In Search of Wholeness: African American Teachers and Their Culturally Specific Classroom Practices

201 Pages·2002·2.167 MB·English

by  Jacqueline Jordan Irvine (eds.)

In Search of Wholeness
PRAISE FOR IN SEARCH OF WHOLENESS
“In Search of Wholeness expertly reveals how teacher cultural
orientation may impact student academic achievement. Pro-
fessor Jacqueline Jordan Irvine’s expansive exploration of the
subject powerfully underscores the need for more African
American teachers and other teachers of color. This work adds
even more prominence to Irvine as a scholar and leading vi-
sionary of her time.”
—Mildred J. Hudson, Ph.D.,
Chief Executive Office,
Recruiting New Teachers, Inc.
In Search of Wholeness
African American Teachers
and Their Culturally Specific
Classroom Practices
Edited by Jacqueline Jordan Irvine
INSEARCHOFWHOLENESS
Editorial matter © Jacqueline Jordan Irvine, 2002. Individual chapters, copy-
right © individual authors.
Reprint of the original edition 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any
manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief
quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
First published 2002 by PALGRAVETM
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y.10010 and
Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Companies and representatives throughout the world.
PALGRAVE is the new global publishing imprint of St. Martin’s Press LLC
Scholarly and Reference Division and Palgrave Publishers Ltd. (formerly
Macmillan Press LTD).
ISBN 978-0-312-29561-5 ISBN 978-0-230-10718-2 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230107182
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
In search of wholeness : African American teachers and their culturally
specific classroom practices / edited by Jacqueline Jordan Irvine.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-312-29561-5 (pbk.)
1. African American teachers—Attitudes—Case studies. 2. Teacher
effectiveness—United States—Case studies. 3. Race awareness—United
States—Case studies. I. Irvine, Jacqueline Jordan.
LC2731.I5 2002
371.1’0089’96073—dc21
2001057532
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Design by Letra Libre, Inc.
First edition: May 2002
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Dedication
To my Emory University students
whose brilliance, hard work, enthusiasm,
and commitment to children whom schools have failed
continue to inspire and motivate me.
This page intentionally left blank
CONTENTS
Foreword ix
James W. Fraser
Introduction The Common Experience 1
Jacqueline Jordan Irvine
PART ONE
THE SALIENCE OF RACE AND CULTURE ON
TEACHERS AND TEACHING: RESEARCH AND THEORY
Chapter 1 Multicultural Professional Development for African
American Teachers: The Role of Process-Oriented Models 11
Gretchen McAllister
Chapter 2 Black Teachers’ Perceptions of
Their Professional Roles and Practices 33
Franita Ware
Chapter 3 Does Race Matter? A Comparison of Effective
Black and White Teachers of African American Students 47
Patricia M. Cooper
PART TWO
THE STORIES OF CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE TEACHERS
Chapter 4 The Development of Teacher Efficacy Beliefs:
A Case Study of an African American
Middle School Teacher 67
Gloria Harper Lee
Chapter 5 The Influence of Professional Development
on a Teacher’s Changing Praxis:
The Journey of an African American Teacher 87
Kim Nesta Archung
Chapter 6 Chasing Hope through Culturally Responsive Praxis:
One Master Teacher and Her African American
Eighth Grade Readers 113
Maria Leonora Lockaby Karunuñgan
Chapter 7 African American Teachers’
Culturally Specific Pedagogy: The Collective Stories 139
Jacqueline Jordan Irvine
Chapter 8 Responses from the Teachers:
Comments from Beverley Cockerham,
Vivian Stephens, and Patricia White 147
Notes 153
Bibliography 177
Notes on Contributors 191
FOREWORD
James W. Fraser
There are no more urgent educational issues before us today than
those discussed in this book. Anyone who talks about improving
student achievement and fails to attend to the issues addressed here
is simply fooling themselves. If we (perhaps especially those of us who are
European Americans) want to get serious about improving the educational
success of students in today’s schools, In Search of Wholeness: African Amer-
ican Teachers and Their Culturally Specific Classroom Practicesoffers a good
place to start.
The very important current national attention on high standards for all
students will only make a difference if we who are educators find the ways
to actually help our students reach the standards. And so the focus must
properly move from the instruction we offer to the student learning we ac-
tually secure. We will only succeed at this latter venture if we can effec-
tively connect with our students. In Search of Wholeness is about making
that connection. It describes ways in which teachers can take seriously
their own cultural backgrounds and then find ways to connect with stu-
dents of similar and of quite different cultural traditions. Culturally re-
sponsive pedagogy is pedagogy that takes students seriously. Teachers who
implement what can be learned from these pages will be teachers who suc-
ceed at the most basic educational goal—ensuring academic success on the
part of all of their students.
The title of this volume, In Search of Wholeness,tells a great deal about
its focus. We live in a society that is fractured in so many different ways.
And too often we have schools that replicate the divisions of the larger so-
ciety. But if we are to improve our schools, if we are to offer our young
people the kind of education that they need to successfully participate in
the nation’s economy and in our democracy, then we need schools that
find ways to heal the divides that permeate our society.