Date of Conferral

2023

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Evelyn Ogden

Abstract

AbstractTeachers’ understanding of the socioeconomic background may result in improved skills at addressing the barriers to the academic achievement for middle school Black male students. However, there is a lack of understanding regarding teachers’ perceptions of barriers and culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) efficacy when educating Black students in the literature. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to gain an understanding of how teachers are implementing CRP to support the academic achievement of middle school Black male students in math. Ladson-Billings’ culturally relevant pedagogy was used as the theoretical framework for this study. This study included research questions regarding teachers’ perception of CRP implementation and strategies teachers used for CRP pillars to support Black male students’ outcomes in math. Six middle school teachers at a charter school familiar with CRP implementation participated in virtual semi structural interviews and lesson plans were analyzed to determine the types of CRP strategies used in the instruction. Three themes emerged from the use of Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis of the responses: implementing all CRP pillars was associated with improvement in students’ grades and teaching the whole child, and teacher strategies included engaging students' cultural knowledge to support mathematics comprehension. Therefore, it was determined that implementing CRP supports the academic achievement of middle school Black male students in math but more research is necessary to understand how implementation of three pillars of CRP will benefit students, educators, and administrators. The implication for positive social change is that integrating CRP methods into more diverse classrooms has the potential to reduce the achievement gap between Black and White students.

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