Date of Award
Winter 12-14-2023
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership (Ed.D)
Department
Educational Leadership
Committee Chair/First Advisor
Tamela Thomas, Ph.D
Committee Chair
Miyoshi Juergensen, Ph.D
Second Committee Member
Nicholas Clegorne, Ph.D
Third Committee Member
Keneisha Harrington, Ph.D
Abstract
Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is defined as, using the cultural characteristics, experiences, and perspectives of ethnically diverse students as conduits for teaching them more effectively (Horowitz et al., 2018). Building relationships with students to understand their backgrounds and experiences to implement the best teaching practices such as accessing prior knowledge and making connections is imperative in a culturally diverse school with students with various learning styles, abilities, and interests. Moreover, the state of Georgia requires teachers to implement instructional practices relevant to students’ culture and learning abilities to receive proficient scores on their yearly evaluations. However, the state must provide its teachers with the knowledge and training required to support students in these areas and to create classrooms that are culturally relevant in instruction and student interaction. In this study, teachers complete a self-audit evaluation of their culturally relevant classrooms, participate in interviews, and attend a focus group session, to assess how they are implementing culturally relevant pedagogical practices in their Title 1 science classrooms.