D-3 An Examination of Cultural
Considerations and the Impact on
High School Classroom Management
Patricia Hershfeldt, Ed.D. Sheppard Pratt Health System
Michael Ford Ed.D. Maryland State Department of
Education
Kristine Larson, M. Ed. Johns Hopkins University
Objectives of this session
• Participants will hear the benefits of
incorporating cultural responsiveness in
classrooms.
• Participants will participate in activities that
can be used in professional development to
help promote culturally responsive teaching
• Participants will learn strategies to support
the development of a classroom culture that
embraces diversity.
Maryland Safe and Supportive Schools
(MDS3)
Implementation
“develop capacity
in schools
to improve”
Research and
evaluation
“sustainable
system to
measure”
Administration
“facilitate and manage implementation and
disseminate outcomes to stakeholders”
MDS3 School Climate
Survey
• Students, staff, and parents are asked to complete a web
based climate survey
• 25 classrooms (7 9th grades & 6 of grades 10-12)
– Option to survey more classes
• The survey:
– Collects information about perceptions of the school
environment
– Completed on-line
– Takes 15.8 minutes for students, 16.1 minutes for staff, and 9.6
minutes for parents
– Anonymous and voluntary
– Cohort 1: Administered annually in Spring 2011, Spring 2012,
Spring 2013, & Spring 2014 (March - end of school year)
MDS3 School Climate Survey
SAFETY
•Physical Safety - I feel safe at this school.
•Bullying - During the current school year have you been bullied?
•Social-Emotional Wellbeing - It is OK to hit someone if they hit me first.
•Substance Use - During the past 30 days, how many days did you have 1 drink of
alcohol?
ENGAGEMENT
•Relationships and Connectedness - I feel like I belong.
•School Participation and Academic Emphasis - I like this school.
•Parental Involvement - This school tries to involve parents or guardians.
•Culture of Inclusion and Equity - Teachers believe that all students can do well if they
try.
ENVIRONMENT
•Order and Discipline - Disruptions by other students can get in the way of my
learning.
•Physical Environment - The school has a bright and pleasant appearance.
•Supportive Services - This school has programs to deal with violence and conflict
among students.
2012
Spring
: Students
(Intervention Schools)
ENGAGEMENT
Feel they belong at school
Feel their teachers encourage them to
work hard
2012
67.8%
80.3%
Feel their parents are informed when they 42.3%
do well
Feel students of all races are treated
60.0%
equally
N (Maryland high school students)
14,678
Our Challenge
School not
culturally
relevant,
preventive,
prosocial
Students at
higher risk
Poor
academic &
socialbehavior
outcomes
HOW?!
Enhance school
& classroom
practices to be
more culturally
relevant,
preventive,
prosocial
Reduce
impact/influence
of risk factors
Improve
academic &
social-behavior
outcomes
Vincent, Randall,
Cartledge, Tobin, &
Swain-Bradway 2011
CULTURAL EQUITY
Supporting
Staff Behavior
Supporting Social
Competence &
Academic Achievement
OUTCOMES
CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE
CULTURAL VALIDITY
PRACTICES
Supporting
Student Behavior
CULTURAL RELEVANCE
Supporting
Decision
Making
Culturally Proficient Teaching
• Vincent, Randall, Cartledge, Tobin, & SwainBradway (2011) proposed
– systematically promoting staff members’ cultural
knowledge and self-awareness
– commitment to culturally relevant and validating
student support practices, and
– culturally valid decision making to enhance
culturally equitable student outcomes
Self-Reflection
Cultural and
Linguistic
Responsive
Decision
Making/
Problem Solving
Addresses
Discriminatory
Practices
Cultural
Proficient
Teaching
Incorporates
Views of
Marginalized
Peoples
Sets High
Expectations
Uses Culturally
Relevant
Pedagogy
Measuring Cultural Proficient
TEACHING
• Variety of Definitions Make it Difficult to Measure
– Observation
– *Interviews
– *Self-Reports
Social Desirability Bias
• Social desirability bias- on a self-report
measure, a person might respond positively to
statements that are culturally acceptable and
deny traits that are culturally unacceptable
(Marlow & Crowne, 1961).
Unbiased= Social Desirable
• Baron and Banaji (2006) found that implicit
race attitudes remain relatively stable across
development, even though explicit attitudes
become more egalitarian.
• These two forms of attitude split around age
10, suggesting a societal demand to be
unbiased in race-based evaluation.
Research Question
• Is there a relationship between social
desirability bias and teacher self-reports of
cultural proficiency?
Participants & Setting
• 6 PBIS-Maryland Schools (3 Elementary; 3
Middle).
– 331 teachers
•
•
•
•
84% (n =279) were Caucasian
67% (n = 223) were over 30 years old
70% (n= 233) were female.
The majority of teachers in the study (72%; n= 239)
reported being in education for six or more years
• The majority of teachers (63%; n = 209) reported being
in the school for less 5 or less years.
The Measure (Dependent Variable)
• Double Check Self Report Measure (DCSRM), a 65-item
index with items drawn from three measures of
cultural proficiency and one measure of social
desirability
– Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy/Outcome
Expectancy scales (hereafter referred to as the Survey of
Teacher Effectiveness [STE]; Siwatu, 2007),
– The Multicultural Efficacy Scale (MES; Guyton & Wesche,
2005)
– The Double Check Cultural Proficiency Survey (DC-CPS;
Hershfeldt et al., 2009)
– Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS;
Crowne & Marlowe, 1960; Strahan & Gerbasi, 1972)
Procedure & Analyses
• The DC-SRM was distributed at regularly
scheduled staff meetings and took about 20
minutes to complete.
