Current literature calls for more culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education to connect with what students know, do, and believe outside of school and to utilize this to foster their academic achievement. This study investigated elementary teachers' perceptions of culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education in an urban school with a predominantly large minoritized student population (African American and Hispanic students). The study focused on four elementary teachers' perceptions of implementing culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education principles into their classroom and how this contributed to teacher-student interactions and student academic achievement. An integrated framework consisting of constructs from the literature on culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education guided the study. A thematic analysis of data (interviews, focus group interview, classroom observations, artifacts) revealed four teacher perceptions of culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education: Practicing culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education: (1) enables teachers and students to embrace diversity; (2) focuses teachers and students on the past and the present social injustices and provides social justice identity development among students; (3) builds empathy among teachers and students; and (4) promotes teachers to reflect on prejudice reduction. Implications: This study showed that constructs from culturally responsive pedagogy and multicultural education are …

This dissertation includes background on influences of mathematics, mathematics education, and who is viewed as a mathematician leading into three articles exploring students' and teachers' perceptions of mathematics through their lived experiences in both mathematics classrooms and their communities. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis for the methodology, all three articles analyze mathematics autobiographies and semi-structured interviews with five student participants enrolled in the same Algebra I course; Paper 3 also includes the Algebra I teacher. Paper 1 focuses on how students describe their lived experiences in mathematics classrooms. Three themes emerged from the participant data: 1) lack of autonomy and access, 2) feelings hinge on performance in mathematics, and 3) the need for support in mathematics. Each participant shared different experiences, but these experiences can help inform educators how to improve students' experiences in the classroom. Paper 2 sought to understand how middle grade students make sense of what it means to do mathematics in their community. The three themes include: 1) navigating the usefulness of mathematics outside of school, 2) who directs mathematics outside of school, and 3) the need for mathematics in future plans. Connections students made between mathematics and the lives outside of school varied suggesting how broad …

Special education in the public-school setting is designed to support students with disabilities by providing them specially designed instruction to meet their unique needs. This cannot be achieved without special education teachers who undergo specialized training to enable students with a disability to reach their maximum potential. Special education teachers' job duties differ greatly from that of a general education teacher, and they require specialized supports from their administrators. This qualitative study was designed for three purposes: (a) to understand the current teacher evaluation system along with the state and local policies from which the evaluation system is created; (b) to define the unique roles and responsibilities of the special education teacher that the current evaluation process may be failing to identify; and (c) to give special education teachers a voice to describe their experiences with the current teacher evaluation system. A document review of the current Texas Teacher Evaluation and Support System (T-TESS) evaluation rubric and of current state and local teacher evaluation policies preceded focus groups of high school special education teachers from three special education settings: inclusion, self-contained, and resource. Findings showed that teachers across all three settings agreed that T-TESS is not a true reflection of …

African American women in educational leadership roles face a myriad of barriers and challenges. Black feminist theory and impostor phenomenon theory offered a potent conceptual lens for understanding the experiences of successful African American women. A qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to examine and explore strategies that African American women use to (a) navigate the impostor phenomenon in relation to career mobility, and (b) identify and understand how social constructs in educational leadership organizations can contribute to their experiences. The research also examined the historical and contemporary problems of subjugation, oppression, racism, and sexism as narrated by 12 African American women who are in educational leadership roles. Data collected from the participants were triangulated and analyzed thematically resulting in six themes: (1) experiences of being questioned and undermined by superiors; (2) experiences of other people's perceptions about African American female leaders; (3) the need for a mentor; (4) giving others a chance to question them; (5) intentional self-care; and (6) lack of support from leaders and mentors. It is recommended that those who work within the education systems focus on acquiring an understanding of the internal struggles African American women navigate in response to systemic, external challenges, so they can …

Teacher preparation programs are varied in their approach to preparing teachers for the realities of the classroom, particularly when working with special population students. School districts and leaders utilize mentoring and professional development opportunities to help teachers bridge the knowledge and skills gap between what they learned in their preparation programs and what they need to know in their current position for instructing special population students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide K-12 general education teachers an opportunity to voice their perceptions about how they were prepared to instruct special population students and what they need for increasing their level of confidence when teaching special population students. Thirteen participants were chosen for a semi-structured interview and four were chosen for a focus group. To identify future initiatives general education teachers hope their education leaders will incorporate, data were collected through stories pertaining to the successes and challenges general education teachers face when instructing special population students. Findings showed that general education teachers are overwhelmed with the increase in special population students in their classrooms and are lacking the time to fully differentiate instruction. Teachers expressed a need for training about mental illness awareness due to the number …

Since at least the 1960s, federal and state policymakers have debated how best to hold public schools accountable for producing graduates who are prepared to fully participate in our democratic society. Since that time, reform efforts have led to Texas' current test-based A-F accountability system. This qualitative case study explored how one Texas school district worked to design and implement an alternative accountability system. A community-based accountability system (CBAS) is created in collaboration with local stakeholders and uses locally developed goals and multiple achievement measures to report student and school performance. A zone of mediation theoretical framework was used to evaluate how the studied district assessed and addressed the community's norms, values, priorities, and goals for public schools. Data were drawn from an analysis of relevant documents, five individual district leader interviews, and a parent and/or community member focus group. These data were analyzed using a combination of a priori and in vivo coding. The six themes that emerged from this analysis were: (a) dissatisfaction with A-F accountability, (b) developing an alternative accountability, (c) collaboration with like-minded districts and leaders, (d) engagement with internal stakeholders; (e) engagement with external stakeholders, and (f) assessing community values and goals for public education. …