in their classes after attending MSTTT. These strategies were premised in the recognition that cultural diversity was an asset rather than a distraction to the effectiveness of the learning processes, which when embraced, led to more culturally sensitive behavior in class. In this regard, the interviewees were using the cultural knowledge and awareness of their students to enrich classroom learning experiences. In addition, their classroom strategies had improved after realizing being open-minded about different cultures was helpful and strongly-held ethnic prejudices were injurious to a culturally inclusive learning environment.
4.2.1.3 Strategy diversity.
The interviewees disclosed that MSTTT has increased their arsenal of strategies that could be used in a culturally relevant classroom. In this respect, although the teachers had their own perceptions on how to create culturally inclusive environment in the classrooms, attending the MSTTT not only helped them refine their strategies by equipped them with new strategies. That way, the interviewees felt that they were equipped to deal with many culturally-relates issues in a multicultural classroom that affected instruction and behavior management.
4.2.1.4 Integration Challenges.
While MSTTT had equipped the interviewees with a multiplicity of new strategies, integrating them into their classrooms was challenging because it was time intensive, needed to be customized to different multicultural circumstances, and challenged some strongly-held cultural beliefs of some teachers. In this respect, come teachers observed that preparing for culturally inclusive classrooms was cumbersome because it required the teachers to spend more time devising ways to integrate cultural reliance into their instruction and behavior management practices. Much time as spent of choosing culturally relevant materials, inspecting the learning materials for potential biases and advancements of a single cultural perspective at the expense of other cultures, and watching out for culturally-induced statements and behaviors of students while in class and addressing them immediately. While all these occasions presented valuable teachable moments for advancing the cultural competence of students, the time spent competed with that spend on academic matters. Moreover, this called for much introspection of the cultural beliefs and biases of the teacher to avoid projecting them through their classroom practices. The teachers agreed that it was a continuous learning experience beyond that provided during MSTTT.
The teachers also argued that although MSTTT have equipped them with diverse skills for implementing culturally inclusive classrooms using culturally relevant strategies, it did not provide the opportunity to try out these strategies in different classroom conditions and the practicums were performed in their own schools. In this case, the challenge was that the school population was dominated by students with Caucasian, African American and Hispanic descents, with those of Asian and Arabic heritage being very few. Therefore, some classes had while others did not have Asian students. Moreover, learning materials, artifacts and experiences related to this ethnicity were few and rare, while the Asian ethnicity was very diverse as well. Therefore, many teachers felt challenged including the students of Asian descent challenging because they had to not only narrow down to the specific cultural orientation of the students, which often ranged between Arabic, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese ethnicities. The teachers disclosed that they found these cultures very complicated because they differed significantly from the dominant American culture.
4.2.2 The extent to which MSTTT had changed the teachers’ culturally-relevant instruction and classroom management practices
The teachers noted that MSTTT had influenced their class instruction and management practices, mainly by changing their attitudes and self-efficacy belief about implementing culturally relevant education. They employed the skills and strategies they had acquired during the professional development program although they had to figure out exactly how the learned strategies would apply in their classes. In this regard, the discussion revealed that the teachers were experimenting with different approaches to manage their multicultural classes because students presented different cultural challenges all the time. In this respect, the attitude towards these challenges had changed after attending the MSTTT program. The changed attitude helped the teachers accept the intensive effort required to prepare culturally inclusive and relevant lessons, which took considerable time of their lesson-planning activities. They noted that they often had to work beyond school hours, especially to evaluate the cultural relevance of the educational materials, such as books and stories, to identify whether they contained cultural biases. The participants also noted the need to be conversant with the cultural diversity of all the students in their classes to avoid being culturally insensitive and inappropriate during discussions. To them, this was a learning curve because new but subtle culturally-referenced perspectives often emerged unexpectedly in the classroom during discussions. The most challenging discussions were those related to the on-going events in the country, which were often widely reported in the mass media and featured in the discussions at the homes of the students. For instance, the recent riots and protests against police killings, political rallies, and school shooting incidents across the country in different occasions revealed different culturally-based opinions and commotions that undermined the cultural tolerance in their classrooms. According to the interviewees, addressing these sociopolitical issues required the teachers to be updated in not only the current affairs in the country but also the different cultural-based perspectives across the different ethnicities represented in their classrooms.
