A narrative portrait of Black teachers mitigating deficit thinking through culturally responsive professional learning

<p>This qualitative study was developed in response to the deficit thinking Black students experience, which stems from the historical and ongoing racism in the United States. As result of receiving my K-12 education and teacher education in this country, it is no surprise that I, along with other Black teachers, can also hold a deficit perspective of Black students. After engaging in equity-based professional learning, I had a shift in beliefs that made me curious about the experiences of other Black teachers participating in professional learning as well. A combined focus on culturally responsive leadership and deficit thinking informed the following research questions: In what ways can culturally responsive professional learning influence Black teachers’ beliefs and perspectives about their Black students? In what ways can culturally responsive professional learning influence Black teachers? I reflect on my experience conducting a book study in a K-8 school with a predominantly Black student body. I focused on the experiences of five Black teachers who participated in the school-wide professional learning. I utilized portraiture methodology to create narrative portraits for each participant. As central to portraiture methodology, I searched for goodness when analyzing the data by the guiding questions of “What is happening here? What is working and why?” Doing this focuses on the strengths and counters deficit narratives seen too often in research centering on Black students. Data collection encompassed written reflections by teachers, interviews, observational data, and teacher artifacts. Four themes emerged from the participants’ responses: Joyous and Jaded Moments of a Book Study, Impediments of an Inequitable System, the Cultural Power of Black Teachers, and Clouds of Joy: Teachers’ Beliefs About Black Students. I offer recommendations for practice in teacher preparation programs for aspiring educators, professional learning for in-service teachers, and directions for future research.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Leadership and Counseling

Year dc:date.available

2025

Author dc:creator

• Rollack, Mia A.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Rachel Radina, PhD
• Rema Reynolds, PhD
• Imandeep Grewal, PhD

• Black Teachers
• Culturally Responsive Learning
• Teacher Professional Learning
• Educational Leadership

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/1292

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-2640