• Created composite variables for 3 subscales.
• Calculated Cronbach’s alpha to measure
internal consistency (STE α=.93; DC-CPS α= .93; MES α=
.92; MC-SDS α=.57)
• Analyzed data using Pearson correlations.
Results: Pearson Correlations
STE
MC-SDS .182**
** p < .001
MES
DC-CPS
.313**
.081
Discussion
• Self-report measures of cultural competency
and social desirability were correlated.
• Results support Marlow and Crowne’s theory
that self-reports may be prone to social
desirability bias.
• Results also support Baron and Banaji’s 2006
study indicating that there is a societal
demand to be unbiased in race-based
evaluation.
Conclusions and Suggestions
• Until we have reliable measures of cultural proficiency,
it will be difficult to assess whether teachers are
engaging in culturally proficient practices as suggested
by Vincent et al (2010).
• As such, future research should explore the utility and
validity of measures of teacher cultural proficiency that
draw on alternate informants (e.g., students ,
independent observers).
• Professional development and technical support to
improve culturally proficient practices should continue
while researchers develop valid and reliable measures
of cultural proficiency.
Efforts in Maryland
•
The Maryland State Department of Education implements a State Regulation (COMAR
13A.04.05), expanded in 1995 and revised in 2005, that requires all local school systems to
infuse Education That Is Multicultural into instruction, curriculum, staff development,
instructional resources, and school climate. It also requires the Maryland State Department
of Education to incorporate multicultural education into its programs, publications, and
assessments.
•
Multicultural is defined as "a continuous, integrated, multidisciplinary process for educating
all students about diversity and commonality. Diversity factors include, but a not limited to
race, ethnicity, region , religion, gender, language, socioeconomic status, age, and individuals
with disabilities.
•
ETMA NETWORK: The Education That Is Multicultural and Achievement (ETMA) Network is
comprised of representatives of the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and
each of Maryland's 24 local school systems. Members from school systems are
recommended by local superintendents and appointed by State Superintendent.
•
Since 1997 the group has met monthly at MSDE to develop materials and strategies to assure
the implementation of the Education That Is Multicultural Regulation, adopted by the State
Board of Education in 1995.
What are the responsibilities of local school
systems in implementing Education That Is
Multicultural?
• Each local school system in Maryland is required to
address multicultural issues related to curriculum,
instruction and staff development in their Bridge to
Excellence Master Plans. Plans reflect the
responsibilities outlined in Education That Is
Multicultural Regulations adopted by the State Board
of Education in 1994 (COMAR 13A.04.05). Local school
systems submit annual progress reports on ETMA to
the Maryland State Department of Education.
What types of programs are implemented in
local school systems?
• Examples of school system programs include
expanding curriculum guidelines to reflect a
greater depth of information about the
contributions of diverse groups, offering educator
training, courses and leadership programs for
staff on multicultural education, establishing
multicultural education resource centers for use
by educators, and providing educational activities
to promote intercultural understanding and to
address bias, prejudice and harassment.
What resources and services does the Maryland State
Department of Education provide?
• The Maryland State Department of Education maintains a
reference collection of multicultural books and audio-visual
materials and has published and distributed to all public
schools “Multicultural Connections,” an annotated
multicultural resource directory for educators. Connections
is also available online at www.marylandpublicschools.org
• The Maryland State Department of Education reports
progress to the State Board of Education and promotes an
inclusive multicultural focus in state assessments,
publications, and school improvement initiatives.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES
•
Harford County -Education That Is Multicultural in the Classroom of the 21st Century
•
Howard County-Cultural Proficiency & Student Achievement
•
Montgomery County-Education That Is Multicultural
•
Talbot County-Diversity and Blended Cultures / Untapping the Potential of Diverse Learners
•
Washington County-Education That Is Culturally and Linguistically
•
Charles County-Enhancing Minority Achievement
•
Frederick County-Education That Is Multicultural: Culturally Responsive Teaching
•
Anne Arundel County- Generating Expectation for Student Achievement
•
Calvert County-Culture and Diversity
•
Cecil County-Multicultural Education
Progressive Counties
Howard/Montgomery County:
•Work with community partners to provide
translators or interpreters for the top 5-7
immigrant groups.
•Visit community Leaders/ churches to find out
how schools can provide better services for
those populations.
•Ask “How” to be helpful instead of assuming
you know what’s best for other groups.
MSDE Resources
• A Practical Guide - Maryland State Department of Education
Cultural Competency Developing behaviors, attitudes,
practices.
www.marylandpublicschools.org/NR/rdonlyres/07B677C...
AIMMS & MSDE * Cultural Competence is Developed by the
ETMA Network.
• http://search.maryland.gov/search?q=Cultural+Competency&
site=Education&entqr=0&ud=1&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1
&output=xml_no_dtd&oe=UTF-8&ie=UTF8&client=search_md_1&proxystylesheet=search_md_1
Examples of integrating culture into
PBIS
• Genuine student engagement
• Embracing family and community resources
• New Zealand – Aranui High School,
Christchurch