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)

Research and evaluation

“sustainable system to measure”

Administration“facilitate and manage implementation and

disseminate outcomes to stakeholders”

Implementation“develop capacity

in schoolsto improve”

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 SurveySAFETY• 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.

Spring 2012: Students (Intervention Schools)

ENGAGEMENT 2012Feel they belong at school 67.8%Feel their teachers encourage them to work hard

80.3%

Feel their parents are informed when they do well

42.3%

Feel students of all races are treated equally

60.0%

N (Maryland high school students) 14,678

Our Challenge

HOW?!

SYST

EMS

PRACTICES

DATA

SupportingStaff Behavior

SupportingStudent Behavior

OUTCOMES

Supporting Social Competence &

Academic Achievement

SupportingDecisionMaking

CULTURAL VALIDITY

CULTURAL RELEVANCE

CULTURAL EQUITY

CULTURAL KNOWLEDGE

Vincent, Randall, Cartledge, Tobin, & Swain-Bradway 2011

Culturally Proficient Teaching

• Vincent, Randall, Cartledge, Tobin, & Swain-Bradway (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

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 MES DC-CPS

MC-SDS .182** .313** .081

** p < .001

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 CountiesHoward/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=UTF-8&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