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Teaching the Civil Rights Movement in Florida: a Phenomenological Study of Central Florida Teachers

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Teaching the Civil Rights Movement in Florida: a Phenomenological Study of Central Florida Teachers University of Central Florida STARS Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 2013 Teaching The Civil Rights Movement: A Phenomenological Study Of Central Florida Teachers Barbara Houser University of Central Florida Part of the Education Commons Find similar works at: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd University of Central Florida Libraries http://library.ucf.edu This Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access) is brought to you for free and open access by STARS. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019 by an authorized administrator of STARS. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STARS Citation Houser, Barbara, "Teaching The Civil Rights Movement: A Phenomenological Study Of Central Florida Teachers" (2013). Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2004-2019. 2951. https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd/2951 TEACHING THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN FLORIDA: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF CENTRAL FLORIDA TEACHERS by BARBARA HOUSER B. A. Southern Connecticut State University, 1982 M. A. University of Central Florida, 2007 A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Education and Human Performance at the University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Summer Term 2013 Major Professor: William Russell © 2013 Barbara Houser ii ABSTRACT Teaching the civil rights movement can be challenging. Many history textbooks contain the national story of Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks, the march to Selma, Alabama, and not much more. Classrooms across the United States follow this path of nationalizing the civil rights movement. This interpretation is only a small part of the civil rights crusade that existed throughout the United States, including in the state of Florida. Teaching only the national story, especially when the local exists, can ignore the human, ordinary element of this movement. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experience of central Florida teachers when teaching the civil rights movement. It is based on the theoretical assumptions that the national story is the only narrative being taught regarding the civil rights movement, and it sought to determine whether this is the case in the state of Florida, which incorporates the use of local history in its state standards. Data were collected through the use of surveys along with follow up qualitative interviews. The sample size was 319 teachers of whom 65 responded, and eight personal interviews were conducted. Findings show that more than just Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks are being taught, but it is still mostly the national story and not local, community history. Nine themes were identified, ranging from the impact of teachers, which builds upon previous research, to the negative opinion that teachers have for the texts being used, to the different content and timelines being used in social studies classrooms when teaching the civil rights movement. These data are important to educators, historians, administrators, and teachers iii because this is one of the first empirical studies on the subject of teaching the civil rights movement. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing a dissertation is a long, difficult task. I would like to acknowledge and thank those who encouraged me along the way. First my professors… Dr. Russell, thank you for your support and encouragement. Dr. Hewitt, thank you for your wisdom and for being there. Dr. Cassanello, thank you for introducing me to the subject of Harry Moore and for your humor and support. Dr. Whiteman, thank you for your passion and joy for life and for your encouragement. Dr. Waring, thank you for listening and for your support. For my family, friends, and colleagues… For my family, thank you for your love and belief that I could do this, especially my sister, Debbie. For my friends, Betsy, Karen, Ana, and Demry, thank you for your love and support and words of encouragement. For my colleagues and now friends, thank you for the marvelous journey. Cicely Scheiner-Fisher, Cheryl Avila, Chris Busey, and Cyndi Poole, I could not have done this without your kindness, patience and moral support. v Thank you all with my utmost gratitude. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix LIST OF TABLES .......................................................................................................................... x CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1 Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................... 4 Statement of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 6 Purpose of Study ................................................................................................................... 10 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 12 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................... 12 Rationale ............................................................................................................................... 13 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................... 15 Introduction ........................................................................................................................... 15 Civil Rights History .............................................................................................................. 18 Historical Inquiry .................................................................................................................. 21 Rationale for Student-Centered Learning ............................................................................. 21 Community History .............................................................................................................. 28 Teaching the Civil Rights Movement ................................................................................... 31 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................... 35 Research Design .................................................................................................................... 35 Research Questions ............................................................................................................... 35 Qualitative Research ............................................................................................................. 36 Phenomenology ..................................................................................................................... 37 Surveys .................................................................................................................................. 37 Participants/Sampling Strategies .......................................................................................... 38 Data Collection/Instrumentation/Research Protocols ........................................................... 38 Data Analysis ........................................................................................................................ 40 Validity/Ethical Concerns ..................................................................................................... 42 Positionality .......................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER FOUR: RESULTS AND FINDINGS ........................................................................ 44 Survey Results ...................................................................................................................... 45 Qualitative Interviews ........................................................................................................... 63 Overall Results ...................................................................................................................... 68 Theme 1 ......................................................................................................................... 68 Theme 2 ......................................................................................................................... 72 Theme 3 ......................................................................................................................... 76 Subtheme: Not Enough Time. ....................................................................................... 78 Theme 4 ......................................................................................................................... 79 vii Theme 5 ......................................................................................................................... 80 Theme 6 ......................................................................................................................... 82 Subtheme: Central Florida History Teachers Do Not Take Classes to the Moore Cultural Center. ..................................................................................... 85 Theme 7 ......................................................................................................................... 86
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