In addition, the teachers revealed that the MSTTT had improved their confidence in implementing culturally relevant instruction and behavior management strategies in class. Confidence was boosted when the teachers realized that a culturally diverse class was an asset rather than a risk, which the teacher could leverage to build and enhance the cultural competence of the teacher and the students as well. In this respect, teachers were more willing to try out diverse culturally relevant strategies in their classrooms to determine the approach that worked best for each circumstance and environment.
4.2.3 The extent to which MSTTT had influenced the teachers’ culturally-relevant instructional and behavior management practices when their years of teaching experience are considered
The interviewees agreed that the length of teaching years influenced the competence of the teachers, and in turn, their effectiveness in helping students improve their academic achievements. However, they divulged that the experience related to culturally relevant education was dependent on the cultural diversity of the schools that one taught in during the teaching career. It emerged that the teachers that had taught ethnically heterogeneous classes at any point in their career were better positioned to deal with culturally relevant pedagogy compared to those that had taught in ethnically homogeneous classes. Moreover, teachers that experienced culturally diverse classes early in their careers embraced multicultural practices early, thus facilitating cultural competence early in the teaching career.
However, the differences emanating from years of experience in relation to the influence of the MSTTT program generated much debate and yielded no consensus views. Some teachers felt that MSTTT has only increased their classroom strategy arsenal, which required teaching experience to implement effectively. The younger teachers felt that they were more eager to try out the strategies learned from MSTTT and often did not get much support from their older colleagues or the school administration. Sometimes their experimentation was taken as a burden by the school. In the same vein, the teachers with many years of experience noted that students had become more expressive over time, making cultural sensitivity higher in the classroom, and a challenge to culturally inclusive education. In this respect, older teachers revealed that they had to change their strategies to accommodate the contemporary multicultural class, and MSTTT provides valuable skills that were suitable for modern class environments.
Chapter 5: Discussion
This chapter contextualizes the findings from chapter 4 to creating meaning of the culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies employed by the teachers that participated in the study. The discussion is structured along the research questions and sub-questions. The preconceptions and ideas about culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies are analyzed before placing the findings in the results in the context of the existing literature and practice. Thereafter, the similarities and differences of the results with the previous research findings are discussed.
5.1 Influence of MSTTT on the integration of culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies
5.1.1 Preconceptions about Implementation and Integration of Culturally Relevant Strategies
Whitaker & Valtierra (2018) investigated if and how the Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) offered by the education department at Mountain View College in southwestern United States changed the motivation of preservice teachers to teach multicultural and multilingual classes and found that the academic courses given therein enabled teachers to acquire concrete skills and improve their existing ones, thus enhancing their ability to teach their classes using culturally inclusive approaches. In addition, the researchers noted that the effectiveness of the academic professional development courses was enhanced by the reflective opportunities. In this regard, the courses challenged the teachers to assess their readiness to teach culturally and linguistically diverse students through continuous reflections of their roles and responsibilities in such contexts along with experiential learning opportunities. In addition, they argued that teachers appreciated the value of multicultural education despite feelings of incapacity to teach some specific subdivisions of students. However, Whitaker & Valtierra (2018) noted that the changes in the motivations of teachers was not influenced by any specific component of the MAT program but rather by a combination several small elements therein. Carrington, Mercer, Iyer, & Selva (2015) applauded the effectiveness of critical service-learning programs in transforming the value system of teachers and in instilling values of social justice that encourages them to adopt inclusive teaching in their classes. They noted that that the transformational learning experience in such programs facilitated the development of values, attitudes and practices that laid the foundation for implementing inclusive learning in the classroom. Regarding the achievement of the education objectives that are emphasized by the state-mandated high-stakes testing, Ladson-Billings (2014) argued that culturally relevant pedagogy needed to transform into culturally sustaining and revitalizing pedagogy to achieve the dual objective of improving academic performance and developing cultural competence among students. Moreover, Siwatu et al. (2015) argued that educators needed to be culturally competent to manage the behaviors of students from minority ethnicities, which was often found to be problematic by many educators. Similarly, Larson, et al. (2018) recommended that teachers interrogate their ethnocentrism practices, adopt a social justice mindset, and address antiracist behavior in class promptly to address the increasing disciplines and intellectual differences in schools.
