Staff/Faculty Development for Raising Achievement

Staff/Faculty Development for Raising Achievement of Multicultural Students

This study will aim to investigate what critical factors are necessary for staff and faculty to adopt in the classroom to raise achievement among multicultural students. This study will include qualitative analysis of factors contributing to student achievement so that a grounded theory can be adopted with regard to what factors truly influence student success. A survey methodology is proposed to analyze what factors teachers and students feel contribute to achievement in and outside the classroom.

The purpose of this research paper will be to determine what critical factors are necessary for staff and faculty to adopt in order to raise the achievement of multicultural students. Within the United States, despite a large population of ethnic and cultural minorities, within the realm of education adequate representation and achievement among multicultural students is lacking (Capella-Santana, 2003). There are some studies that suggest that knowledge and experiences among teachers regarding varying cultural and ethnic backgrounds is limited, which contributes to segregation and poor achievement among minority populations (Capella-Santana, 2003).

There has been much speculation with regard to multicultural education. Some researchers have suggested that the lack of representation among educators is in part to blame for failing achievement among minority and culturally diverse populations; true, most of the faculty and staff at most major universities are Caucasian (Capella-Santana, 2003; Ford & Trotman, 2001). However, given the likelihood that this trend may not change in the upcoming years, it is necessary to conduct research into probably factors that might improve multicultural achievement despite a culturally diverse teaching staff.

As the researcher will attempt to establish grounded theory on the basis of research conducted and a synopsis of the literature available with regard to the subject being studied, a formal hypothesis will not be drawn. Rather the researcher will propose a theory based in solid research and on observation. The grounded theory approach requires that the researcher enter the fieldwork phase of research without a hypothesis, but rather allows a theory to emerge from the data based on observation and formulations that explain what phenomena have occurred (Benz & Newman, 1998).

Significance of Study

Fewer and fewer individuals from a diverse background are entering the teaching profession, and more and more multicultural students are lacking in achievement in school settings (Ford & Trotman, 2001). More and more poor test scores, school apathy among minority students and higher drop out rates are associated with cultural and ethnic minorities (Ford & Trotman, 2001; Ladson-Billings, 1994).

Banks & Banks (1995) suggest that a holistic teaching philosophy, which incorporates a culturally "responsive" classroom, is necessary to empower minority students to be more self-sufficient and achieve more in the classroom. Other studies suggest that for students to succeed they must start taking charge of their learning (Howard, 1999).

Preliminary Literature Review

The purpose of this study will be close examination of what factors faculty and staff can adopt to improve achievement and student performance among multicultural students. At present numerous studies have examined multicultural education from many different perspectives. None have directly identified the critical factors necessary for success among students. This study aims to fill the gap in research with regard to this subject. As such the literature review will focus on factors uncovered by previous studies related to multicultural education and student achievement.

Cooperative Learning and Multicultural Achievement

There is a large body of evidence, which suggests that cooperative learning is useful in encouraging student interaction in the classroom and impacting student achievement (Vaughan, 2002). The extent to which cooperative learning can aid multicultural students however has not been thoroughly investigated; in fact, cooperative learning is believed to be of most use in small settings of heterogeneous population groups (Vaughan, 2002). It is based on principles including group accountability, collaborative skills and group processing as well as positive interdependence (Vaughan, 2002). The extent to which these skills can be translated to multicultural populations has yet to be examined in greater detail (Banks, 2001).

Group Education

There is some evidence, which suggests that multicultural students are more likely to function well and achieve more in a group rather than an individual setting, and that multicultural students typically have values, behaviors and communication styles that are different from the dominant culture that resides within a classroom setting (Delpit, 1995; Banks, 2001; Vaughan, 2002; Gay, 2000). The research backing these studies does not devalue the potential of cooperative learning in multicultural education. Rather the focus of these studies suggest that learning in the classroom should be modified to incorporate different learning styles and cultural backgrounds. It suggests that mixed group interaction may be an avenue of reform and potential success if adopted by faculty and staff teaching culturally diverse populations.

Selectively Designed Educational Models

There is a large body of evidence which also suggests that an instructional program should be geared toward the learning styles of students which includes their tendency to learn either visually, kinesthetically, verbally or otherwise (Gay, 2000). Cooperative learning may be an effective teaching strategy for multicultural situations, which may lead to more achievement among minority students (Slavin & Oickle, 1981; Vaughan, 2002). The studies available on multicultural education techniques at this point in time seem to suggest that faculty and staff might need to modify their teaching styles so that rather than teach in a traditional lecture format, they adopt a style of education that incorporates many different learning styles.

Methods:

grounded theory approach requires that theory emerges from the data and phenomena being studied; it requires that causal relationships are examined between variables so that theory emerges from the data being examined (Benz, 1998). For that reason a grounded theory approach will be used for purposes of this study. The researcher will not develop theory per se, but a theory will emerged based on the data examined for purposes of this research review.

Previous studies related to student achievement and attitudes suggest that achievement levels can be measured via standardized testing that includes the CAT test which is a "norm-referenced, standardized test" that measures student achievement in basic skills (Vaughan, 2002: 359).

Thus a similar measure of achievement will be utilized for purposes of this study in order to analyze student's achievement. Specifically scores from standardized testing will be examined.

Population Sample

Scores among 50 elementary education students in grades 8-10 will be examined among three major educational institutions in the U.S. The study will last for approximately 6 months. Data will be collected in the form of anonymous test scores and two questionnaires that will be used to collect data regarding students' attitudes and knowledge regarding their education and achievement and teachers attitudes regarding multicultural education and achievement. Use of a questionnaire for examining achievement has been confirmed as an effective tool in previous studies related to multicultural education (Capella-Santana, 2003).

Statistically significant changes in achievement will be analyzed in classrooms adopting specific multicultural programs to enhance student performance. Faculty and staff perceptions of student achievement and methods of teaching with regard to a multicultural setting will also be sampled.