New Faces, New Paradigms: How Teachers Make Sense of Suburban Diversification

• In Event: Race and Place: How Suburban Schools Respond to Increasing Racial Diversity

Abstract

Purpose
As part of an investigation of rapidly diversifying suburban schools, this study seeks to surface teachers’ underlying conceptualizations of linguistic, racial, and socioeconomic diversity among students. The researchers sought to examine how teachers interpret the challenges and opportunities presented by a diverse student body, in an attempt to understand the changing contexts of suburban schools and ultimately promote the conditions for equitable education in a diverse setting.
Perspective/Theoretical Framework
The researchers employed a methodology of grounded theory, systematically analyzing the data for patterns of thought (Creswell, 2013). As the themes emerged, we drew on Valencia’s (2006) model of deficit thinking. As such, deficit thinking was taken to be an ideological stance, intertwined with racial and class bias, rather than a research-based theory.
Methods and Data Sources
The larger project sought to interview school-level, district-level and external actors across six metropolitan school districts. Within each district, we selected two elementary schools and one high school for closer examination. Each district had a separate research team conducting fieldwork guided by semi-structured interview protocols. The vast majority of the 194 interviews across the six sites were audio-recorded and transcribed. Here, we rely primarily on interviews from school staff and faculty.

We conducted a within-case analysis of each district, coding transcripts for evidence of conceptualization of diversity. Categories, which emerged through open coding (Merriam, 2009), included “families/parents,” “school climate,” and “conceptualization of change,” among others. We then conducted a cross-case analysis, comparing themes and exploring recurring patterns. In order to ensure validity, we looked for both confirming and disconfirming evidence.
Results
Across the sample, teachers expressed complex understandings of racial, socioeconomic, and linguistic diversity. Most were enthusiastic about the concept of diversity, with many teachers agreeing that diverse schools helped to prepare students for life in a diverse society. Several particularly enthusiastic school employees voiced their desire to help improve the negative perceptions of their school and students among the outside community. Some teachers’ comments indicated a degree of paternalism, in that they hoped to “save” at-risk students.
At the same time, however, teachers consistently demonstrated deficit thinking. Many teachers asserted that low-income students arrived at school lacking the broad exposure, experiences, and vocabulary of their higher-SES peers. Additionally, many teachers suggested that parents in minority and low-SES communities were under-involved at school, failed to provide adequate discipline at home, and did not value education. Finally, some teachers attributed school failure to the influence of gangs and anti-social, “sinking” communities. Ultimately, then, the results suggest the widespread influence of a behavioral “culture of poverty” model (Valencia, 2006), incorporating beliefs in cultural deprivation and accumulated environmental deficits.


Significance
First and foremost, the results underscore the pervasiveness and persistence of deficit thinking. Understanding the nature of such thinking allows us to challenge these implicit assumptions and beliefs, hopefully paving the way for innovative new ways of thinking about diversity and promoting more equitable educational opportunities.

Author

• Alison Tyler, The Pennsylvania State University