Equitable responsiveness : a multiple case study on preservice teachers’ developing understanding of culturally responsive teaching after engaging with equity literacy focused instruction.

The past and present efforts to address the negative impacts of schools’ sociopolitical nature have relied on practices such as culturally responsive teaching (CRT). While CRT is widely used and considered practical, teacher preparation programs (TPPs) often overlook its political dimensions. Presently, the CRT preparation of preservice teachers (PSTs) have resulted in teachers who have greater self-awareness and who can create culturally aligned materials. Unfortunately, these and other similar impacts are primarily focused on culture and fail to engage PSTS in confronting the racism, white supremacy, and the power and privilege influences that uphold and sustain oppressive institutions and practices that harm students. This limitation has contributed to the culturally responsive under-preparedness of novice teachers. Strengthening CRT preparation is necessary as the racial and ethnic diversity in the United States continues to grow. In this study, I used Gorski’s (2018) equity literacy framework (ELF) as a lens to conceptualize CRT as a layered teaching approached and introduce this framing to master’s-level PSTs enrolled in a social justice-oriented education course. As a guest lecturer, I implemented The Case Method (TCM) — a critical analysis and problem-solving process commonly used in medicine, law, and business — to guide PSTs in interrogating, confronting, and countering any identified bias or inequity found in the cases they examined. TCM was redesigned as a three-phased process to encourage PSTs to identify inequities and respond with actionable CRT strategies grounded in EL. The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine the development of PSTs’ ability to respond recognize, redress, and respond to systemic bias and educational inequities. Findings aimed to inform and demonstrate how an equity literacy approach to teaching PSTs about CRT can support developing more effective teachers who engage in the profession with equitable responsiveness. The research questions for this study are: 1. What changes are seen in preservice teacher understanding of CRT after engaging with TCM in a master's level teacher preparation course unit on culturally responsive teaching? 2. What changes are seen in preservice teacher equity literacy after engaging with TCM in a master's level teacher preparation course unit on culturally responsive teaching?

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Doctoral

Grantor

Baylor University.

Year dc:date.issued

2026

Author dc:creator

• Hooker, Alexis Dionne, 1995-

Advisors dc:contributor.advisor

• Shanks, Neil.
• Magill, Kevin R.

• Case method.
• Equity literacy framework.
• Equity literacy.
• Culturally responsive teaching.

Statement dc:rights

• Baylor University works are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. Contact libraryquestions@baylor.edu for inquiries about permission.

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/2104/14673

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:baylor-ir.tdl.org:2104/14673