Researchers have suggested that a critical area of focus for teacher professional development is to increase understanding of culturally responsive pedagogy to move beyond the often-one-dimensional approaches provided through brief “diversity” workshops or pre-packaged curriculum (Howard & Rodriguez-Minkoff, 2017). Research has consistently reported that for professional development to be effective, the focus should fit the perceived needs of the teacher (Gabriel, Day, & Allington, 2011; Joubert & Sutherland, 2008). Effective professional development is continuous, provides multiple opportunities for teachers to collaborate and contribute to their own professional learning or curriculum/design, and employs job-embedded support for teachers in their actual diverse classrooms when implementing new practices (Darling-Hammond, Hyler, & Gardner, 2017). In this study, we examined the perceptions of 50 secondary, urban teachers enrolled in a graduate professional development program related to their strengths and needs in culturally responsive practices and supports for student engagement. The participants of the study came from varying disciplinary backgrounds and taught English Language Arts, Social Studies, Science, or Math in high-needs public schools. We used qualitative methods (Denzin & Lincoln, 2003) to analyze the open-ended survey responses to examine participant perceptions. Using a constant comparative approach, we analyzed data by an interpretive process that moved from concrete to more abstract levels using a three-tiered process. The process moved from (a) assignment of individual codes to chunks of data that carried discrete meaning, to (b) grouping of these codes into “axial” codes; and then (c) to statements of thematic convergence across participants. Three themes emerged from the data. These themes are: 1) Enactment of positive teacher qualities; 2) Strengths and challenges in the school and classroom environment; and 3) Effective instructional practices to support high needs students. In the discussion section, we used Liou and Rojas (2016) theory of transformative expectations of students to explore the implications of these themes for school and teacher practice. The theory of transformative expectations articulates, from an interdisciplinary perspective, learning conditions that conduce the promotion of student empowerment and excellence.

Authors: Edgar Diaz,  Ayanna Young, and Ignacio Barrenechea