Teaching through a lens of culture: an examination of white secondary special education teachers’ perceptions and understandings of culturally responsive teaching and its use in diverse classrooms

While the population of school’s is changing, the demographic of teachers is not. In the United States, white female teachers account for 80 percent of all teachers (National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). Due to variations in cultural norms, social status, emotional, political, environmental, and racial/ethnicity issues, there is a lack of understanding between white teachers and Black students. Most teachers are educated in American colleges and universities, where credentialing programs spend little time discussing the cultural differences that exist between teachers and culturally diverse students, and how those differences will impede their ability to engage, connect, and manage a classroom with Black and minority students. Equally concerning is the overrepresentation of Black students within special education programs. African American students make up 16% of the U.S. school enrollment but account for more than 30% of the students classified with specific learning disabilities (Zorigian & Job, 2015). Overrepresentation in special education may be the result of several causes, according to research. Teacher attitudes and expectations about race, whether conscious or unconscious, have a role in developing and sustaining the Black-White success divide, according to one indicator. (Ferguson, 2003). This qualitative inquiry will explore the ways that seven special education teachers develop their perspectives and understandings of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) practices in three high schools, within the Desert Union High School District (DUSD) in California. The study also highlights the role of special education teachers in delivering CRT strategies to staff and the use of CRT strategies to narrow the equity gap for racially and culturally diverse special education students. Four themes emerged from the study: CRT heightens connections with students in the special education classroom, accountability for teaching CRT skills to educators lies with school administrators and veteran teachers, cultural competence can remove barriers to CRT, and understanding students’ cultural needs can reduce the equity gap for racially and culturally diverse students. The study concludes with implications for educational institutions and teachers, as well as recommendations for further research and CRT practices