Using Dreyfus's Skill Acquisition Model to Analyze Culturally Responsive Practices of Secondary Social Studies Teachers

• In Event: Teaching and Learning for Adult Skill Acquisition: Application of the Dreyfus and Dreyfus Model

Abstract

Objective
Students of color experience substantial educational inequities compared to their White middle-class counterparts (Howard & Rodriguez-Minkoff, 2017). These differences are symptoms of unequal access to educational resources such as “expert teachers, personalized attention, high quality curriculum opportunities, good educational materials, and plentiful information resources that support learning at home and at school” (Darling-Hammond, 2010, p. 28). Since the population of the United States and its K-12 classrooms are more diverse than ever before, if and how teachers, the majority of whom are female, White, and middle class (Howard & Rodriguez-Minkoff, 2017; Tatum, 2007), are prepared to teach students from a variety of cultural and racial backgrounds is an essential topic of inquiry within the field of education.
Theoretical Frameworks
For over three decades, educators and scholars have documented Culturally Responsive Pedagogy (CRP) to be an effective approach to teaching students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds (Gay, 2010; Grant & Sleeter, 2011; Ladson-Billings 2009). Given this, investigating teachers’ perceptions of their culturally responsive practices is an important line of inquiry. This study investigates how teachers reflect upon and discuss their culturally responsive choices in each of their teaching contexts. I utilize Dreyfus’ (1986, 2004) model for skill acquisition and Berliner’s (2004) application of this model specific to teacher development to frame findings from a mixed methods case study on the perceptions of three secondary social studies educators of their culturally responsive practices.
Methodology
To select participants. I developed the Teacher Attitudes and Practices Inventory (TAPI) as a screening device to gather information on teachers’ attitudes and practices relative to CRP and relevant pre-service coursework. Questions from Siwatu’s (2006) Culturally Responsive Teaching Outcome Expectancy Scale (CRTOE) and Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale (CRTSE) were also included. Teachers who self-reported the highest levels of CRP engagement and indicated they engaged in some form of CRP during their teacher education coursework, taught a majority of low-income students of color, and taught for five years or less were selected for interview. Two in-depth interviews were conducted to garner each participant’s experiences using a conversation guide and questions regarding survey answers. Data from interviews were collected, transcribed, and analyzed following processes that include coding, summarizing, sorting (and resorting), weighing, and combining (Rubin & Rubin, 2012; Seidman, 1998). Finally, I engaged in member checking, so participants could evaluate what I deemed significant (Seidman, 1998) and to confirm or disconfirm my assertions (Stake, 1995).
Results
Data indicated that across content, pedagogy, and relationships, or what I term Culturally Responsive Areas of Practice, participants ranged from Novice/approaching Advanced Beginner to approaching the Competence stage (Dreyfus, 2004) with regard to Gay’s (2010) characteristics of culturally responsive pedagogy, including validation and affirmation, comprehensiveness, multidimensionality, empowerment and transformation, and emancipation of students.
Scholarly Significance
Analysis of teacher’s skill development highlights the imperative of critical cultural consciousness, provides clarity regarding how to engage in CRP, and outlines challenges and supports to its practice.

Author

• Tracy Pelkowski, Salve Regina University