Date
11-13-2024
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (EdD)
Chair
Russell Yocum
Keywords
multicultural education, multiculturalism, content integration, critical race theory
Disciplines
Education | Educational Methods
Recommended Citation
Hepner-Leffel, Emily L., "Multicultural Education: A Phenomenological Study of How Elementary Teachers' Classroom Experiences Mirror the Knowledge and Skills Gained in Undergraduate Courses" (2024). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 6162.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/6162
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to conduct a phenomenological analysis of the experiences of elementary school teachers concerning multicultural education in an urban school district in Southern Virginia. The study aimed to explore and describe teachers' perceptions, beliefs, values, and attitudes regarding multicultural education and assess their preparedness to implement multicultural education practices in their classrooms. The research utilized a qualitative research design that involved in-depth interviews and observations with a purposive sample of 10 novice and experienced elementary teachers. The study also gathered information from various documents that were collected to generate data. The data underwent analysis through initial, axial, and thematic coding to identify relevant themes. Delve Qualitative Analysis Software tool was used to aid in transcribing and organizing identified themes from in-depth interviews, observations, and documents. The themes identified by the analysis of the data in this study were the disparity between learning experiences and classroom realities, methods of diversity, and self-efficacy in multicultural teaching. The findings of this study proved crucial as they exposed the real-life experiences of teachers trying to educate students from multiple backgrounds. The study’s conclusion includes a gap between teachers' preservice education courses and the experiences they face in the classroom.
