Abdu Allaah Hallouche
Pronouns:
Research Mentor(s): Laura Brady
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Psychology / LSA
Program: CG
Session: Session 4 (1:40pm – 2:30pm)
Authors:
Abstract
This study explores the relationship between the institutional context and instructors’ culturally inclusive practices, in multiple K to 12 school districts throughout the continental United States. The purpose of this study is to illustrate the effects of school-level and classroom-level student demographic forces on the teachers’ application of inclusive practices. By reviewing the literature in educational psychology, we propose that teachers will be more likely to exhibit culturally inclusive behavior when their schools and classrooms have a greater concentration of students of color and/or students from low-income families. In this study, the explanatory variable is the student background, and the response variable is the culturally inclusive practices. To investigate the relationship between these two factors, we surveyed 106 K-12 teachers about their students’ backgrounds and use of inclusive practices through online Qualtrics surveys. We analyzed the collected information using the R statistical software program. A series of simple linear regressions demonstrated that classroom-level student socioeconomic status was a significant predictor of teachers’ use of culturally inclusive teaching practices, which partially supported our hypothesis. We hope these efforts contribute to more studies on this interrelationship and especially establish a stronger correlation between ethnicity and culturally inclusive practices. In effect, this would advance culturally inclusive practices in environments with pronounced student heterogeneity.
