Oliver, Deborah. Elementary Teachers’ Experiences with Applications of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. Dissertation

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Collection number: AQ-2026-029

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Oliver, Deborah. "Elementary Teachers’ Experiences with Applications of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy," Ed.D. diss., Valdosta State University, 2026. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10428/7743 Culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) has been widely promoted as an equity-centeredinstructional framework; however, limited research has examined how elementary teachers understand, enact, and sustain CRP within contemporary classroom contexts marked by sociopolitical constraint. This narrative inquiry explored the lived experiences of eight fourthand fifth-grade teachers working in Title I and non—Title I schools to examine how culturally relevant pedagogy was learned, interpreted, and implemented in practice. Guided by Ladson-Billings’s framework of academic success, cultural competence, and critical consciousness, the study centered teachers’ narratives to illuminate how CRP functioned as a lived and meaning-making practice rather than a prescribed set of strategies. Findings revealed that while collaborators expressed strong moral commitment to equity and student success, preparation related to CRP within teacher education and professional development was inconsistent and often minimal. As a result, culturally relevant pedagogy was often enacted through fragmented, surface-level practices rather than as a comprehensive pedagogical framework. Teachers’ meaning making processes were shaped by identity, belief systems, and political context, with many describing fear, hesitation, and professional isolation when engaging issues of race, culture, and equity. Five cross-case themes emerged, highlighting representation as literacy empowerment, community integration, critical dialogue as civic engagement, belief in students’ unlimited potential, and the role of teacher identity and spiritual commitment in sustaining CRP. The findings highlight the need for systemic support, collaborative professional learning, and intentional leadership to sustain culturally relevant pedagogy as a shared instructional responsibility