JUDITH TOURE, ED.D.CARLOW UNIVERSITY

PITTSBURGH, PAJTOURE@CARLOW.EDU

FIRST ANNUAL HIGHER EDUCATION COMPACT BEST PRACTICES SYMPOSIUM

CLEVELAND, OHJUNE 11, 2012

Developing Cognitive Strategies and Content Knowledge to Improve Academic Achievement: The Responsibility of Teachers and School Leaders

Overview

Demographic imperative

Themes from the literature: Racialized ideologies in PK-12 contexts

Culturally relevant leadership in PK-12

Culturally relevant pedagogy in undergraduate education

Implications

Racial/Ethnic Enrollment in Public Schools

Table A-4-1. Number and percentage distribution of the race/ethnicity of public school students enrolled in

kindergarten through 12th grade:

October of year

White African American

Latino/a

Asian

Pacific Islander

Native American

Two or more races

1990 67.6 16.5 11.7 3.0 (1) .9 -

2000 61.3 16.6 16.6 4.2 (1) 1.3 -

2008 55.5 15.5 21.7 3.7 .2 .9 2.6

Percentage of K-12 students in public education by race/ethnicity: 1990, 2000, 2008 (nces.gov)

K-6teachers

White African American

Latino/a Other

1999-2000

83 8 6 3

2007-2008

82 7 8 3

Percentage of public school teachers by race/ethnicity: 1999-2000 and 2007-2008

7-12 teachers

White African American

Latino/a Other

1999-2000

86 6 5 2

2007-2008

83 7 7 3

Themes from the literature: Racialized ideologies in schools

Issues of race, culture, and learning surface in schools but are rarely addressed

Largely empirically unexamined in schools (Pollock, 2001; Sleeter, 1993)

“Colorblind” and “colormute” Privilege, racism, and reproduction invisible in

schools (Lewis, 2005; Schofield, 1989) “Kids are all the same, I don’t see color.” “Colormute”: race as taboo subject of

discussion (Pollock, 2004) Often expressed as deficit thinking (Valencia,

1997, 2010)

Educator perspectives toward children of color

Consistent deficit thinking Nuanced deficit thinking

Nuanced asset perspective

Consistent asset perspective

Educator does not recognize “funds of knowledge” that children possess and bring to school. Holds and demonstrates low expectations for student learning and behavior. Responsibility for learning and academic success situated within children and their families rather than within classroom instruction. Educator displays diminished sense of responsibility toward students.

(Diamond, Randolph, & Spillane, 2004; Garcia & Guerra, 2004)

Educator views children primarily from a deficit perspective, but may acknowledge some positive attributes and assumes some responsibility for their learning.

Educator views children primarily from an asset perspective, capable of learning, but occasionally displays views rooted in deficit perspective.

Educator recognizes children’s funds of knowledge and builds upon them to encourage learning. Views children as highly capable of learning challenging material with high quality instruction. Feels and shows sense of responsibility for student learning and academic success.

(Diamond, Randolph, & Spillane, 2004; Garcia & Guerra, 2004)

1 school leader (mathematics coach), 1 teacher

3 school leaders (principal, mathematics coach, and literacy coach)

4 school leaders (2 principals, literacy coach, and mathematics coach), 3 teachers

1 school leader (assistant principal), 1 teacher

Relationship of deficit thinking to instructional improvement

Deficit thinking places cause of children’s poor academic performance outside of the classroom (Valencia, 2010).

Less impetus to change instructional practice (Diamond, Randolph, & Spillane, 2001).

Teachers holding an asset perspective tend to be more innovative in instructional practice.

Culturally relevant pedagogy, PK-12

Three goals of CRP To develop students academically;

To nurture and support students’ cultural competence in home culture; and

To develop sociopolitical or critical consciousness in students

(Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 483)

Framework: Culturally relevant school leadership

Adapted with permission from Stein & Nelson, 2003

What about demographics and culturally relevant pedagogy in

the post-secondary context?

Who are our students? Total % of undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting

institutions by race/ethnicity

Percentage distribution(nces.gov) 1980 1990 2000 2008 

White 81 77.5 68.3 63.2

African American 9.7 9.6 11.8 13.9

Latina/o 4.1 6.1 10.3 12.9

Asian/Pacific Islander 2.4 4.2 6.4 6.8

American Indian/ Alaska Native 0.7 0.8 1.1 1.1

Themes from the literature: Racialized reality of university context

For students of color, “everyday life as racialized” (Lesage, 2002)

PWIs as sites for the enactment of whiteness ; when a “White, male, heterosexual societal norm is privileged in such a way that its privilege is rendered invisible” (Grillo & Wildman, 2000, p. 650)

Curriculum as code of power (Delpit, 1998); key role in communicating institution’s commitment to diversity

Themes (cont’d)

Research on persistence of students of color tends to focus on students’ coping strategies

Limited research on role of curricular and faculty support for students of color (Gasman, Gerstel-Pepin, Anderson-Thompkins, Rasheed, & Hathaway, 2004; White & Lowenthal, 2010)

Recent work on identity development positions students of color as holders and creators of knowledge (Delgado-Bernal, 2002; Reyes & Rios, 2005; White & Lowenthal, 2010)

Implications, PK-12

Role for leadership in disrupting deficit thinking that may influence new teachers in particular and be more pervasive in less integrated contexts

School leaders play a role in developing asset thinking in educators

Leadership as distributed in knowledge of racial ideologies/CRP

Importance of addressing racial ideologies in school leadership preparation programs for 21st century

Need for professional learning for school leaders

Implications, IHE

Improve recruitment, support, retention of students of color

Continue becoming more learner-centeredBroaden conceptions of knowledge and

scholarship in disciplines How is knowledge constructed? Which topics are legitimate for inquiry? Who is recognized as constructor of knowledge?

Representation in curriculum and course structures

Recruitment, support, and development of faculty of color