However, while teachers may be equipped technically from teacher training and professional development programs to implement culturally inclusive education, other factors beyond the skillsets influence the implementation and integration of cultural inclusivity and relevance. In this respect, occupational and sociopolitical factors have been cited in literature. For instance, Larson, et al. (2018) revealed that insufficient continuous professional advancements, deficient multicultural training and disparities in the cultural norms of teachers and learners were prevalent in urban schools. Strauss & Ingram (2019) noted that Florida teachers were lowly paid against the backdrop of high living costs in the state. Similarly,
Sociopolitical factors have been implicated in the implementation of culturally inclusive education in the United States. For instance, Yuan (2018) noted that the American educational system was predominated by the Caucasians who made up 80 % the country’s teachers, with the non-white ethnicities being disproportionately underrepresented, thus presenting a significant disparity between the number of teachers and students from ethnic minority groups. In the same vein, National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) report (2017) and Sandell and Tupy (2015) indicated that although the American student demographics has changed to reflect those in the country’s population, in which the proportion and diversity of ethnic minority groups was increasing, the ethnic composition of the teaching fraternity did not reflect these realities. Similarly, Nganga (2016) and Lopez (2018) decried cultural mismatch among teachers and students in schools and teacher training institutions as a significant limitation to the implementation of culturally relevant instruction and classroom management. In this regard, Alghamdi (2017) recommended the increases of teachers of color in the teaching workforce in schools because they advocated cultural competence, served as positive role models, and mediated between racially diverse students and teachers.
5.1.2 Contextualization of Findings on Integration of Culturally Relevant Strategies
Integration of culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management practices has been influenced significantly by MSTTT. The study evidenced that the teachers had acquired skills from MSTTT that had enabled them to explore and apply diverse strategies to integrate culturally-relevant instruction in their classes. Besides becoming more sensitive to their own cultural biases, teachers were also sensitive to the different cultures that their students brought to class. In this regard, rather than seek what was wrong with the different students in their classes, they focused on what was what was right about their cultures that could be used to enrich the learning experiences of their students. This pedagogical attitude was emphasized by Ladson-Billings (2014) who argued that cultural competence and sociopolitical awareness was critical in integrating culturally-relevant pedagogy to the multicultural classroom environment. Going by views of Ladson-Billings (2014), the teachers took time to learn about the cultures of their students and inspect the teaching materials for cultural biases that would undermine class instruction (2014). Similarly, the teachers appeared to appreciate the cultural diversity that students brought to class by encouraging sharing of experiences between learners to identify the teachable moments that could be used to advance the learning objectives.
To integrate culturally-relevant behavioral management strategies in their class, the teachers created an atmosphere of cultural tolerance by increasing the cultural awareness of their students. By facilitating engagement and interaction between their students while being respectful of each other’s cultures helped to keep students focused on learning rather than conflicting with each other. In other words, rather than being culturally blind, the teachers encouraged their students to celebrate the diverse cultural knowledge that each student brought into class. Altogether, the teachers impressed on their students to treat all cultures equally thus enabling constructive engagement that facilitated the learning processes in their classrooms. This reinforces the observations of Larson et al. (2018) who revealed that culturally responsive teaching enhanced proactive behavior management practices in a multicultural class, which in turn, led to positive behaviors of students in these classes.
