An opportunity gap exists in the United States school system where students of color score lower on standardized tests and have fewer opportunities than their white counterparts. Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) theory attempts to close this gap, and is defined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) as
Pedagogy that rests on three criteria or propositions: (a) Students must experience academic success; (b) students must develop and/or maintain cultural competence; and (c) students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order (p. 160).
In short, CRE is the use of culture, rigor, and critical consciousness for students of color to achieve success in the classroom. This dissertation in practice examined the use of CRE in classrooms at a Colorado high school. A case study was developed through interviews, observations, and collecting lesson plans from teachers in each of the core subjects to identify and analyze how CRE is perceived and used in these classrooms.
Relationships, diversity, intention, and administrative support were themes that emerged from the data that correlate to CRE framework created from the work of Ladson-Billings and Gay. Additionally, the themes of communication, disposition, student engagement, assessment and teacher accountability were present in this study but not prominent in the literature.
","abstract_html":"<p>An opportunity gap exists in the United States school system where students of color score lower on standardized tests and have fewer opportunities than their white counterparts. Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) theory attempts to close this gap, and is defined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) as</p> <p>Pedagogy that rests on three criteria or propositions: (a) Students must experience academic success; (b) students must develop and/or maintain cultural competence; and (c) students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order (p. 160).</p> <p>In short, CRE is the use of culture, rigor, and critical consciousness for students of color to achieve success in the classroom. This dissertation in practice examined the use of CRE in classrooms at a Colorado high school. A case study was developed through interviews, observations, and collecting lesson plans from teachers in each of the core subjects to identify and analyze how CRE is perceived and used in these classrooms.</p> <p>Relationships, diversity, intention, and administrative support were themes that emerged from the data that correlate to CRE framework created from the work of Ladson-Billings and Gay. Additionally, the themes of communication, disposition, student engagement, assessment and teacher accountability were present in this study but not prominent in the literature.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Kopay, Colleen"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation in Practice","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Paul Michalec"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-03-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-03-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:48Z","subjects":["Communication","Culturally relevant education","Equity","Relationships","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Disability and Equity in Education","Education","Educational Methods","Secondary Education"],"languages":["English (eng)"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2380","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Paul Michalec"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Kopay, Colleen"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation in Practice"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Communication","Culturally relevant education","Equity","Relationships","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Disability and Equity in Education","Education","Educational Methods","Secondary Education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (eng)"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2380"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["An opportunity gap exists in the United States school system where students of color score lower on standardized tests and have fewer opportunities than their white counterparts. Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) theory attempts to close this gap, and is defined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) as
Pedagogy that rests on three criteria or propositions: (a) Students must experience academic success; (b) students must develop and/or maintain cultural competence; and (c) students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order (p. 160).
In short, CRE is the use of culture, rigor, and critical consciousness for students of color to achieve success in the classroom. This dissertation in practice examined the use of CRE in classrooms at a Colorado high school. A case study was developed through interviews, observations, and collecting lesson plans from teachers in each of the core subjects to identify and analyze how CRE is perceived and used in these classrooms.
Relationships, diversity, intention, and administrative support were themes that emerged from the data that correlate to CRE framework created from the work of Ladson-Billings and Gay. Additionally, the themes of communication, disposition, student engagement, assessment and teacher accountability were present in this study but not prominent in the literature.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A Time to Create Change: A Case Study of Culturally Relevant Education"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Paul Michalec"],"dc:creator":["Kopay, Colleen"],"dc:description.abstract":["An opportunity gap exists in the United States school system where students of color score lower on standardized tests and have fewer opportunities than their white counterparts. Culturally Relevant Education (CRE) theory attempts to close this gap, and is defined by Gloria Ladson-Billings (1995) as
Pedagogy that rests on three criteria or propositions: (a) Students must experience academic success; (b) students must develop and/or maintain cultural competence; and (c) students must develop a critical consciousness through which they challenge the status quo of the current social order (p. 160).
In short, CRE is the use of culture, rigor, and critical consciousness for students of color to achieve success in the classroom. This dissertation in practice examined the use of CRE in classrooms at a Colorado high school. A case study was developed through interviews, observations, and collecting lesson plans from teachers in each of the core subjects to identify and analyze how CRE is perceived and used in these classrooms.
Relationships, diversity, intention, and administrative support were themes that emerged from the data that correlate to CRE framework created from the work of Ladson-Billings and Gay. Additionally, the themes of communication, disposition, student engagement, assessment and teacher accountability were present in this study but not prominent in the literature.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2380"],"dc:language":["English (eng)"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Communication","Culturally relevant education","Equity","Relationships","Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education","Disability and Equity in Education","Education","Educational Methods","Secondary Education"],"dc:title":["A Time to Create Change: A Case Study of Culturally Relevant Education"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation in Practice"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:48Z"}