How Beliefs About and Self-Efficacy for Culturally Responsive Teaching Relate to Instruction

• In Event: Implementation and Effects of Curriculum-Aligned Professional Learning: A Study of Professional Learning Partnerships

Abstract

Objectives
Culturally responsive (CR) teaching emphasizes the experiences, and cultural and linguistic assets of students of color (Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995). Given the growing racial and linguistic diversity in the US, understanding how best to foster CR teaching is critical (Bottiani et al., 2018). This study examines how teachers’ beliefs and self-efficacy regarding CR teaching and participation in CR focused PL relate to the implementation of CR practices, and whether these variables vary on key teacher characteristics.

Theoretical Framework
This study is grounded in theories of CR teaching and teacher learning (Gay, 2010; Ladson-Billings, 1995). CR teaching emphasizes teachers’ use of pedagogy that builds on students’ strengths and supports students to construct knowledge and build social consciousness (Ladson-Billings, 1995). Teacher learning literature suggests that teacher beliefs and efficacy are related to their instructional practices (e.g., Holzberger, Philipp, & Kunter, 2013). Together, this literature suggests that teacher beliefs about and self-efficacy may be important factors for promoting CR instruction.

Data Sources and Methods
This analysis leveraged the responses from the teacher survey. Drawing on survey data, we conducted descriptive analyses using t-tests and employed linear regression to examine patterns in teachers’ self-reported beliefs, confidence, and practices and the relationship between these constructs. On the survey, we asked teachers about their agreement with CR beliefs on a 0-5 agreement scale (“strongly disagree” to “strongly agree”), their self-efficacy with CR practices on a 0-10 confidence scale (“not at all confident” to “extremely confident”), and their engagement in PL focused on CR practices on a 0-3 scale (“not at all” to “a great extent”). We also asked teachers to report their frequency of use of CR practices on a 0-3 scale (“never” to “most or all lessons”).

Findings
Analysis revealed three key findings. First, teachers reported using CR practices related to making learning relevant to students more frequently than when adapting curricular materials (Figure 3). Second, reported instructional practices and beliefs varied by teacher characteristics. White teachers reported agreeing more strongly with beliefs aligned with CR teaching than teachers of color, but teachers of color reported significantly higher frequency of implementing CR practices. However, teachers were clustered by race in certain partnerships. Thus, differences may be attributable to partnership context or race. Finally, the positive relationship between CR self-efficacy and frequency of implementing CR practices was stronger among teachers whose beliefs were more strongly aligned with CR teaching than those whose beliefs were less strongly aligned with CR teaching (Figure 4).

Scholarly Significance
The results of this study offer important considerations for how to best support the development of CR instruction. The findings suggest prioritizing PL activities that support teachers in critically engaging with their instructional materials, examining differences in beliefs and practices among teachers in more depth, and attending to both teacher beliefs and self-efficacy in PL to support the development of CR instruction.

Authors

• Meghan Comstock, University of Pennsylvania

• Erica Litke, University of Delaware

• Kirsten Lee Hill, Kirsten Lee Hill Consulting

• Laura M. Desimone, University of Delaware