Title

Writing autobiography to develop Culturally Responsive Competency: Teachers’ intersections of personal histories, cultural backgrounds and biases

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-1-2018

Publication Title

International Journal of Educational Research

Volume

88

First Page

31

Last Page

41

Keywords

Autobiography, Cultural backgrounds, Cultural biases, Cultural gap, Culturally Responsive Competency, Culturally Responsive Pedagogy, Pre-service teachers, Teachers

Abstract

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd This study investigated elementary school teachers’ and pre-service teachers’ autobiographies for developing Culturally Responsive Competency (CRC). The study's purpose was to engage participants in reflecting about their personal histories, cultural backgrounds and biases; making connections with the impact these have on interactions with culturally diverse students, and CRC. The data consisted of written autobiographies, excerpt read-alouds and a semi-structured interview. The findings indicated that teachers’ writing, sharing and reflecting on their autobiographies was an effective strategy to develop CRC, which teachers would transfer into their classrooms. Conclusions highlighted positive implications for teachers’ CRC and awareness of transcultural classroom dynamics; teacher educators’ responsibility in developing and modeling CRC; and the need for further research on specific strategies in this field.

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