Teacher Beliefs
The role that teachers play in the academic achievement of all students is critical, especially for students of color. While there are a variety of races and cultures in our schools, white, middle-class, male norms and values are most validated in the educational system (Ntiri, 2009), consequently negating the linguistic and cultural resources of diverse learners. Therefore, understanding teacher beliefs and studying practices that support shifts in teachers’ beliefs is of great importance. Kagan (1992) suggests that beliefs “may be the clearest measure of a teacher’s professional growth” (p. 85).
Research on teacher beliefs is important to the understandings of teacher actions and decision-making inside and outside the classroom. Teachers make decisions about classroom instruction in relation to the beliefs that they have about teaching, learning, and the students in which they serve (Harste, 1977). Kavanagh (2010) reasons that beliefs, attitudes, identity, and context intersect, influence, and shape classroom practice.
Teachers must reflect on their beliefs and have a critical stance to be culturally relevant. Howard (2003) suggests that teachers should equip themselves with the necessary skills to critically reflect on their own racial and cultural identities to recognize how these identities coexist with cultural compositions of their students. This type of critical reflection is embedded in the genuine belief that all students have intellectual ability to succeed, without ignoring or demeaning their cultural identities and is essential for shaping academic success through cultural validation (Gay, 2002). Critical self-reflection will be implemented during the professional development for this study and teachers will critique their own thoughts and practices and examine how race, culture, and socioeconomic class impacts their students thinking and learning (Howard, 2003). Reflective practice is a critical component in pre-service teacher education but is missing in in-service teacher professional development and subsequent studies (Kurboska, 2011; Powers et al., 2006).