Date of Award
Summer 2025
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Department
Educational Studies
First Advisor
Terrance McAdoo
Abstract
This qualitative action research study examined a growing cultural divide at an elementary school with a significant teacher diversity gap, best described as a discrepancy between the number of White educators compared to the number of students of color within an educational setting. Surveys were utilized to understand teachers’ cultural competency, and then all participants engaged in a book study intervention focused on culture-centered pedagogy. The study concluded with exit interviews between participants and the researcher to gauge how perceptions of working with diverse student populations progressed throughout the study. Survey responses, book study field notes, and interview transcripts were coded in order to extract themes. Prior to participants completing the book study, emergent themes included the following: 1) experience over training, 2) challenges with diversity, 3) importance of building relationships, and 4) lack of cultural awareness/sensitivity. Upon completion of the book study and after exit interviews, further themes were extracted in relation to participants’ evolving perceptions and use of culturally relevant instructional practices: 1) more effective professional training, 2) culturally sensitive language, and 3) improved instruction. Findings of this study implied the need and desire for more formalized training for teachers working with diverse student populations.
Rights
© 2025, Kelly Dale Hogan
Recommended Citation
Hogan, K. D.(2025). What We Don’t Know Can Hurt Them: An Examination of Culture-Centered Pedagogy in a Diverse Elementary School. (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/etd/8410