Equity In Classrooms Research Articles

Culturally responsive teaching in question: A multiple case study examining the complexity and interplay of teacher practices, beliefs, and microaggressions in Germany

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) is viewed to promote equity, yet critics argue it may be tokenistic, resembling liberal multiculturalism without encouraging critical thinking and anti-racism. Seeking to understand CRT complexities, a multiple case study design including structured observations and interviews with five secondary school teachers in Germany, explored the interplay of CRT practices, teacher beliefs, and microaggressions. CRT practices varied, while teachers perpetuated deficit- and racist ideologies and often overlooking structural causes. Classroom microaggressions perpetrated by teachers went unrecognized (as problematic) in post-interview reflections. Our research emphasizes the need to reposition critical thinking as its foundation for promoting equity in classrooms.

APF Charles l. Brewer Award for Distinguished Teaching of Psychology: Viji Sathy.

The APF Gold Medal for Impact in Psychology recognizes Viji Sathy for her dedication to inclusive teaching practices, promoting diversity and equity in classrooms and higher education. Dr. Sathy has continually pushed the boundaries of student learning experiences. Her innovative teaching methods, including flipped classrooms and makerspace courses, have transformed learning environments and ensured that every student feels empowered. Dr. Sathy's advocacy for diversity and inclusion spans globally. Her efforts as a workshop facilitator and keynote speaker at over 100 institutions worldwide have left a mark on the global discourse surrounding inclusive education. Her contributions to initiatives like the Chancellor's Science Scholars program and the development of the MCAD dashboard underscore her commitment to fostering a more inclusive academic landscape. Dr. Sathy's passion will continue to inspire educators to prioritize inclusivity in teaching and learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Positioned as a burden: Analyzing the participation of multilingual students of color in undergraduate mathematics courses that use groupwork

More college mathematics classrooms are adopting active learning practices like groupwork. These practices typically foreground vocal communication and interpersonal interactions, both of which are mediated by language. Given that undergraduate classrooms in the U.S. are also becoming more racially and linguistically diverse, this study focuses on multilingual students of color, whose learning experiences have often been overlooked. Specifically, this study aims to learn more about the relationship between groupwork and equity in classrooms with linguistic diversity. Using positioning theory, this study analyzes the learning narratives of 26 multilingual students of color about their experiences working with peers in groups. Findings demonstrate that while multilingual students described enacting a range of different positional identities during groupwork, they were more likely to report being positioned by others in deficit ways. Results highlight how the positional identities perceived to be available to students were often constrained by normative classroom Discourses about language, participation, and mathematics.

Classroom Equity Data Inquiry for Racial Equity

ABSTRACT Longstanding inequities exist in community colleges across the United States. To address these inequities, California Community Colleges educators have engaged in a variety of practices including the writing of equity plans and participation in equity data inquiry. However, there is an urgent need for greater focus on racial equity and for more faculty involvement in equity work at the classroom level. This paper presents a teacher case study exploring Classroom Equity Data Inquiry (CEDI), a tool for faculty professional learning focused on equitable student outcomes. In CEDI, professors examine their disaggregated classroom data, reflect on their class equity gaps, and pursue relevant professional development. They implement targeted interventions and then assess those interventions. This paper describes the author’s sustained CEDI utilizing six years of equity data in her English as a Second Language classes at a small northern California community college. First, it provides a definition and rationale for CEDI. Second, it details the author’s CEDI process and challenges. Third, it shares the author’s changes in thinking and practice including high impact interventions the author implemented to reduce equity gaps for men of color in her classes. Fourth, the article describes positive qualitative student data and increased success and retention rates for Hispanic and multi-race males following the interventions. The article concludes that CEDI requires training, support, and time, but that the approach merits further research. More research is needed on CEDI methods and their possible impact on racial equity in the classroom.

"I knew it was a problem before, but did I really?": Engaging teachers in data use for equity.

In current contexts of education, educators are tasked with using data, most often without any critical preparation to do so. In this way, data are presented as objective measures of student progress and participation in school without consideration of the systemic and structural influences on that progress and participation. This article reports on a proposed framework for preparing educators to engage in critical data-driven decision making as an engine of disrupting classroom and school-based systemic inequity through data use. We argue that if educators are to use data in ways that acknowledge the inequities of schooling and act in ways to trigger change, we must prepare them to engage with data differently. The framework we describe, data use for equity, integrates data and equity literacies in this service. We use case study to report on the outcomes of a professional development project guided by this conceptual framework of data use for equity. Participants engaged in professional development that utilized a School and Classroom Equity Audit as a triggering data event and explicitly attended to the relationship of culture and education. Findings demonstrated that professional development in data use for equity enhanced participants' sense of agency, perceptions of equity and data, and perceived multicultural capacities. Findings also demonstrated that while participants made progress in strengthening their data and equity literacies on almost all indicators through the yearlong professional development, developing data use for equity must be an ongoing effort.

