Beyond Traditional Measures of Teacher Quality: Incorporating Cultural Competence to Measure Classroom Community

• In Event: Rethinking Approaches to Studying Professional Learning in the Service of Social Justice

Abstract

This study explores the necessity and validity of including cultural competence as a dimension of quality teaching through analysis of a new observation rubric, the Vision for Student Learning (VfSL). The VfSL is not a traditional, evaluative measure of teacher quality; instead, it is a formative measure of classroom community focused on student, rather than teacher, actions. Using exploratory factor analysis and item response theory models, the VfSL is found to be both reliable and valid as a measure of classroom community. Furthermore, the factor structure of the VfSL empirically affirms the design of the measurement instrument and provides evidence that the skills of building classroom culture and enacting rigorous instruction are distinct skill sets that should be targeted.

Authors

• Grant Van Eaton, Teach For America

• Doug Clark, University of Calgary