Campus Location

Dallas Campus (Online)

Date of Award

1-2024

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2544-4374

Document Type

Dissertation

Department

Organizational Leadership

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Committee Chair or Primary Advisor

John A. Harrison

Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor

Javier Flores

Third Committee Member or Committee Reader

William C. Frick

Abstract

Abstract This study addressed the growing concern regarding the disproportionate suspension rates experienced by African American students. The problem addressed in this study was the variation in leadership support for teachers implementing culturally responsive classroom management strategies to manage culturally diverse student behaviors. This is important to African American students' educational experiences within the learning environment. This exploratory single case study examined school leaders' and teachers' perspectives on the use of culturally responsive strategies to answer the research questions regarding the definition and descriptions of culturally responsive practices, participants' perspectives on the benefits and challenges of these practices, and the role of school leadership in encouraging or discouraging the use of culturally responsive practices to support student behaviors. This study was grounded in the framework of culturally responsive school leadership. Data were collected via semistructured interviews, surveys, and document reviews from 24 pre-K to fifth-grade teachers and four campus leaders. Inductive thematic and descriptive analyses and a four-factor document review process provided answers to the research questions. The analysis results revealed three themes: self-efficacy, building relationships, and professional development. The results indicate that educators desire to implement culturally responsive practices but face self-efficacy challenges due to insufficient training and support. District and campus leaders should provide ongoing, comprehensive training and support for culturally responsive practices. This study may contribute to reducing suspension disparities experienced among African American students.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

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