Open Collections

Supporting all learners' engagement in a multicultural classroom using a culturally responsive self-regulated learning framework

University of British Columbia

Culturally diverse learners (i.e., students from different cultural backgrounds studying together in the same classrooms) populate North American classrooms. The benefits of classroom cultural diversity notwithstanding, teachers struggle to support all learners’ engagement in multicultural classroom contexts. Fortunately, research on culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and self-regulated learning (SRL) both identify teacher practices that enhance student engagement, albeit from different perspectives. This study explored how classroom teachers at multicultural schools on the West Coast of Canada built on a Culturally Responsive Self-Regulated Learning Framework (Anyichie & Butler, 2017) to design a supportive learning environment for their students. This dissertation applied sociocultural and situated perspectives to learning as sensitizing lenses. Two elementary teachers and forty-three students in two classrooms (i.e., grades 4 and 5) participated in this study. A multiple, parallel case study design that integrated mixed methods of data collection was used to investigate teacher enacted practices, teachers’ perceptions about the practices, and how those practices may have been associated with students’ engagement. Data were generated through video-taped observations, records of classroom practices, an experience sampling method, students’ work samples, a student survey, and teacher and student interviews. Results indicated that: (1) while designing a supportive classroom context for all learners (e.g., an inquiry-based project), teachers enacted practices in the three main categories of the CR-SRL framework including classroom foundational practices, CR-SRL pedagogical practices and dynamic supportive practices, although in different ways; (2) teachers perceived both benefits and challenges associated with trying to enact new practices; and (3) student engagement and motivation could be linked to teacher practices. In addition, students’ engagement and motivation varied across contexts (e.g., classrooms, teacher practices, and days). Overall findings suggest that the CR-SRL framework served as a successful guide for teachers’ enhancement of all learners’ engagement. Further findings revealed dynamic, complex learner-context interactions, and how learning processes, such as engagement, motivation, and regulation of learning are situated in sociocultural contexts. After discussing findings in relation to previous research, this dissertation closes by identifying contributions to and implications for theory and research; methodology and measurement; and teaching and learning; as well as limitations and future directions.

Text

2018-12-18

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

http://hdl.handle.net/2429/68089

Human Development, Learning, and Culture

University of British Columbia

UBCV

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/