Voices of Successful Science Teachers in an Urban Diverse Single Gender Girls' School
Abstract
This research study was conducted as a qualitative case study of four successful
science teachers of female students in a diverse, title 1, urban, public girls’ school. The
study was designed to hear the ‘muted’ voices of successful science teachers concerning
their beliefs and practices when they effectively provide learning opportunities for
female students of color in their classrooms.
Ethic of Care, equity pedagogy and culturally responsive pedagogy, created the
theoretical framework for interpretation of the powerful narratives and storytelling that
influenced this group of successful teachers. Data were collected by conducting in-depth,
semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative method and narrative analysis were
used to code and categorize the data. Analysis was conducted after each interview to
discover emergent themes. Teachers conducted member checks throughout the process.
The findings from the study yielded the following: (1)teachers had a passion for
science and incorporated ongoing scientific developments and real-life examples and
applications in their teaching, (2) teachers adopted a caring, concerned, and studentcentered
approach to teaching, (3) teachers acknowledged certain benefits to a singlesex
girls education which included fewer distractions, increased confidence and comfort
level of students(5) teachers built relationships with students that encouraged students to
engage with rigorous course content and meet higher expectations for performance.
Themes that emerged included: care, culturally responsive pedagogy and culturally
relevant curriculum.
Subject
Girls' SchoolCitation
Malhan, Jyoti (2016). Voices of Successful Science Teachers in an Urban Diverse Single Gender Girls' School. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A & M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /158663.