Teaching in Color: A Critical Analysis of Teachers' Experiences and Perceptions of Diversity and Equity

• In Event: The Truth Is Out There: Amplifying Teacher-Researcher Voice in Education Research

Abstract

Objectives
Schools are not designed to attend to the cultures and identities of all students. Despite eighty years of educational justice research focused on understanding and dismantling assimilationist models of education, our educational system continues to fail youth who identify as Black, Indigenous, people of color and/or ethnically marginalized (BIPOCEM). Recognizing that teachers’ perceptions and experiences of diversity and equity are integral to the implementation of any diversity and equity initiative, this study analyzed five focus groups (n=31) and five one-on-one interviews (n=5) with teachers at one school. Research questions included: (1) What are the perceptions and experiences of teachers about diversity and equity at a secondary school?, (2) What are these teacher perceptions’ on how the school sustains or fails to sustain the cultures of BIPOCEM students?, and (3) What are these teachers’ perceptions on how they sustain or fail to sustain the cultures of BIPOCEM students?
Theoretical Framework
Culturally Sustaining Relationships (Author, 2021) builds off of the work of scholars forwarding theories for equitable teaching and learning (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Paris & Alim, 2017). CSR calls specifically for the fostering of relationships that acknowledge, honor, and sustain the identities of BIPOCEM peoples. Because discrimination against BIPOCEM students not only affects their well-being but also their learning and academic achievement (Baysu, et al., 2020), it is imperative to consider how relationships function or dysfunction in schools, and how teachers reflect (or struggle to reflect) on their own beliefs and dispositions regarding diversity and equity (Nadelson, et, al, 2019).
Methods & Data Sources
This case study utilized qualitative data collection methods (Stake, 2000), including focus groups: 2 60-90 minute sessions (audio recorded), semi-structured interviews with participants (audio recorded); and school report card data. The primary methods of data analysis included: memoing, selective transcribing, charting, and construction of analytic memoing (Saldana, 2009, 2021). Author is a longtime teacher and current equity coordinator; this research and presentation includes reflection on a teacher-researcher perspective as part of this work.
Results & Significance
Findings reveal the importance of teacher responsibility for enacting and engaging in diversity and equity initiatives and the manner in which teachers’ fears and anxieties can hinder fostering positive teacher-student relationships with students who identify as BIPOCEM. This case study highlights the importance of considering teacher responsibility and teacher emotions in the creation of diversity and equity initiatives. This study contributes a close examination of the ways teachers’ perceptions and experiences inform their engagements with BIPOCEM students and their responses to inequitable practices at their school. It also offers insight into designing effective PD opportunities. Implications from this research include specific ideas for the focal school as they move forward with designing diversity and equity initiatives. The study also provides insight on the need for a more comprehensive and multifaceted look at teaching as a practice that is personal and professional, and how the reconciliation of these identities can help move educators towards fostering and creating culturally sustaining relationships with students, colleagues, and other members of the school community.

Author

• Nevien Shaabneh, District 230
  Presenting Author