A Microethnographic Case Study On Face-To-Face Teacher-Student Interactions In A Predominantly African American Classroom

Abstract

This qualitative micro-ethnographic case study explored the face-to-face interactions between a teacher and African American students in the classroom. The research was framed using critical pedagogy, culture, microaggressions, and silencing. The literature at the foundation of this study focused on problems urban students encountered in schools, and explored teacher-student interactions as a cause for student disengagement and/or dropping out of schools. The findings revealed how teacher power was used to stimulate student engagement and manage classroom behavior. Additionally, the findings exposed how teacher power can create interaction(s) with students that are problematic. The time spent in the classroom with the teacher and students highlighted the various dynamics of legitimate, coercive, and referent power and how students conformed or resisted.