“Student Representations at the Center: Promoting Classroom Equity”

“Student Representations at the Center: Promoting Classroom Equity”

Tracking Inequity: An Actionable Approach to Addressing Inequities in Physics Classrooms

Recent studies reveal people from marginalized groups (e.g., people of color and women) continue to earn physics degrees at alarmingly low rates. This phenomenon is not surprising given reports of the continued perception of physics as a masculine space and the discrimination faced by people of color and women within the field. To realize the vision of an equitable physics education, fully open to and supportive of marginalized groups, teachers need ways of seeing equity as something that is concrete and actionable on an everyday basis. In our work, teachers have found value in intentionally reflecting on their instruction and their students explicitly in terms of race, gender, and other social markers. We find they are then better positioned to build equitable physics classrooms. Without a focus on specific social markers, common obstacles such as color-evasiveness emerge, which obstruct the pursuit of equity in classrooms.

Using "evidence-based practice" to integrate physiological knowledge with practical application in an introductory undergraduate exercise physiology course.

Critical thinking and scientific communication are common learning objectives in physiology education. However, a lack of real-world application can limit the transfer of these skills to professional settings. For example, health and wellness professionals are often asked to give advice to clients and patients regarding the use of nutritional supplements, diets, and exercise programs. Giving sound advice on these questions requires the ability to find, interpret, and communicate the evidence to support or reject the use of a given intervention. "Evidence-based practice" (EBP) provides a philosophical framework for combining personal experience, client/patient values, and scientific evidence to give informed advice in a professional setting. Here, we describe the development and implementation of a semester-long EBP project in an introductory exercise physiology course. We discuss how specific components of the project are designed to enhance classroom equity, improve scientific communication, and integrate course content with the student's lived experience and personal interests.

“I Saw a Change”: Enhancing Classroom Equity through Student-Faculty Pedagogical Partnership

Persistent inequities in access to and experiences of learning in postsecondary education have been well documented. In line with efforts to redress these inequities and develop more just institutions, this study explores the potential for pedagogical partnerships in which students and faculty collaborate on teaching and learning initiatives to contribute to classroom equity. We investigate this issue by drawing on qualitative interviews with students who have participated in extracurricular pedagogical partnership programs in institutions in Canada and the United States, and who identify as members of marginalized groups (e.g., racialized students, 2SLGBTQ+ students, students from religious minorities, disabled students). While much existing research on equity and student-faculty partnership primarily focuses on the outcomes of partnership for participating students, we instead investigate students’ perceptions of the extent to which their partnership efforts contributed to wider impacts—such as developments in faculty thinking and teaching practice and student experiences in the classroom. We also consider challenges students noted connected to power imbalances and faculty resistance, which influence partnership’s capacity to contribute to equity and raise important considerations for those interested in partnership practice.

The Continuing Development of a Veteran Teacher

This article is a personal memoir of how Vivian Gussin Paley deepened a veteran teacher’s understanding of how young children learn through play. With careful observation of children at fantasy play, intentional listening, and dictation, Paley enhanced and sharpened appreciation of how children relate to their surroundings and build skills for social interaction, critical thinking, and conflict resolution. The article is divided into two parts. Part one is a brief review of Paley’s advocacy of classroom equity, inclusion of the “outsider,” and the primacy of storytelling and story acting. Part two is an illustration of Paley’s teaching methodology based on the author’s encounter with her five-year-old Israeli granddaughter.

Voices of the Har-of-Hearing about their L2 Acquisition Struggles: A Case Study

In the context of advocacy of the rights of minorities, communities should learn more about the learning rights of students who experience hearing loss. This paper reports a qualitative case study that looked into the perspectives and retrospectives on learning in integrated classrooms of three hard of hearing participants. They identified problems of the reproduction of inequalities such as lack of special arrangements to meet their needs. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of how these learners struggled and made sense of their schooled L2 learning. For the Hard of Hearing, listening goes beyond perceiving sounds. Their interpretation draws on attitudes, affectivity, body language, and context. They hear with their ears but listen with the other senses. They require analyzing the environment, the facial expression, how people talk, the tone of voice, the behavior, the movements, the place and the moment to figure out messages; words alone are insufficient. Participants insisted that their invisible disability requires specific pedagogies and the support of communities. The results of the study fell in three dimensions: The Affective Dimension referred to family, classmates and teachers’ empathy, or lack of it, towards their condition. The Communicative Dimension involved the participants’ perception of communication with teachers, classmates, and their self-perception of communication. The Attitudinal Dimension involved the perception of the attitude of teachers, institutions, and their own attitudes towards L2 learning. The results suggest that 1. HHs feel capable of mastering an L2 in integrated classrooms, 2. Language policies and standardized exams misrepresent the HHs’ capabilities, and 3. Classroom equity demands material selection and methodological adjustments.

