Date of Award
2007
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
Abstract
The knowledge of beliefs and practices of college Professors continues to grow with the scholarship and practice of faculty development. However, the understanding of African American Professors' beliefs and practices is an interesting field of study, but a strong presence in the scholarship of teaching and learning is yet to be achieved. This study investigates the goals, beliefs, and classroom practices of three African American Professors in order to ascertain their beliefs and practices related to multicultural course transformation. Developed with a qualitative approach, the study used the three-series interview protocol and analysis consistent with investigating the various components of any course while probing into the experiences and beliefs of each Professor. Interviews were conducted with three African American tenure-track Professors at one mid-sized predominantly white Midwestern university located within an urban community. Findings from the study suggest that although these faculty members had no solid background in general multiculturalEducation, they all believed in designing and practicing student-centered strategies that engendered success in their diverse learners that would help them learn diverse cultural content and become critical thinkers. The findings also indicate that these African American Professors, mostly defining themselves as black, are not burdened by their own ethnic backgrounds. Instead their own cultural experiences as black students prepared them for the many challenges of teaching cultural specific courses and courses on global diversity. Their remembrances of support systems and relationships among and beyond the black community and their own early investigations regarding how culture influences relationships, promotion, and their own disciplinary work deeply reflect their goals and their practice in the classroom. To varying degrees, the teachers incorporate tenets of multicultural course transformation as they continue to struggle with how to effectively transform one or two components of their course without jeopardizing their students' progress in the course. They all accept the burden and responsibility of change as they continue to reflect on what they believe as the best indicator of student achievement. All three agreed that students' evaluation of their courses and students' growth in understanding and application of the course content were indicators of success, but they all offered three distinct teaching goals as the foundation for their own objectives and activities. Despite the distinct goals, each Professor's beliefs and practices proved to be centered on helping diverse learners and helping students understand the challenge and value of diverse cultural content. The study suggests that the experiences of these African American Professors promotes meaningful exploration of this population and other faculty from less represented populations in regards to their classroom practice while exploring uses for theories of multicultural course transformation in any Professors' classroom despite discipline and cultural background of Professors.
Recommended Citation
Flowers, Natasha, "A Case Study In The Perspectives And Practice Of Multicultural Course Transformation In African American Professors' Classrooms" (2007). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 925.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/925