Date

8-20-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Kristy Motte

Keywords

Multicultural Education, Teacher Professional Development, Diversity, Secondary Education, Ethnicity, Cultural Diversity

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education

Abstract

The purpose of this case study was to discover how multicultural education influences teaching practices for secondary educators at Achieve School District in the southeastern United States. The theory guiding this study was James A. Banks’ multicultural education theory, as it provided the framework for implementing the histories, customs, and perceptions of ethnic minority and racial people into the curriculum. The central research question was: How does multicultural education influence the teaching practices of secondary teachers in the Achieve School District? Data were collected through individual interviews, observations, and journal prompts. Thematic analysis of the data revealed multicultural education influenced the teachers’ practices through the integration of multicultural education content, along with the teachers relating to the students’ backgrounds and cultures, with differentiated instruction through themes including: students seeing themselves in the curriculum, students having a voice, teachers setting a climate and culture of respect, teachers acknowledging cultures and environments, teachers using diversity in how students learn, and a lack of multicultural education resources and time. These results extended existing research on the influence of multicultural education on secondary teaching practices and provided policy and practical implications for ongoing multicultural education professional development, additional curriculum-embedded multicultural education resources, restructuring of school schedules, and continued research to identify additional multicultural education resources.

Download

Share

COinS