The Eurocentric and patriarchal curriculum in typical American schools can alienate some students. Research suggests that using culturally relevant literature with alienated students may cause them to become more engaged in English Language Arts classes. This practitioner inquiry case study, set in Southwest Florida, examined the responses of six…

In the last ten years, education reform in this country has led to keen emphasis on student achievement at every level. Since then, many research studies have been dedicated to closing the student achievement gap through the examination of teacher training & development. Research has also incited awareness in the value of "emotional…

This critical case study addressed how the achievement gap reflects the culture gap between teachers and historically underrepresented students. This study allows educators to consider how attitudes on culture and diversity impact student achievement. It makes visible existing teacher and student relationships in a rural school system through the…

As the United States confronts increasing diversity, primarily attributable to migration and globalization trends, public schools are gradually becoming more ethnically, linguistically, and culturally diverse with groups including Black English-speaking students from the Caribbean. However, school personnel like administrators have the tendency to…

The aim of this study is to further the understanding of foreign language (FL) learners' development of intercultural competence in an instructed learning environment. In this study, second-semester U.S. French language learners enrolled in a Midwestern two-year technical school were directed to access explicit cultural instruction, authentic…

Ethnocentrism is a condition that influences the development of prejudice and stereotypes of one's own ethnic group (the ingroup) towards foreigners (the outgroup) based on a foreigner's ethnic group or background. When left unmonitored in a K-12 environment, ethnocentrism can perpetuate prejudice and stereotypes against certain students in a…