Developing Culturally Responsible Teachers 1

Running head: Developing Culturally Responsible Teachers

Developing Culturally Responsible Teachers: An Article Critique

Caleb Poole

ETEC 500 65D

University of British Columbia

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The article Preparing Preservice Teachers in a Diverse World, Action in Teacher

Education (Lenski, S.D., Crawford, K., Crumpler, T. & Stallworth, C. 2005) delves into the issue

of preparing predominately White teachers for increasingly diverse school environment. This is

done primarily through having the 28 participants undertake individual ethnographic research.

The initial goal was to help preservice teachers develop ethnographic research skills which

would ultimately lead to deeper understanding of cultures. This qualitative study is quite

complex as it involves the personal development of the participant and hangs on the (often

ambiguous) betterment of the learning environment.

Being based in the Midwest the researchers are faced with the issue of having preservice

teachers (participants) that are often unaware of their own cultural mooring. As a result they are

often unprepared to interact with different cultures and effectively teach curricula to students to

which they are culturally juxtaposed. Initially there were two different areas that preservice

teachers had to grow to understand and ultimately appreciate: the school environment and the

community environment. With the help of advisors, participants were introduced to a community

and the school in which they would be working. After gaining a level of comfort at the school

they are then introduced to different events throughout the greater community.

In the collection and analysis of data it was ultimately decided to choose 6 participants and

focus on their personal growth and ethnographic research. While the length of the research was

set to be 5 years, the majority of information discussed in this article is from the 2nd year. There

were a number of formal and informal interviews conducted to help participants debrief from the

large amount of writing that the study required. Through these interviews it became clear that

students were able to internally identify pieces of their own culture. While at first some

observations were merely gross overgeneralizations, as time went on the ability to observe
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specificity improved substantially. This awareness of their own cultural lens then leads to an

increased ability to observe and appreciate diverse cultural groups in their students and schools.

Early on the term “culturally responsive” is used as a potential goal. As the research progresses

they term changes to “culturally responsible” as the participants come to further embrace their

role as educators.

There are a number of issues that I see with this research article. First, the backgrounds of

the participants are neglected. Are they 19-22 year old students, primarily from the Midwest with

very little life experience outside of necessary formal education? I believe that much of growth

that has been found in the participants can just as easily be actualized through a vast variety of

other means: a semester abroad, international volunteer opportunities, volunteering within the

inner city. Secondly, the assertion that through the ethnographic research participants were

suddenly motivated to “look at students as individuals and not as a group.” Is this not something

that could be observed in most preservice teaching programs, and not just ones with cross-

cultural emphasis? Thirdly, the scope of the study. While it is a 5 year study, we primarily see a

picture of the second year (with the first year being a trial). The scope of participants studied is

also very limited. Of the 28 participants focus is put on 6, less than 25%. It does raise some

issues as to the integrity of the study as it could be assumed that the 6 were handpicked. How

were they selected? What further criteria were used? Lastly, it mentions how participants are

easily able to bridge the gap between having their experiences positively benefit their teaching

practice. Yet this definition of “teaching” is used quite loosely. The article would benefit by

further defining what actively “teaching” looks like for a preservice teacher in the Midwest.

Throughout this research a number of positive correlations were found between exposing

preservice teachers to culturally diverse schools and their abilities to more effectively teach in
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these environments. I feel it is important that these skills be taught to aspiring teachers sooner

than later. Empowering teachers to identify the lens through which they view different cultures

and people is essential to professional development. More specifics about the participants, a

better picture of what their teaching looks like and a final sample size larger than 6 would

substantially benefit the quality of the research. My ultimate fear is that this study with a strong

reasonable premise is undermined by overreaching conclusions based primarily on limited data.

 References

Lenski, S.D., Crawford, K., Crumpler, T. & Stallworth, C. (2005). Preparing Preservice

Teachers in a Diverse World, Action in Teacher Education , 27(3), pp. 3-12 Manassas,

VA.