However, some teachers expressed the need for further introspection about their belief systems and cultural awareness to embolden their beliefs and capacities to integrate effectively culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies in their classroom. This was evidence by the sentiments of some teachers that indicated that they learned something new every day about cultures different from their own and the effect such new knowledge had on their prior viewpoint about those cultures. This indicates that while MSTTT had managed to instill culturally-relevant skills in the teachers, it was yet to build the teachers into confident implementers of cultural-relevant instruction and behavior management strategies in class. This was further evidenced by the preference to use one approach that they had found effective and leaving out several other alternatives. For instance, teachers who found groups work and exposure to culturally-diverse materials effective hoped that it would allow their students to learn and become more tolerant of each other culturally, while other inspected the learning materials for cultural bias beforehand to identify and eliminate or avoid any cultural biases therein that would be offensive to some students. This finding are echoed by Siwatu et al. (2017) who argued that while teachers may have the skills of culturally-sensitive pedagogy and class management strategies, their translation of theory to practice may be hampered by their self-efficacy beliefs about being successful or achieving the desired outcomes. Similarly, they conform to concerns raised by Gay and Kirkland (2003, p. 181) who decried the limitations of the dominant social and cultural paradigms in implementing culturally inclusive education in the United States. They argued that the contemporary school environment provided an expansive context concerning how knowledge is will be created and understood. The notion of being culturally responsive specifically emphasizes the critical need for the teachers, to know who they are as people, understanding the contexts in which they teach and questioning their knowledge and assumptions. In the same vein, using the theory of reciprocal determinism by Bandora, Siwatu et al. (2017) explained that self-efficacy beliefs predicted the teachers’ behavior and decision making, influencing the choice between either acting alone or seeking the assistance of other teachers when confronted with a cultural dilemma in class. In this regard, the teachers in the study relied more on their own skills and decisions, as there was no evidence that they collaborated with each other to address culturally challenging instruction and behavior management strategies.
5.1.3 Implication of Findings on Integration of Culturally Relevant Strategies
Integration of culturally relevant instruction and behavior management strategies in American middle schools was a complex and time-intensive undertaking that required highly skilled and motivated teachers. In this regard, professional development programs, such as MSTTT, needed to focus more on teacher motivation and expanding the experiential landscape for teachers, to make them better implementers of culturally inclusive education in the country. While imparting of knowledge about culturally relevant strategies was critical in professional development of teachers, more opportunities to translate this knowledge into practice is pertinent and urgent. Middle school administrators and professional development programs in Central Florida needed to support teachers after attending the programs to help them implement the skills and strategies they had learned into their classrooms.
5.2 Extent of influence of MSTTT on the culturally-relevant instruction and behavior management practices, considering the years of teaching experience
5.2.1 Preconceptions about Influence of Years of Teaching Experience on Implementation of Culturally Relevant Strategies
Podolsky, Kini & Darling-Hammond (2019) investigated the effect of teaching experience on the effectiveness of teachers and found a general increase of teacher effectiveness and the teachers’ years of teaching increased. In addition, the academic performance of students increased as teachers became more experienced. However, the teachers’ effectiveness increased at a higher rate in the first five years of their teaching career than in the subsequent years, with the rate or improvement becoming constant after the fourth year while the students outcomes remain the same in this period. Similar findings were reported by Ewetan and Ewetan (2015) who found that students in schools with teachers with over 10 years of teaching experienced performed better in mathematics and English compared to those in schools with teachers with fewer than 10 years of teaching experience. In this regard, retaining skills and experienced teachers in the teaching profession was beneficial to the students’ academic outcomes. Moreover, Cruz, Manchanda, Firestone, and Rodl (2019) reported that the years of teaching experience was associated positively with high levels of self-efficacy in practicing culturally responsive teaching. Teachers that has taught for a long time Feld more confident in building trusting personal relations with their students, although they were less confident about their cultural knowledge related to native cultural languages of their students and the infusion of different cultures into the education curriculum.
