K-12 Teachers' Perceptions of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in Ontario, Canada

Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) is an approach to teaching that emphasizes students' cultural backgrounds in classroom learning to improve student success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness in culturally diverse learners. Research highlights that using CRP in multicultural classrooms supports the engagement, learning, and achievement of culturally diverse students around the world, but less is known about how K-12 teachers' perceptions of CRP impact the usage of this practice in their classrooms. This basic qualitative study examined K-12 teachers' perceptions of CRP in Ontario, Canada, to address this gap in practice and determine why educators are not widely using CRP in their classrooms to support the learning needs of culturally diverse students. The purpose of this research study was to explore K-12 teachers' perceptions of CRP in Ontario through semistructured interviews to support the learning needs of culturally diverse students. All 11 study participants were certified to teach by the Ontario College of Teachers and were teaching in public schools in Ontario. A priori coding approach was used to analyze data for this research study. The major findings of this study revealed that K-12 teachers communicated high expectations for student success, fostered students' cultural competence, and promoted positive relationships with parents. Teacher beliefs, CRP resources, and time were all identified as factors that affected the use of CRP in the classroom. One overarching theme was the need for professional development (PD) for teachers on CRP. A 3-day PD plan was developed to address K-12 teachers' needs to implement CRP with increased effectiveness. This PD plan can contribute to positive social change by increasing K-12 teachers' understanding and implementation of CRP in classrooms and addressing anti-Black racism in Ontario schools. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]