Teaching with understanding while teaching for understanding

This manuscript focuses on the experiences of a science teacher educator’s initial engagement in reconceptualization of the construct of equity in classrooms through the use of praxis. What might equity look like if conceptualized as a dynamic interaction between teacher and individual students? Utilizing a critically situated perspective, this work explores the evolution of mutual and reciprocal understanding between a white male teacher educator and one student. It then questions the outcomes produced by this exploration. This work provides an example of how separating equity into two components—equity as interactive, and equity as complex and dynamic, may help pre-service teachers (PSTs) and practicing teacher educators negotiate meaning through discussion on a long-term basis. By utilizing a concrete conceptualization of equity, and examples for discussion, findings can inform PSTs, teacher educators, and practicing teachers of a starting point for de/reconstructing personal conceptualizations of equity in classrooms.

Enhancing equity in the classroom by teaching for mathematical creativity

Equity is an important element of educational discourses pertaining to mathematics and science education. Creativity is an aspect of the classroom that is often ignored due to curricular constraints and the burden of testing. However mathematics offers avenues to infuse the regular curricula with activities that are thought provoking and require creativity and these are accessible to learners of all levels. This article reviews creativity strategies that can be embedded in mathematics curricula to increase classroom equity. These strategies will include the strength of presenting open-ended problems, modeling and encouraging risk taking, discussions and debate of mathematical concepts, concept based learning, divergent thinking strategies during problem solving activities, and incorporating cultural awareness and creativity into curricula and classroom environment. The article will focus both on teacher implementation of these strategies and student outcomes regarding creativity and equity.

1. PRE‐SERVICE TEACHERS AND THE MEANING OF INCLUSION

The number of students with special education needs in the Canadian school system is estimated to range from 9 to 15% (Timmons, 2006). Within Canada, inclusive education means that students who are diverse learners attend their neighbourhood school with their same age peers where they are accepted, valued and made to feel they belong in regular classrooms and schools (Specht and Young, 2010). Research attests to the link among teachers’ knowledge, attitudes and beliefs about learning and inclusive education and their classroom practice (Jordan, Schwartz and McGhie-Richmond, 2009). Teachers are more willing to adopt inclusive teaching practices, those which promote greater equity in classrooms of diverse learners, when they are comfortable with the use of appropriate pedagogy and when they believe that all students can learn and should be included in heterogeneous classrooms. The challenge is to equip and empower teachers with the competence and confidence required to teach students in inclusive classrooms. University pre-service teacher education programmes are designed to begin to equip prospective teachers with these experiences (Ashman, 2010). Within the faculties of education that participated in this research study, pre-service teachers are required to undertake a course in special or inclusive education as part of their teacher education programme. This national study provided a cross-Canada snapshot of the beliefs about inclusion in pre-service teacher education programmes for the purpose of understanding whether or not our teacher education programmes are graduating teachers who believe that they possess the skills, knowledge and beliefs necessary to be successful in diverse and inclusive classrooms. The participants were 1490 pre-service teachers (385 Men; 11105 Women) from 11 Faculties of Education (Mage=25.9 years; SD=5.4). We report on their response to the question ‘what does inclusion mean to you’? This question was designed to be broad in order to elicit participants’ understanding of inclusion and to determine key ideas participants may be deriving from their teacher education programmes. A content analysis approach was employed. This involved coding statements based on key concepts, clustering the concepts into themes and revisiting the themes to further refine them (Fiese and Bickham, 1998). The first major theme reflected pre-service teacher beliefs and attitudes towards inclusion. They indicated that inclusion was a ‘right’ for all students and that students should have the opportunity to be successful. They also expressed doubt in their own ability, in the concept of inclusion, and whether or not all students are capable of being included. The second major theme concerned creating an environment that is conducive to and supportive of inclusion. The subthemes reflected the need to create a welcoming and positive space, the responsibility of the teacher to instruct in ways that recognise and support students and the recognition that others are involved in providing support for students. Instructional approaches and strategies that have developed from understanding and addressing the needs of students with special education needs (i.e., Universal Design for Learning, Differentiated Instruction, assistive and instructional technology and collaborative practice) serve all students. Incorporating these approaches and strategies in an intentional, holistic manner into all curricular coursework in pre-service teacher education programmes may further support pre-service teachers’ understanding that inclusion is about all students. Increasing the opportunities that pre-service teachers have to apply these teaching approaches may improve their skills and confidence and optimally prepare them for inclusive classrooms and counter the perception and belief that inclusion cannot be accomplished or that it is a passing educational fad. The author reports no conflict of interest.