Contrastingly, Cardona-Moltó (2011) reported that younger and less experienced teachers were more positive about the importance and benefits of inclusion in school compared to their more experienced colleagues, while Chiner and Cardona (2013) did not find any significant difference in inclusivity perceptions based on the years teaching experience. Furthermore, Loreman, Sharma and Forlin (2013) noted that although many years of experience and a high level of education prior to teacher training influenced the teachers’ self-efficacy for inclusive education positively, excessive training and very high knowledge had a moderating effect because of the realization of the enormity of the task of implementing inclusive class environments effectively. In the same vein while Loreman, Sharma and Forlin (2013) acknowledged that preservice teachers became less confident about their ability to conduct inclusive classes as the number of practicums increased, Whitaker & Valtierra (2018) echoed the importance of training program practicums that provided multiple opportunities for teachers to experience various cultural settings during their professional development course because they facilitated the choosing and adopting instructional strategies that suited the unique needs of students. From a different perspective, Abacioglu1, Volman and Fischer (2019) reiterated the need to change a pre-existing frame of mind to make it open to culturally sensitive classrooms. They noted that the teaching experiences of teachers were malleable and could be improved, despite the challenges presented by strongly-held beliefs. Although cultural responsiveness of the teachers did not differ by age specifically, it differed with the prior experience with culturally-related encounters and the diversity of those experiences. Moreover, Glover and Harris (2016) highlighted the need for collaboration between novice teachers of color and teacher educators to improve teacher retention.
5.2.2 Contextualization of findings on integration of culturally relevant strategies across teachers with different years of teaching experience
The findings reveled that all teachers, regardless of their years of teaching experience, adopted some strategies of making their instruction and behavior management more culturally responsive. However, the study also revealed that MSTTT appeared to influence the teachers with more years of teaching experience than those with fewer years. This is an interesting observations considering that older teachers are expected to have well-established teaching pedagogies and philosophies, which are harder to change, compared to their younger counterparts. Moreover, more teachers with more than 10 years of teaching experience used a broader and more complex arsenal of strategies, indicating that they were able to translate the skills learned from MSTTT to broader classroom contexts.
These findings concur with those of Loreman, Sharma and Forlin (2013) who found that many years of teaching experience went along with higher self-efficacy levels because they were more confident in using diverse culturally relevant instruction and behavior management strategies in their classrooms. Similarly, the study findings agreed with those of Ewetan and Ewetan (2015) and Podolsky, Kini & Darling-Hammond (2019) who associated improved academic outcomes in inclusive classes with the more years of teaching experience. Notably, the findings contradict those of Podolsky, Kini & Darling-Hammond (2019) who noted that teachers experienced most changes during their first four years of their teaching career. In this respect, the findings of the study indicated otherwise based on the narrow and few strategies used by the younger teachers, indicating minimal change in their instruction and behavior management strategies.
However, the same findings contradict those of Cardona-Moltó (2011) who found that teachers with a higher level of experienced based on their years of teaching experience were less positive about the benefits accrued from inclusivity in their classes compared to their less experienced and younger colleagues. However, the concerns raised by some teachers in the study with more years of teaching experience about the difficulty of implementing culturally relevant instruction and behavior management strategies are consistent with the findings of Loreman, Sharma and Forlin (2013) who revealed the moderating effects of much training on inclusivity. More experienced teachers were likely to have undergone much training during their lengthy teaching careers spanning over 20 years. In this respect, they had become more aware of the increasing cultural diversity in the school environment and the challenges presented by students from diverse and sometimes, conflicting cultures, which made their work more complex and challenging.
Nonetheless, the findings from all the teachers across the different years of experience are echoed by Abacioglu1, Volman and Fischer (2019), who emphasized the need to change the pre-existing frame of mind in relation to different cultures to enable the implementation of culturally sensitive and relevant education in the country. In this respect, many teachers in the study agreed that as the cultures students became more diverse, strongly-held opinions and cultural worldviews were increasingly being challenged.
