MIAMI UNIVERSITY The Graduate School Certificate for Approving the Dissertation We hereby approve the Dissertation of Monica L. Marks-Richardson Candidate for the Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Director Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile Reader Dr. Lisa Weems Reader Dr. Sally Lloyd Graduate School Representative Dr. Kevin Bush ABSTRACT MATTERS OF THE HEART: UNDERSTANDING RACIAL INTERPRETATIONS & CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS by Monica L. Marks-Richardson This paper is a qualitative study on the influence of race and culture in the instructional planning within classrooms in a suburban school district. The study was designed using a focus group of teachers in grades 4-8 who demonstrated successful growth for African American students using value added measures on state assessments. The focus group members met to answer pre- determined research questions that tied to exploring the role of race and culture in the classroom. The group met regularly over a period of time and conducted discussions centered around activities to help generate reflective thinking on instructional pedagogy. The paper also presents limitations to the study and directions for future research. MATTERS OF THE HEART: UNDERSTANDING RACIAL INTERPRETATIONS AND CULTURAL PERCEPTIONS IN THE CLASSROOM FOR AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDENTS A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Educational Leadership by Monica L. Marks-Richardson Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2014 Dissertation Director: Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Description of Research Topic 1 Importance of the Research 4 Chapter 2: Literature Review 9 Racial Interpretations – Beliefs about a Racial Group 12 Cultural Perceptions – Behaviors Based on Beliefs 13 Culturally Responsive Teaching 16 Chapter 3: Research Design and Methodology 22 Theoretical and Methodological Lens 22 Research Design 23 Location of Study 24 Process, Procedure, Sample 27 Chapter 4: Research Findings 30 Focus Group Members 30 Focus Group Research Themes 42 Exploring Values/Beliefs about Practices 44 Teacher Beliefs/Values 44 Classroom Strategies and Practices 85 Incorporating Student Experiences 85 Navigating Experiences with Race 94 Cultural Experiences 94 African American Students in our Classroom 107 Resolving Racial and Cultural Differences 109 Race and Culture with Instructional Planning 109 Responding to our African American Students 116 Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) 117 What is CRT and what does it look like? 117 Chapter 5: Discussion 121 Exploring Values/Beliefs about Practices 121 Navigating Experiences 124 Resolving Differences 125 Culturally Responsive Teaching 126 Other Outcomes: Colorblindness & Reflective Practices 127 Limitations & Future Implications of the Study 128 References 130 ii TABLES PAGE Table 1: 31 Focus Group Members’ Demographics iii FIGURES PAGE Figure 1: 3 The Relationship of Racial Interpretations and Cultural Perceptions in the Classroom Figure 2: 11 Race and Culture in the Classroom Figure 3: 19-20 The Cultural Proficiency Continuum Figure 4: 27 Overview of Research Design Figure 5: 43 Overview of the Focus Group Research Themes iv CHARTS PAGE Chart 1: 25 2012-13 North School District Population by Race Chart 2: 45 Courageous Conversation Compass v DEDICATION I dedicate my dissertation work to my family and friends for their love and support through this process. I appreciate and value their trust and encouragement to reach beyond what I think I know and to always be open to new and different ways of looking at things. I would like to give a very special thank you and show of love to my mother, Shirley Garmon for her whispers and prayers to always go after things in life that bring fulfillment. Thank you to my children (Morgynne Marks and Jamard Richardson, Jr.) who have never doubted my ability and willingness to achieve my professional and educational goals. Thank you to Jamard Richardson, Sr. for his patience and backing throughout my entire educational journey. Also, thank you to my special and dear friend, Beth Wyandt for her gentle, yet firm push to believe in myself and to continually work hard to complete and achieve my professional goals. To the DIVAs – Dr. Shelia Burton and Dr. Rashida Savage-Gentry, for their side by side journey with me through this adventure and life in general. We are DESTINED by faith, INSPIRED by the struggle, VALUEABLE beyond measure, and an ASSET to anything we are a part of together! DIVAs! I send a very special thank you to Dr. Michael Dantley for his leadership, wisdom and insight and Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile for her passion, knowledge and guidance through the doctoral process – I could not have completed this journey without them both! I also dedicate this work to the African American children whose voices need to be heard and their educational needs better met. I share in the work of those many researchers who have come before me and will come after me to contribute to the advancement of the social justice agenda. vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to acknowledge the support of Dr. Sarah Zatik for trusting me to conduct this study while fulfilling my professional responsibilities and for her advice and wisdom through the process. I appreciate the work of the participants in this study and their dedication to the experience (G. Carter, D. Frantz, C. Stallard, E. Russell, K. Cunningham, S. Moore, M. Schreiber, K. Henderson, and N. Mengerink). Your valuable input is what made this study rich and full of content to share. I would also like to acknowledge the love and support received by Amy Anyanwu, Rita Tilton and Maureen McCormick and for their continued discussions and sharing of experiences to help me stay encouraged and focused on the greater good of this work. Thank you to Kelly Lucas for her attention to detail and her tenacious spirit through the revision process with me. I also appreciate the patience, prayers, and efforts of Peggy Augusten, Paula Eifert, and Martha Orndorff – who lived with me (figuratively) through this process. They were privy to the moans, groans and happy cries. Thank you to my sister and brother, Michelle Marks and Marvin Marks, Jr. - who have always been my sideline cheerleaders in every journey in my life. I appreciate and have enjoyed working with a supportive committee. Their guidance has given me an immeasurable level of respect for them and the work they do daily – Dr. Lisa Weems, Dr. Paula Saine, and Dr. Karen Beard, under the leadership of Dr. Denise Taliaferro Baszile. vii Chapter 1: Introduction The minority population in suburban school districts went from 19% in 1990 to 27% in 2000, and as high as 43% in suburban areas in large cities such as Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and New York (Frey, 2001). The rapid growth in numbers may have made it increasingly difficult for suburban districts to be ready to meet the academic and social engagement of minorities (Evans, 2007). African American students in suburban school districts face academic and social challenges different from their European American peers. Suburban schools that primarily educate European American students fail to address the academic and social needs of African American students because of racial interpretations as well as cultural perceptions (Evans, 2007). An additional cause is the lack of staff preparation in dealing with students’ of color cultural backgrounds. Understanding racial identity as well as the role of culture in the classroom setting can help educators of African American students better address academic performance. This can ultimately lead to closing the achievement gap in student learning for people of color. Cultural perceptions of African American students tend to be negative because of the resistance to knowledge and lack of experiences of staff within a suburban setting regarding African American culture. The absences of culturally responsive staff members affect the decisions and actions taken by educators in the school environment, which impacts the academic success of African American students (Evans, 2007). This lack of a culturally responsive staff is often a result of negative racial interpretations reinforcing biases about African American student behaviors. As the researcher, I believe educators of all students have a responsibility to practice culturally responsive pedagogical practices that embrace, educate, and promote differences among and between students. Key Terms: racial interpretations, cultural perceptions, race, culture, assimilate, acculturate, racism, systematic oppression, deficit model, resilience model, othered Description of Research Topic African Americans have historically been subjected to European American ideology that argued African Americans were genetically inferior causing the perceived learning ability and expectations of African American students to be low (Smedley, 2007). Separate and unequal educational practices have also had a negative impact on the education of African Americans in the United States. African American students and European American students (who typically 1 populate suburban school districts) have very different cultural backgrounds and applying the same pedagogical methods will only continue to increase the educational disparities (Ladson- Billings, 2000). The more we learn about African American students and how to increase their learning, the better we will be able to address