When They See Us: a Case Study Exploring Culturally Responsive
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WHEN THEY SEE US: A CASE STUDY EXPLORING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP IN A MIDWESTERN SUBURBAN MIDDLE SCHOOL Garrett M. Carter Submitted to the faculty of the University Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Education, Indiana University June 2020 Accepted by the Graduate Faculty, Indiana University, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Doctoral Committee ________________________________________________ Dionne Danns, Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Janet Decker, J.D., Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Jessica Lester, Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Sylvia Martinez, Ph.D. May 14, 2020 Copyright © 2020 Garrett M. Carter I dedicate this dissertation to my mother, Beverly Carter, whose encouragement, belief, and unconditional support helped me to complete my Ph.D. Her career as an educator also inspired my own journey in this field. I can recall numerous instances as a child and being out and about with my mom in malls and grocery stores when, all of a sudden, one of her former or current students would spot her from a distance and come running to her filled with excitement and joy. I learned then—some 30 years ago—just how important, special, and life-changing the best educators can be, and I have strived to be the best in my work as well. I am eternally grateful to my mother for all that she has done and continues to do for me. God clearly knew what He was doing in pairing us as mother and son. Thank you, Mom, and I love you. ii Acknowledgements I offer God my highest praise as His word has encouraged and reminded me that I can do all things in Him who strengthens me. While the dissertation journey was ultimately rewarding, it was also intellectually and emotionally exhausting at times. Throughout this journey, I turned to prayer, words of affirmation, and scripture in order to carry me through. I am thankful to God for His presence and also for placing the right people in my life. To God be the glory. Thanks to my parents, siblings, niece, and other family members for their love, prayers, encouragement, and support throughout this entire process. My mother is truly the one who encouraged me to pursue a Ph.D., and I am grateful for her belief in me. Gratitude to my family extends to loved ones who are no longer here as the fond memories of them have remained with me along the way. Thanks also to B.N.D. who arrived in my life at just the right time. I also thank my friends, near and far, who have supported me in this journey by offering reassurance, prayers, and support over the years. This includes L.I.F.T. members who are my bible study family, and also my church family at Mt. Enon. I am grateful to my wonderful committee chaired by Dr. Dionne Danns. Her encouragement, guidance, and support were instrumental in me completing this work. Additionally, I thank Dr. Janet Decker, Dr. Jessica Lester, and Dr. Sylvia Martinez for their roles in serving as committee members. I had the opportunity to take classes with each of these faculty members and can truly say they are outstanding and caring educators. I would also like to thank the numerous teachers from both K-12 and higher education who have helped to shape who I am today. Teachers change lives and, in my own teaching, I have strived to personally invest in my students because of the investments that others made in me. iii I am thankful to all of my former students for both inspiring and teaching me over the years. Seeing them learn and grow motivated me to do the same. During the more trying times of this journey, I sometimes thought about my students and how my completion of this degree might encourage them to challenge themselves in some new way. Representation also matters and I hope that seeing another Black male with a Ph.D. will encourage others whom I have yet to encounter that we, too, can do this. Last, but not least, I am sincerely grateful to the participants of this study for allowing me to interview and learn from them. This study would not have been possible without their participation and the insights that I gained proved invaluable. School leaders wear many hats, so I appreciate their time, and I admire the work they do on a daily basis. iv Garrett M. Carter WHEN THEY SEE US: A CASE STUDY EXPLORING CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE SCHOOL LEADERSHIP IN A MIDWESTERN SUBURBAN MIDDLE SCHOOL As suburban school leaders experience more diverse student populations, some have enacted Culturally Responsive School Leadership (CRSL) to improve the experiences of underrepresented students. The four CRSL strands include: (1) Critical Self-Awareness, (2) Culturally Responsive Curricula and Teacher Preparation, (3) Culturally Responsive and Inclusive School Environments, and (4) Engaging Students and Parents in Community Contexts. The purpose of this case study was to explore how suburban school leaders at McKinley Middle School (MMS) enacted CRSL in their efforts to improve Black student experiences, along with the opportunities and challenges that these leaders encountered. At MMS, the student population was White-majority and one-fifth African American. In this study, school leaders were defined as both administrators and teacher leaders. In total, the sample included 16 participants. Data were collected through interviews, observations, and artifacts. Findings of this study revealed that participation in professional development through the Equity for Student Success Program (ESSP) provided school leaders with the opportunity to enact CRSL efforts related to three of the four strands. While this informed the creation of some entirely new initiatives, other efforts were embedded within existing practices. Another key finding showed that while ESSP efforts addressed one aspect of Black student needs, socioeconomic status emerged as another identity for some students. By expanding school leaders to include teacher leaders, one finding revealed the need for school leaders to better define the teacher leader role and the purpose of leadership teams. v This study’s findings have implications for school leaders, researchers, and policymakers. First, if CRSL were to become inclusive of other student identities, this might provide school leaders with ways to increase their responsiveness. Expanding CRSL literature to include the role of teacher leaders may also provide insights on how to better utilize them in more transformational ways. A final implication of this study related to the calculation of school report card grades. Currently, school leaders are held accountable based primarily on student performance data; however, policymakers should consider ways to assess school leaders in their efforts to become more culturally responsive which may not be measurable by student test scores. Future researchers should study other sites enacting CRSL through ESSP efforts and this should include schools with various demographic compositions. ________________________________________________ Dionne Danns, Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Janet Decker, J.D., Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Jessica Lester, Ph.D. ________________________________________________ Sylvia Martinez, Ph.D. vi Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction……………………………………………………………………1 Performance Gaps and Equity Issues………………………………………………….….3 School Leaders……………………………………………………………………………6 Purpose of this Study………………………………………………………………….….8 Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………………………...10 Significance of this Study…………………………………………………………….…..11 Chapter 2: Literature Review……………………………………………………….….….15 Historical Context…………………….….……………………………………………….17 Policy Context………………………………...…………………………………………..26 Theoretical Framework………...…………………………………………………………35 CRSL Strand 1……………………………………………………………….…………...39 CRSL Strand 2……………………………………………………………………………44 CRSL Strand 3……………………………………………………………………..……..50 CRSL Strand 4……….…………………………………………………………………...56 Summary………………………………………………………………………………….66 Chapter 3: Research Methodology and Methods………….…...…………………………68 Research Setting…………………………………………………………………………..68 Research Participants……………………………………………………………….….….72 Positionality……………………………………………………………………………….74 Data Collection……………………………………………………………………………78 Data Analysis……………………………………………………………………………...83 Limitations………………………………………………………………………………...88 Chapter 4: Findings………………………………………….…...…………………………90 Theme 1: Centrality of Student Data & Decision-Making………………………………..92 Theme 2: Strategic Academic Support Programs & Interventions…...…………….….….97 Theme 3: Embedding Cultural Responsiveness within Curricular Practices……..………102 Theme 4: Developing Cultural Awareness & Change of Practices…….…………………109 Theme 5: Intentionality in Building Meaningful Student Relationships…………..……...117 Theme 6: Considering Students’ Home Lives and Parental Support……………………..123 Summary…………………………………………………………………...……………...129 vii Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion.…………………….…...……………………….…131 CRSL Strand 1……………………………………………………………….………….....132 CRSL Strand 2……………………………………………………………………………..136 CRSL Strand 3………………………………………………………………………..……140 CRSL Strand 4……….………………………………………………………………….....144 Conclusion……………………………………….....……………………………………...147 Implications………………………………………………………………………………..151 Future Research……………………………………..……………………………………..154 Final Thoughts…………………………………………………………...………………...155 References…………………………………………………………………………….………157 Appendices………………………...………………………………………….…...………….172