University of Mississippi eGrove Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2015 African American Vernacular English (Aave) In The Classroom: The Attitudes And Ideologies Of Urban Educators Toward Aave Melanie Hines Knapp University of Mississippi Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Knapp, Melanie Hines, "African American Vernacular English (Aave) In The Classroom: The Attitudes And Ideologies Of Urban Educators Toward Aave" (2015). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 964. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/etd/964 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AFRICAN AMERICAN VERNACULAR ENGLISH IN THE CLASSROOM: THE ATTITUDES AND IDEOLOGIES OF URBAN EDUCATORS A Dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Teacher Education The University of Mississippi by MELANIE RACHAEL HINES-KNAPP August 2015 Copyright Melanie Rachael Hines-Knapp 2015 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ABSTRACT The study of embracing African American Vernacular English (AAVE) in the classroom is often misunderstood. AAVE is an informal dialect spoken by many African Americans in the United States. Considering this dialect is spoken by many African American students, teachers have struggled with the appropriateness and legitimacy of its usage in the classroom for years. In order for teachers to help students maintain the richness and character of AAVE, yet allow students to learn and incorporate Standrd English conventions, they must embrace culturally relevant instruction. Culturally relevant instruction (CRI) is an instructional approach that involves using students’ cultural and linguistic experiences to create a positive, nurturing, and non-threatening classroom environment (Delpit, 1995; Delpit & Dowdy 2002). One way to incorporate CRI in the classroom is through code-switching. With code-switching, students are able to engage in meaningful instructional activities and discussions using AAVE as well as Standard English. This heuristic qualitative inquiry investigates AAVE in the classroom and how urban educators feel about its existence and usage in the urban classroom. This study is significant because if the participants have positive attitudes about AAVE’s usage in the classroom, then they may be more willing to incorporate CRI strategies, like code-switching, that effectively infuse AAVE in the classroom. The researcher sought to gather explicit information from 16 urban educators in regard to their experiences, attitudes, and beliefs about AAVE and its usage in the classroom. In this study, the researcher purposefully selected the 16 urban educators through a network sampling. ii The study participants consisted of school administrators, classroom teachers, an instructional coach, and a librarian. The researcher used three means of collecting data: a focus group interview, individual interviews, and writing responses. By analyzing the attitudes and ideologies of the study participants, the researcher was able to identify misconceptions about AAVE and bring awareness about dialectal differences in the classroom. Culturally relevant instructional strategies including code-switching pedagogical strategies are discussed and recommended to help teachers and other educators with the incorporation of informal and formal dialects in the classroom. iii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to my father, Russell Hines Jr., and my mother, Patricia H. Hines. iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AAVE African American Vernacular English MAE Mainstream American English SE Standard English SAE Standard American English CRI Culturally Relevant Instruction SEP Standard English Proficiency CT Casual Talk AT Academic Talk v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express my deepest appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Rosemary Oliphant-Ingham, for seeing in me what I did not see in myself. Her high expectations and timely feedback were invaluable. I also thank Dr. Douglas Davis for providing me with the insight of qualitative inquiry. Dr. Ann Monroe was instrumental in providing me with resources and mentorship that helped me on my path. Dr. Kerry Holmes’ suggestions have inspired me to seek more in the areas of language and linguistics. Furthermore, I thank my participants for their time, honesty, and vested interest in culturally relevant instruction. Their passion for quality and equitable education added greatly to this research. In addition, I am grateful for my family. Antuan D. Knapp provided continuous and unwavering support throughout my studies. Russell and Patricia Hines instilled values of resilience and persistence in me from birth. Most importantly, I thank God for blessing me with the brain capacity and wisdom to fulfill this major accomplishment in life. No achievement would be possible without my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………..