Teacher Beliefs and Classroom Practices Regarding a Curriculum That Is Multicultural and Antibias Valerie Jarvis Samuels Iowa State University
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Retrospective Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 1994 Teacher beliefs and classroom practices regarding a curriculum that is multicultural and antibias Valerie Jarvis Samuels Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd Part of the Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Curriculum and Instruction Commons, and the Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons Recommended Citation Samuels, Valerie Jarvis, "Teacher beliefs and classroom practices regarding a curriculum that is multicultural and antibias " (1994). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 11317. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/11317 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. 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Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Teacher beliefs and classroom practices regarding a curriculum that is multicultural and antibias by Valerie Jarvis Samuels A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department: Human Development and Family Studies Major: Human Development and Family Studies (Early Childhood Education) Approved: Signature was redacted for privacy. Signature was redacted for privacy. In Charge of Major Work Signature was redacted for privacy. For Major Department Signature was redacted for privacy. For the Graduate College Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 1994 ii DEDICATION To my family: my parents, Miriam and Anthony Jarvis; your continue love, unwavering support, and spiritual solace gave me the fuel to keep onward. To my husband, Myron Samuels; your unconditional love and support, your times of engaging me in laughter, and your words of encouragement disguised as challenges gave me the strength I needed to continuously press forward. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page GENERAL INTRODUCTION 1 Dissertation Organization 2 References 3 LITERATURE REVIEW ON EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION: PERSPECTIVES ON EDUCATION THAT IS MULTICULTURAL-ANTIBIAS AND TEACHER BELIEFS AND PRACTICES 5 Introduction 5 Literature Review 10 Early childhood education 10 Developmentally appropriate practice 16 Multicultural and antibias education 23 Teacher beliefs and classroom practices 34 Theoretical framework 44 Summary and Conclusion 49 References 50 IMPLEMENTATION OF A CURRICULUM THAT IS MULTICULTURAL AND ANTIBL\S: EXAMINATIONS OF TEACHER BELIEFS AND CLASSROOM PRACTICES 60 Abstract 60 Introduction 61 Teacher beliefs and classroom practices 66 Hypotheses of the study 74 iv Page Methodology 74 Subjects 74 Instruments 77 Multicultural and Antibias Curriculum Assessment Survey 77 Multicultural and Antibias Curriculum Assessment Profile 78 Procedures 79 Phase I 79 Phase II 80 Phase III 81 Results 82 Psychometric properties of the instruments 83 Comparison between early childhood teachers' beliefs of importance and perceived skill level 85 Relationship among early childhood teachers' perceptions of importance, perceived skill levels, and observed teaching practice 85 Teacher demographic and program variables relating to teachers' perceptions of importance, perceived skill levels, and observed teaching practices 87 Discussion 92 Psychometric properties of the instruments 92 Relations among teachers' perceptions of importance, perceived skill levels, observed teaching practices 92 Limitations of the study and future research directions 97 Conclusions and future implications 98 References 99 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 116 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 120 APPENDIX A. CORRESPONDENCE 122 APPENDIX B. INSTRUMENTS APPENDIX C. CODING MANUAL FOR ANTIBIAS AND MULTICULTURAL CURRICULUM ASSESSMENT PROFILE 1 GENERAL INTRODUCTION The cultural composition of the United States is changing. According to census information and demographic predictions, by the year 2000, one of three Americans will be a person of color, and at least 53 United States cities will be predominantly non-White (Children Defense Fund, 1989), This changing cultural composition has challenged educators to reconceptualize education in the United States (Comer, 1992; Miller-Marsh, 1992). Specifically, many early childhood educators and scholars, as well as child and family advocates have embraced the notion of providing more culturally compatible and inclusive programs that will equip children to live in our diverse society (Ramsey & Derman-Sparks, 1992). The literature provides evidence that supports the notion of teachers playing a critical role in helping children understand, accept, and respect diversity in people, as well as to help children challenge social structures (e.g., bias, prejudice, stereotypes) that perpetuate injustice (Almy, 1975; Derman-Sparks & Ramsey, 1993; Feeney & Chun, 1985; Katz, 1985; Roopnarine & Johnson, 1993; York, 1991). Specifically, Roopnarine and Johnson (1993) suggested that teachers' knowledge, coupled with their beliefs, values, and interests, affect decisions relative to curriculum and teaching practices. Reviews of the research on teachers' thought processing suggested that teachers' beliefs affect decisions, work activities, and teaching practices (Clark & Peterson, 1986; Eisenhart, Cuthbert, Shrum, & Harding, 1989; Nespor, 1987). Moreover, 2 researchers who focused on teacher beliefs as they relate to their practices, reported that teachers implemented educational methods according to the compatibility with their beliefs (Bauch, 1984; Eisenhart et al., 1989; Heath, 1983; Wolcott, 1977). Thus, because of early childhood educators' challenge to reconceptualize education to be more culturally compatible and inclusive while helping children meet the challenges of living in a diverse society, this dissertation aims to; 1) examine strands of literature under the auspices early childhood education and education that is multicultural and antibias, and 2) examine the relationship between teachers' beliefs and observed classroom practices regarding the implementation of a curriculum that is multicultural and antibias. Dissertation Organization This dissertation consists of one comprehensive review of selected literature and a research article, each of which addresses the aforementioned aims. The literature review discusses strands of research on early childhood education relative to developmentally appropriate practice, education that multicultural and antibias, and teacher beliefs and classroom practices. Additionally, a theoretical foundation for implementing a curriculum that is multicultural and antibias is discussed. The research article contains a manuscript prepared for publication, which describes a survey and observational study of teachers' beliefs and classroom practices regarding the implementation of a curriculum that is multicultural and antibias. General conclusions of the dissertation follow the research article. References for the general introduction, 3 literature review, research article, and general conclusions immediately follow each chapter. Appendices include copies of actual correspondence used in the research study, samples of instruments, and a rating manual for classroom observations. References Almy, M. (1975). The earlv childhood educator at work. New York: McGraw- Hill. Bauch, P. (1984). The impact of teachers' instructional beliefs on their teaching: Implications for research and practice. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York. Clark, C. M., & Peterson, P. (1986). Teachers' thought processes. In M. C. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Teaching (3rd ed., pp. 455-498). New York: