Building Culturally Responsive Literacy Teachers: How I, As an Elementary Principal, Used Inquiry Groups to Support Teachers

Abstract

Schools are becoming increasingly diverse; yet, most elementary teachers are White, middle-class females (NCES, 2021; Urrieta, 2009). Principals are charged with support all students’ literacy instruction, not just those whose cultural background aligns with school leaders and teaching staff. In this study, an elementary principal designed a collaborative inquiry group of second through fifth grade teachers to explore ways of supporting culturally diverse students’ literacy instruction. The research questions driving this study were: (1) How does participation in an inquiry group influence elementary teachers’ knowledge of culturally responsive teaching and literacy instruction? (2) How does leading an inquiry group change my understanding of facilitating professional development? Grounded in sociocultural theory (Vygotsky, 1978) and Communities of Practice (Wenger, 1998), teachers in this study co-constructed knowledge of culturally responsive teaching (Gay, 2018) and collaboratively planned three culturally responsive literacy lessons. Data collected included three semi-structured interviews, audio-recorded inquiry group sessions, lesson reflection, artifacts, and a researcher notebook. Findings from this study illuminate the importance of culturally responsive literacy teachers building trusting relationships with students, valuing students’ cultural identities, fostering opportunities for collaboration, and dedicating time for students to make connections between literacy texts and their lived experiences. Findings also show I, as the practitioner researcher, learned the importance of building relationships with and among teachers, devoting time for collaborative planning, self-reflection, and being responsive to teachers’ interests when facilitating inquiry groups. Limitations from this study include the duration and focus on one of CRT’s two pathways. Implications are divided into two categories: literacy instruction and professional development. They include ways to incorporate CRT in literacy classrooms as well as ideas for using inquiry groups to facilitate PD. Researchers can further this work by increasing the duration of inquiry groups, affording ample time for teachers to learn both CRT pathways and collaboratively plan culturally responsive literacy lessons.