… ii DEDICATION………………………………………………………………………………..… iv LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS………………………………………………………………….... v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS……………………………………………………………………… vi LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………… x CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….… 1 Research Questions…………………………………………………………….... 8 Purpose Statement……………………………………………………………...... 8 Limitations……………………………………………………………………..... 9 Delimitations…………………………………………………………………..... 10 Definition of Terms…………………………………………………………….. 10 Significance of Study……………………………………………………...…… 11 Organization of Study………………………………………………………….. 11 II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE………………………………………………………. 13 Culturally Relevant Instruction (CRI)…………………………………………. 13 History of AAVE………………………………………………………………. 16 AAVE Conventions……………………………………………………………. 21 Language Vs. Language System Vs. Dialect…………………………………... 26 A Review of Studies on Code/Dialect-Switching…………………………..….. 27 vii Educational Acts and Standards…………………………………………….….. 41 Views of AAVE…………………………………………………………….….. 45 Theoretical Framework………………………………………………….……... 49 Conclusions/Implications………………………………………………….…… 54 III. METHODOLOGY………………………………………………………………... 56 Rationale for Using Qualitative Research…………………………………….... 56 The Research Process: Emergent Design………………………………...……. 57 Heuristic Approach……………………………………………………...……... 57 Role of the Researcher…………………………………………………...…….. 58 Background of Researcher…………………………………………................... 58 Researcher Bias…………………………………………………………...…… 60 Institutional Review Board…………………………………………………..… 60 Gaining Access……………………………………………………………..….. 61 Ethical Considerations………………………………………………………..... 61 Data Collection and Analysis…………………………………………………... 61 Data Types……………………………………………………………………... 62 Protecting Data…………………………………………………………………. 66 Generating Categories and Coding…………………………………………….. 66 Triangulation…………………………………………………………………… 67 Member Checking……………………………………………………………… 67 Rich, Thick Description………………………………………………………... 67 viii IV. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION………………………………….. 68 Belief Systems about AAVE………………………………………………….... 69 Examples of AAVE……………………………………………………………. 72 The Essence of AAVE…………………………………………………………. 75 Code-Switching Pedagogy……………………………………………………... 81 AAVE as a Tool in the Classroom……………………………………………... 89 AAVE in the Classroom and Culturally Relevant Instruction…………………. 96 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………. 111 V. DISCUSSION …………………………………………………………….…….... 114 AAVE Strategies: CRI………………………………………………..……… 114 AAVE Strategies: Code-Switching…………………………………...……… 115 Recommendations for Further Research……………………………………… 117 Conclusion………………………………………………………………......... 118 LIST OF REFERENCES……………………………………………………….…………….. 120 LIST OF APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………….... 134 A. IRB Approval ……………………………………………………………………. 135 B. Letter of Consent………………………………………………………………….. 137 C. Writing Response Assignment……………………………………………………. 141 D. Interview Guide…………………………………………………………………... 143 VITA………………………………………………………………………………………….. 147 ix LIST OF TABLES 1. Demographic Data………………………………………………………………….. 69 2. AAVE Prior to Interviews………………………………………………………….. 70 3. Examples of AAVE………………………………………………………………… 73 4. How Does AAVE Look, Feel, and Sound………………………………………….. 80 5. Can AAVE Be Used as a Tool in the Classroom……………………………………. 89 x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Culturally relevant instruction is an empowering instructional approach that involves using students’ cultural and linguistic abilities to create a non-threatening classroom atmosphere (Delpit, 1995; Delpit & Dowdy, 2002). Cultural groups have distinct characteristics, beyond the color of skin, that make them different from other cultural groups. One of these distinct differences is the language or communication pattern (Ladson-Billings, 2009). According to Ladson-Billings (2009), a study by Mohatt and Erickson discovered that teachers who found effective ways to communicate with their students used an “interactional style that the authors termed culturally congruent” (p. 18). With this cultural congruence, the teachers must make the way that they interact with students similar to the students’ culture. Whether the term is culturally congruent (Mohatt & Erickson, 1981), culturally responsive (Au & Jordan, 1981), or culturally relevant instruction (Ladson-Billings, 2009), all terms focus on using all aspects of a student’s culture to reach them. There are various dialects