Culturally Responsive Teaching for Student Equitable Achievement
CuRTSEA is a culturally responsive teaching professional development program that addresses practical needs of teachers to teach in increasingly diverse classrooms. The grant project seeks to develop, refine, and pilot a 9-month teacher professional development program that holds promise for improving Latinx/Hispanic students’ academic outcomes.
CuRTSEA will show evidence of improved Latinx/Hispanic student engagement, relationships with teachers, and behavior, including increased attendance and academic achievement.
The grant project will create a comprehensive, high-quality teacher professional development program that is usable, feasible, scalable, and cost-effective in high schools.
CuRTSEA will contribute to the evidence-based research on teacher professional development and culturally responsive teaching.
The Latinx/Hispanic population has become the largest minority group in the United States, accounting for 28% of all students attending U.S. public schools, and continues to grow (de Brey et al., 2019). Compared to the national norm, Latinx/Hispanic students continue to suffer from lower academic performance, higher dropout rates, and lower graduation rates in schools (Kochhar & Cilluffo, 2018). With a growing Latinx/Hispanic population and persistent low education, economic, and social outcomes, it is imperative to intervene in schools.
Teachers are the single most influential in-school factor in student achievement (Rice, 2003). Additionally, research shows that 9th grade is a crucial school year for determining whether or not a student stays on track for graduation (Allensworth & Easton, 2013; Easton, Johnson, & Sartain, 2017). Over the 4-year project, CuRTSEA will involve 1,800 students and 96 teachers in 9th-grade classes in San Diego County, CA.
Teachers, both individually and collectively, will have greater confidence in their ability to improve Latinx/Hispanic academic outcomes after completing CuRTSEA. High-quality teacher professional development has been shown to boost student achievement (Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; 2017). Culturally responsive teaching has produced positive effects for various racial and ethnic groups, including Latinx/Hispanic students (Dee & Penner, 2017; García & Öztürk, 2017; Zavala & Sleeter, 2020).
Investing in teachers means investing in generations of our children. Improving academic outcomes in Latinx/Hispanic communities will save future taxpayer money in education, justice and healthcare systems, as well as promoting community and civic engagement.