Language matters: A qualitative study of teachers’ use of language after participation in an equity-focused professional development program
Trower, Leticia M.
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127372
Description
Title
Language matters: A qualitative study of teachers’ use of language after participation in an equity-focused professional development program
Author(s)
Trower, Leticia M.
Issue Date
2024-12-01
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Pak, Yoon
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Pak, Yoon
Committee Member(s)
Hale, Jon
Mason, Terrence
Dornfeld-Tissenbaum, Catherine
Department of Study
Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp
Discipline
Educ Policy, Orgzn & Leadrshp
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
equity
DEI
language
discourse analysis
high school
professional development
professional learning
diversity
inclusion
diversity, equity, and inclusion
Abstract
It is well documented that students of color, students living in poverty, sexual and gender minority youth, multilingual learners, and students from other marginalized groups are underserved in U.S. schools (Barton & Coley, 2009; Griner & Stewart, 2012; Park, 2020; Poteat et al., 2021; Singleton, 2015). One action taken by schools and districts in an attempt to ameliorate this situation is the inclusion of equity-focused professional development programs for K-12 educators. Additionally, the language educators use to describe their students, and the identities educators enact for themselves and their students through language, have the power to either change or uphold these patterns of inequity (Calderón et al., 2020; Pollack, 2012; Valencia, 1997). This study examined the language used by three teachers who had participated in an equity-focused professional development program and used Gee’s (2014) seven Building Tasks of discourse analysis as a lens to analyze the teachers’ use of language during interviews. The three participating teachers used language to enact an identity for themselves as educators who value diversity, equity, and inclusion; they expressed that listening to students, valuing their input, and considering their perspective has a positive effect on students’ school experience; and all three described characteristics associated with students’ attitudes and mindsets about learning more often than any other characteristic when describing the kinds of students who succeed or don’t succeed. These findings highlight the importance of including student voice in K-12 education, and strengthening students’ positive attitudes about learning and school. Future research is recommended to further explore teachers’ identity before and after participating in equity-focused professional development, and to examine the relationship between students’ perspectives and teachers’ participation in such professional development.
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