ZLATA VOLLER Education , Spring 2008 Professor O’Connor-Petruso

Table of Contents Introduction Statement of the Problem Review of Related Literature Statement of the Hypothesis Method Participants Instruments Experimental Design Procedure Charts/Graphs Correlation Results Discussion Implications Threats to Internal/External Validity

Statement of the Problem This study addresses the question, Does the implementation of MIS increase social justice and equity for culturally diverse students?

Literature Review The advocates of ME envision education that is based on the ideals of social justice and equal education opportunities for all students: Neito(1992); Baptiste (1979); Bennett (1990); Banks (2001); Tonette & Nevin (2007); Lalas (2007); Gorski, 2006; Gay, 1994; Hill-Jackson, Sewell, & Waters, 2007; Grant & Sleeter, 1998.

Literature Review The teacher who understands the relationship between culture, instructional methods, and the value of educational equity, demonstrates his/her commitment to increasing social justice for students from diverse cultural backgrounds by implementing a variety of multicultural strategies: Suarez-Orozco & Sattin, 2007; Perez, 2000; White-Clark, 2005; Lalas, 2007; Richards, Brown, & Forde, 2006; Plessis & Bisschoff, 2007; Leonard & Leonard, 2006; Chamberlain, 2005; Burnette, 1999; Gay, 1994; Hill-Jackson, Sewell, & Waters, 2007; Banks, 2001; Correa & Tulbert, 1991; Garii, 2000; Gorski, 2006; Ndura, 2006; Villegas & Lucas, 2007; Walker & Jones, 1997; Chou, 2007; Tonette & Nevin, 2007; Leonard & Leonard, 2006.

Literature Review Various literatures emphasize the implementation of specific multicultural strategies in increasing social justice and academic success for CD students. These strategies include: a. Cooperative learning (Gay, 1994; McNeal, 2005; Lalas, 2007; Gorski, 2006; Correa & Tulbert, 1991; Richards, Brown, & Forde, 2006; Chamberlain, 2005; Suarez-Orozco & Sattin, 2007; Plessis & Bisschoff, 2007); b. Real life application (McNeal, 2005; Gay, 1994; Gorski, 2006; Correa & Tulbert, 1991; Suarez- Orozco & Sattin, 2007; Lalas, 2007; Villegas & Lucas, 2007; Whit-Clark, 2007; Richards, Brown, & Forde, 2006); c. Multicultural literature (Ndura, 2006; Alexander, 2006; Landt, 2006; Lalas, 2007; McNeal, 2005; Correa & Tiulbert, 1991; Walker & Jones, 1997; Hinton-Johnson & Dickinson, 2005; Wan, 2006).

Statement of the Hypothesis Multicultural instructional approaches and strategies (MIS) implemented by a culturally responsive teacher at P. S. 153 will increase social justice and educational equity for 24 fifth grade students from culturally diverse backgrounds.

Participants The sample class consists of 24 fifth grade students 9 Female; 15 Male Ages The class includes 8 Chinese-Americans, 2 Japanese- Americans, 4 Russian-Americans, 2 Albanian- Americans, 2 Hispanic-Americans, 3 African- Americans, 1 Mexican-American, 1 Persian-American, and 1 Armenian-American. The teacher participated in the demographic and attitude survey, and took part in the researcher’s observation process.

Instruments Data for this study were collected through: Teacher’s self-assessment attitude survey 3 items on the frequency of implementation of three MIS; 17 items on attitudes toward cultural diversity and ME Student’s self-assessment attitude survey 15 items on attitudes toward social justice and educational equity for students as a result of membership in the classroom; 3 items ask students to reflect on the effectiveness of three MIS employed by their teacher, Observational checklist documents the implementation of three MIS: cooperative learning, real-life application, multicultural literature.

Experimental Design Quasi-Experimental Individuals Not Randomly Selected One Group Posttest Design Symbolic Design: XO Single group exposed to a treatment (X) and post-tested (O) The data from the observational checklist served as an independent variable. Three items of the student’s attitude survey were utilized as dependent variables.

Procedure  The teacher’s attitude survey was administered and completed prior to the observation process.  Observations lasted for a period of 12 weeks, or 60 school days, five days a week over the course of three forty minute daily lessons, which were observed consecutively: ELA1, ELA2, and Mathematics.  At the end of the observation process, student’s attitude survey was administered.

Observational Checklist: Chart

Survey Questions

Survey Results: Chart

Survey Results: Graph

Correlation

Results  The results of PMCC indicate a strong positive relationship (r is 0.839) between the implementation of multicultural instructional strategies and social justice and equity for culturally diverse students.  The results of the teacher’s self-assessment attitude survey reveal cultural consciousness, responsiveness, and commitment to social justice.  Therefore, the results of this study support the original hypothesis.

Discussion  The research findings are consistent with theories and opinions proposed by multicultural education advocates.  A review of relevant literature provides a strong foundation for emphasis on CL, RLA, and ML strategies.  Although results were statistically significant, the observational research revealed a discrepancy between the teacher’s self-reported frequency of implementation of MIS and the frequency observed by the researcher.  Reported: CL, RLA- 3x a week; ML - 5x a week. Observed: CL, RLA - 2x a week; ML- 3x a week.

Implications Although results indicating influence of MIS on social justice and equity in this sample size were statistically significant, it is evident that further research is essential for evaluating the effectiveness and the appropriate degree of implementation of MIS in maximizing values of social justice and equity for culturally diverse students.

Threats to Validity Internal  History  Maturation  Instrumentation External  Selection Treatment  Generalizable Conditions  Experimenter Effects  Specificity of Variables  Confounding Variables