Date of Conferral

2017

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Carol Philips

Abstract

As achievement gaps for indigenous, low SES, and ethnically diverse students widen, teacher education programs in Hawaii continue to be charged with preparing teachers to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Despite efforts to expand accreditation diversity requirements for teacher education programs, it is unknown whether these programs provide the preparation needed for teachers to develop culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy. Guided by self-efficacy theory, this mixed methods study examined teacher candidates' culturally responsive teaching self-efficacy (CRTSE) beliefs, their relationships with demographic and other variables, and candidates' perceptions of factors that might affect these beliefs. Teacher candidates (N = 175) in a 4- year urban university teacher education program in Hawaii completed a demographic questionnaire and the CRTSE scale. Follow-up interviews were held with 9 participants who agreed to be interviewed to further expand on the quantitative findings. Correlational analysis suggested that as participants advanced to higher terms in college, their CRTSE increased. Regression analysis found that 2 variables predicted CRTSE scores: participant experiences with diverse students and their diversity course ratings. Interview data were transcribed, open-coded, and thematically analyzed. Qualitative findings appeared to support the quantitative results, including participants' perceptions that having more experiences with diverse students and having more diversity courses better prepares them to teach diverse students. This study is socially impactful because it shows that culturally responsive skills training and related experiences may increase teachers' CRTSE and thereby may contribute to mitigating achievement gaps for diverse students, particularly in Hawaii.

Download

Share

 
COinS