My narrative: Democratic values and classroom Instruction

Narrative and Map of Research Question
Keywords: Democratic Teacher Beliefs, gender ideals and roles

Narrative of research question:

The question to explore is the following: Does a teacher’s gender have an impact on democratic beliefs and on the delivery of instruction in the various subject areas? The first way to explore this topic is to review the current research and literature. The second method maybe to conduct your own study amongst your peer in your school(the school climate and culture is not inviting in my school). The third way is to reflect on my life experience in and out of the classroom. The lens I would like to explore during this process is the Black Feminist theory. In one of many articles, the literature and research tends to support the idea that females adhere to democratic ideals more so than their male counterparts (see noted references)…

The next method I would employ is a non participatory observation, this would take longer to observe and study, due to the microcosm of my own school. We have an almost equal balance of male to female ratio of teachers.

Female teachers
a) 4 teachers in the monolingual program
b) 3 teachers in the bilingual program

Male teachers
a) 3 teachers in the monolingual program
b) 3 teachers in the bilingual program

Demographics:
South Bronx students with reading ranging from 1.2 to 6.5.
Attendance roster 250+ students in both programs

But there is so much to consider in even this microcosmic group. Some of these factors are: individual (cases), ethnic backgrounds, socio-economic backgrounds, urban or suburban, and even what region of the country and / or world the teacher is from. Our faculty has teachers from different parts of the country and the world. After this the “Locus of Control” has to be considered: classroom observations, teacher surveys, student interviews and even administrative opinions.

Finally, I would reflect as objectively as possible with the previous criteria considered as to my own experience. Questions to reflect upon are; Does being a black female first and a teacher second, affect my delivery of instruction? Do I emphasize one part of history over others (ex. Black, female, the diaspora, etc.) as opposed to “traditional American History, and/or other historical events that include people from diverse backgrounds? The big problem: What does equality, independence, justice, and respect mean in my approach to teaching, to students experiences in the classroom, in the South Bronx, in New York City(in the U. S. and in the world)?

There is much to consider and reflect upon during this research process. I don’t know if I or anyone could be truly objective with regards to this topic. I believe I am a better teacher at the delivery of democratic values than a male or at the very least I have a great desire to deliver these values to my students.

References

Bandura, A. (1986). Social Foundations of Though and Action: A social-cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-Efficacy The Exercise of Control. New York: W. H. Freeman
and Company.

Broverman, L. K., (1997). Sex role stereotypes: A current appraisal. Journal of Social Issues, 28, 59-78.

Henderson, M. A.(Eds.). (1983). Can schools, teachers, and administrators make a
difference? The research evidence. Democratic Education in Schools and Classrooms. Washington: National Council for the Social Studies Bulletin

Lunenburg, F. C. and Cadavid, V. (1992). Locus of control, pupil control ideology, and dimensions of teacher bornout. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 19 (1), 13-22.

Osler, A. and Starkey, H. (1994). Fundamental Issues In Teacher Education for Human
Rights: A European Perspective: Journal of Moral Education. 23, 349-360.