A Call for Qualitative Methods in Action

This article describes how the qualitative research tradition known as positionality can be used as a method to support classroom equity. The text describes three ways teachers can use a spoken approach to positionality in their day-to-day practice. Classroom vignettes illuminate how these spoken methods of positionality can address the latency of power and privilege in 21st-century teaching and learning contexts. The didactic use of positionality to stimulate the kind of reflective student discussions associated with culturally responsive educational reform is also evidenced. Conceptual consideration of positionality methods to support classroom inclusivity for students with disabilities is suggested.

Structure Matters: Twenty-One Teaching Strategies to Promote Student Engagement and Cultivate Classroom Equity

A host of simple teaching strategies—referred to as “equitable teaching strategies” and rooted in research on learning—can support biology instructors in striving for classroom equity and in teachi...

Equity in Mathematics Assessment

We, as teachers and educators, believe that every student has their own learning style. NCTM (2000) states, “Equity does not mean that every student should receive identical instruction; instead, it demands that reasonable and appropriate accommodations be made as needed to promote access and attainment for all students” (p. 12). Teachers often prepare differentiated instruction, but do not prepare differentiated assessment. Not all students show their understanding of mathematics in the same way. This paper discusses equity in mathematics assessment, which means how teachers promote equity in classrooms with various assessments. This paper also provides ideas and examples for assessments in mathematics.

The Power of Choice

Infusing mathematics lessons with opportunities for students to make instructional choices is a teacher strategy to differentiate instruction toward achieving classroom equity.

Student Representations at the Center: Promoting Classroom Equity

The NCTM's Standards (2000) suggest that a representation is not only a product (a picture, a graph, a number, or a symbolic expression) but also a process, a vehicle for developing an understanding of a mathematical concept and communicating about mathematics. To serve as a vehicle in learning and communication, however, a representation must be personally relevant and meaningful to a student. Therefore, when choosing a representation to explore with a group of students or when reviewing student work, we ought to consider everything that students bring to the classroom. Even at a young age, students come to school with their own, often culturally influenced, valid representations (Lave 1998). Because those representations have been crafted, interpreted, and modified by the students themselves, they become vital to classroom instruction. To dismiss what students bring naturally to the classroom reduces mathematics to a one-way transaction between teacher as expert and student as novice, confirming the notion that a student's own thinking and all that he or she brings to mathematics is marginal at best. By relocating student-generated representations to the center of the instruction, the nature of how students experience mathematics changes dramatically. It reconsiders mathematics as a vibrant dialogue among different but equally valued thinkers. This deliberate approach to the teaching of mathematics, we believe, becomes vital if we are serious about creating greater equity for our students.

Advocacy for Equity in Classrooms and Beyond: New Teachers’ Challenges and Responses

Background/Context New teachers face an array of challenges in today's schools. Even when teachers leave credential programs with useful preparation, early-career jobs and contexts shape and constrain teachers’ goals and practice related to teaching diverse learners. Becoming change agents can be a tall order. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Considering this context, we sought to understand how graduates of one teacher credential program appear prepared to advocate for educational equity in their new jobs by asking three questions: (1) What challenges do new teachers identify in classes and schools that require advocacy for some youth? (2) In what ways do they respond to such challenges? and (3) What enables these acts of advocacy? Research Design A total of 38 graduates, all currently teaching, participated in five separate 3-hour focus groups of 5–10 teachers each. We used focus groups as a research tool to triangulate a range of other data, including artifacts and surveys. We sought teachers’ deep reflections on practice, on their preparation for advocacy work, and on their professional needs. We transcribed focus group discussions then subjected these to a series of procedures, including analysis of content and themes of teachers’ narratives. Findings/Results Teachers reported actions to address equity in a range of sites, with the classroom as the core site for teachers’ advocacy work. In complex narratives, teachers reported trying to meet learning needs of diverse students. English language learners’ needs especially prompted acts of advocacy in and beyond the classroom. These included instructional tailoring, out-of-class tutorials, hunts for better texts and tests, a library field trip, creation of a culture/computer club, heightened parent contacts, and launching of a bilingual parent group. Teachers’ acts of advocacy shared four crosscutting themes: a goal of equitable access to resources and support, convictions about equity, interceding on behalf of students in need, and engaging coadvocates. Teachers reported that these themes have grounding in their teacher credential program, which featured advocating for equity in its mission, goals, and practices. Those with bilingual education credentials engaged in more acts of advocacy beyond the classroom, and analyses suggest that this may be due to credential program experiences, life experiences, and the larger sociopolitical context for teaching English language learners. Conclusions/Recommendations Results challenge conventional models of learning to teach, documenting how teachers, even in the throes of the induction period, can focus on student learning and on ways to advocate in and beyond the classroom for those in need of someone interceding on their behalf, particularly when well prepared to do so.