Perspectives on Teacher Quality and Testing From African American and Latina/o Elementary School Students

• In Event: 30.048 - In and Beyond the Classroom: Youth-Led Participatory Action Research

Abstract

The present study aimed first to gain African American and Latino elementary student perspectives on teacher quality and test-centered instruction, and second to engage students in a participatory action research-based student voice project intended to develop student-generated suggestions for positive reform. Two specific themes that emerged from the data were negative student perceptions of test-centered curriculum and a desire for a personal connection with teachers. These student voices demonstrate how opportunities for the implementation of engaging pedagogies and the freedom to forge meaningful student-teacher relationships are sacrificed under the demands of test-practice protocols. An argument is made that present reform should begin with a re-evaluation of classroom pedagogies in marginalized schools, and inclusion of student perspectives.

Author

• Martin J. Wasserberg, University of North Carolina - Wilmington