5.2.3 Implications of findings on role of teaching experience on culturally relevant strategies
Teaching experience should be beneficial to the teachers and students. This means that as teachers practice for more years, they should become increasingly adept at creating culturally inclusive environments in the classrooms and implementing culturally responsive education in their schools. In this regard, the retention of highly-skilled, experienced and qualified teachers was beneficial for the advancement of culturally inclusive education in the middle school, the state of Florida and the country. However, more collaboration between teachers of different career experienced needed to collaborate in teams to embolden their culturally relevant and inclusive strategies. Moreover, experienced teachers needed more experiences beyond what they had encountered in the schools to broaden their cultural frames of reference and worldviews, and become more alive to and conversant with the emerging cultural issues in their increasingly diverse classes and schools. In this respect, teacher exchange programs would be beneficial in increasing opportunities of experiencing different school and classroom cultural diversity.
5.3 Extent of Change in the Culturally-Relevant Classroom Management Practices Associated With MSTTT
5.3.1 Preconceptions about the Changes Influenced By Teacher Training and Professional Development Programs
Geerlings, Thijs, & Verkuyten (2018) revealed that native Dutch teachers had feelings of less efficacy when dealing with ethnic minority students compared to when dealing with native Dutch majority ones in their classrooms. This disparity emanated from the strong internalization of the teachers when dealing with students of different ethnicities from their own, and the ability to treat children as individuals rather than viewing them from a generalized ethnic lens. In turn, Debnam, et al. (2015) noted that the assessment of cultural responsiveness in classrooms was challenging due to the lack of standardized tests and the variations in the findings from self-reported and observed assessment methods. Notably, teachers rated their self-efficacy higher using self-reporting compared to observations using the Assessing School Setting: Interactions of Students and Teachers (ASSIST), which is and external classroom observation program. In the same breath, Gillard’s (2017) revealed that teachers from Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools lacked learned and acquired cultural competence due to deficient teacher training and professional development. In turn, this disadvantaged African American and Hispanic students because teachers were not well-skilled in dealing with ethnic minority students.
5.3.2 Contextualization of findings on the changes of teachers after MSTTT
The findings revealed that teachers have improved their culturally relevant strategies after attending MSTTT. The MSTTT program has imparted new skills of dealing with culturally diverse student bodies, had encouraged the need to build cultural competence alongside sociopolitical competence, and had debunked many culturally-oriented myths and misconceptions. In this respect, the findings correlate with those of Geerlings, Thijs, & Verkuyten (2018) who noted that despite the low-efficacy experienced by teachers when dealing with ethnic minority students, their efficaciousness increased when they became more knowledgeable about the minority ethnicities and became more adept at using culturally relevant and inclusive practices.
However, the study revealed the difficulty in assessing the level of change in the teachers’ use of culturally relevant instructional and behavior management strategies after attending the MSTTT program. Moreover, the teachers in this study did not allude to having high self-efficacy when dealing with African American and Hispanic students considering that they experimented with several culturally relevant strategies in their classrooms but did not reveal which one was more effective or best suited for their classroom circumstances. These findings can be explained by Gillard’s (2017) who found deficiencies in teacher training and professional development programs aimed at improving cultural competence and implementing cultural relevant and inclusive strategies in the classroom. Moreover, the difficulty in evaluating the effectiveness of and the change imparted by MSTTT resonates with the findings of Debnam, et al. (2015), who implicated the differences from the results of self-reporting and observation assessment approaches. Moreover, Siwatu et al. (2017) noted that the effectiveness of professional development programs could be measured using the level of self-efficacy in implementing culturally inclusive and responsive practives in the classroom.
5.3.1 Implications of the findings on the effectiveness of professional development in changing instruction and behavior management strategies
Teacher training and professional development programs aim at improving the understanding and implementation of culturally relevant instruction and behavior management practices in the classroom. Above imparting skills and knowledge, these programs should influence the attitudes and self-efficacy of the teachers when dealing with culturally diverse students, and especially those from ethnic minority communities. However, this study demonstrates the importance of evaluating professional development programs aimed at enhancing the knowledge, skills and strategies for creating culturally relevant and inclusive instruction and behavior management practices.
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