Abstract
This study explores the challenges and threats US secondary educators experience in incorporating culturally relevant education (CRE) practices in their classrooms. CRE is a social justice pedagogical practice used to connect student’s cultural references to academic skills and content, to promote critical reflection, to facilitate cultural competence, and to critique discourses of power and oppression. Empirical evidence on CRE demonstrates positive student educational outcomes in terms of achievement, engagement, and motivation. Through a descriptive phenomenological research design, 20 interviews grounded by the theory of challenge and threat states were conducted with a diverse set of secondary school educators. The guiding research question for this study is: What are the challenges and threats US secondary educators face when seeking to incorporate CRE practices in their classroom? The attitude of the phenomenological reduction method was adopted, and the data were analyzed through five steps: sense of the whole, meaning units, transformation, structure, and essential structure. The essential structure that emerged was while secondary educators display genuine interest in learning how to successfully incorporate CRE practices they perceive it to be a challenge (and not a threat) due to lack of exposure which diminishes educator capacity, comfort, and confidence in employing CRE practices. These findings reveal the value of attending to emotional valence and perception of CRE in promoting this social justice pedagogical practice. Findings also reveal the importance of appropriately resourcing educators with CRE support to ensure they develop and utilize this practice.
Presenters
Sylvia MendezProfessor and Chair, Leadership, Research, and Foundations, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, United States Owen Cegielski Cegielski
Student, PhD, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States Kristi Maida
Student, PhD, University Colorado Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Culturally Relevant Education, Descriptive Phenomenology, Social Justice Practice, US Secondary
