ERIC Number: ED635650
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 180
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-3795-9682-8
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Please Don't Make Me Go to School: The Influence of Culturally Relevant Teaching--Dialogue as Research with Elementary Students
Webster, Terra E.
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, Eastern Michigan University
Decades of research maintain that culturally relevant teaching (CRT) is a powerful methodology for understanding the obligation to teach minoritized students of color in authentic ways that acknowledge and honor them and the ethnic groups they represent, increase achievement and engagement of students representing diverse cultures, and reduce achievement gaps. Using dialogue as inquiry as a research instrument, this qualitative study explicitly examines the roles that culture and ethnicity play in the influence of CRT on elementary-age minoritized students of color in their classrooms. While most prior research has neglected to capture student perspective, minimizing the student, this study aims to provide a platform for elementary students to center and amplify their student voice while examining CRT's influence on their learning. By capturing the students' innocence in their voices, my study expands and strengthens the understanding of the critical issues rooted in education, hoping to improve and impact education policy development and implementation. This study concentrates on three components of culturally relevant pedagogy. The teacher focuses on student learning and academic success, develops students' cultural competence and assists students in developing positive ethnic and social identities, and supports students' critical consciousness and ability to recognize and critique societal inequalities. This study contributes significantly to culturally relevant pedagogical research by using dialogue as conversation and dialogue as inquiry to center student voice and perspective in scholarly dialogue. Research "with" elementary students rather than "on" elementary students is also relatively new. Having drawn on pertinent studies and theories of decolonization research methodology, dialogue as research, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, my critical qualitative study advances the literature on CRT by centralizing student voice to bring about change in their education while substantiating the crucial influence of CRT on elementary-age, minoritized students of color. Although elementary students are the focus of this study, the widened scope of the study is culturally relevant to school leadership. The results demonstrate that CRT can positively influence elementary-age students. All participants actively engaged and articulated the effect of their teacher's CRT and the influence CRT has had on them. CRT is a powerful methodology for understanding the obligation to teach minoritized students of color in authentic ways that acknowledge and honor students and the ethnic groups they represent. According to the results, CRT effectively decreases achievement and opportunity gaps and boosts positive ethnic-racial identities for students of color. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Culturally Relevant Education, Minority Group Students, Cultural Influences, Ethnicity, Elementary School Students, Student Attitudes, Program Effectiveness, Student Development, Cultural Awareness, Social Development
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A