1. Developing Cognitive Strategies and Content
Knowledge to Improve Academic Achievement:
The Responsibility of Teachers and School Leaders
JUDITH TOURE, ED.D.
CARLOW UNIVERSITY
PITTSBURGH, PA
JTOURE@CARLOW.EDU
FIRST ANNUAL HIGHER EDUCATION COMPACT
BEST PRACTICES SYMPOSIUM
CLEVELAND, OH
JUNE 11, 2012

2. Overview
Demographic imperative
Themes from the literature:
 Racialized ideologies in PK-12 contexts
 Culturally relevant leadership in PK-12
 Culturally relevant pedagogy in undergraduate education
Implications

3. Percentage of K-12 students in public education by
race/ethnicity: 1990, 2000, 2008 (nces.gov)
October White African Latino/a Asian Pacific Native Two
of year American Islander American or
more
races
1990 67.6 16.5 11.7
Racial/Ethnic Enrollment in Public Schools 3.0 (1) .9 -
Table A-4-1. Number and percentage distribution of the race/ethnicity of public school students enrolled in kindergarten
through 12th grade:
2000 61.3 16.6 16.6 4.2 (1) 1.3 -
2008 55.5 15.5 21.7 3.7 .2 .9 2.6

4. Percentage of public school teachers by
race/ethnicity: 1999-2000 and 2007-2008
K-6 White African Latino/a Other
teachers American
1999-200 83 8 6 3
0
2007-200 82 7 8 3
8
7-12 White African Latino/a Other
teachers American
1999-200 86 6 5 2
0
2007-200 83 7 7 3
8

5. Themes from the literature:
Racialized ideologies in schools
 Issues of race, culture, and learning surface in schools
but are rarely addressed
 Largely empirically unexamined in schools (Pollock,
2001; Sleeter, 1993)
 “Colorblind” and “colormute”

Privilege, racism, and reproduction invisible in
schools (Lewis, 2005; Schofield, 1989)

“Kids are all the same, I don’t see color.”

“Colormute”: race as taboo subject of discussion
(Pollock, 2004)
 Often expressed as deficit thinking (Valencia, 1997,
2010)

6. Educator perspectives toward children of color
Consistent deficit thinking Nuanced deficit Nuanced asset Consistent asset
thinking perspective perspective
Educator does not recognize “funds Educator views children Educator views children Educator recognizes children’s
of knowledge” that children possess primarily from a deficit primarily from an asset funds of knowledge and builds
and bring to school. Holds and perspective, but may perspective, capable of upon them to encourage
demonstrates low expectations for acknowledge some learning, but occasionally learning. Views children as
student learning and behavior. positive attributes and displays views rooted in highly capable of learning
Responsibility for learning and assumes some deficit perspective. challenging material with high
academic success situated within responsibility for their quality instruction. Feels and
children and their families rather than learning. shows sense of responsibility
within classroom instruction. for student learning and
Educator displays diminished sense academic success.
of responsibility toward students.
(Diamond, Randolph, & Spillane, (Diamond, Randolph, &
2004; Garcia & Guerra, 2004) Spillane, 2004; Garcia &
Guerra, 2004)
1 school leader (mathematics coach), 3 school leaders (principal, 4 school leaders (2 1 school leader (assistant
1 teacher mathematics coach, and principals, literacy coach, principal),
literacy coach) and mathematics coach), 1 teacher
3 teachers

7. Relationship of deficit thinking to
instructional improvement
 Deficit thinking places cause of children’s poor academic
performance outside of the classroom (Valencia, 2010).
 Less impetus to change instructional practice (Diamond,
Randolph, & Spillane, 2001).
 Teachers holding an asset perspective tend to be more
innovative in instructional practice.

8. Culturally relevant pedagogy, PK-12
Three goals of CRP
 To develop students academically;
 To nurture and support students’ cultural competence in home
culture; and
 To develop sociopolitical or critical consciousness in students
(Ladson-Billings, 1995, p. 483)

9. Framework:
Culturally
relevant
school
leadership
Adapted with permission from Stein & Nelson, 2003

10. What about demographics and
culturally relevant pedagogy in the
post-secondary context?

11. Who are our students?
Total % of undergraduate enrollment in degree-granting institutions
by race/ethnicity
Percentage distribution
(nces.gov) 1980 1990 2000 2008
White 81 77.5 68.3 63.2
African American 9.7 9.6 11.8 13.9
Latina/o 4.1 6.1 10.3 12.9
Asian/Pacific Islander 2.4 4.2 6.4 6.8
American Indian/ Alaska
Native 0.7 0.8 1.1 1.1

12. Themes from the literature:
Racialized reality of university context
 For students of color, “everyday life as racialized” (Lesage,
2002)
 PWIs as sites for the enactment of whiteness ;
when a “White, male, heterosexual societal norm is
privileged in such a way that its privilege is rendered
invisible” (Grillo & Wildman, 2000, p. 650)
 Curriculum as code of power (Delpit, 1998); key role in
communicating institution’s commitment to diversity

13. Themes (cont’d)
 Research on persistence of students of color tends to focus
on students’ coping strategies
 Limited research on role of curricular and faculty support
for students of color (Gasman, Gerstel-Pepin, Anderson-
Thompkins, Rasheed, & Hathaway, 2004; White &
Lowenthal, 2010)
 Recent work on identity development positions students of
color as holders and creators of knowledge (Delgado-
Bernal, 2002; Reyes & Rios, 2005; White & Lowenthal,
2010)

14. Implications, PK-12
 Role for leadership in disrupting deficit thinking that may
influence new teachers in particular and be more pervasive in
less integrated contexts
 School leaders play a role in developing asset thinking in
educators
 Leadership as distributed in knowledge of racial
ideologies/CRP
 Importance of addressing racial ideologies in school
leadership preparation programs for 21st century
 Need for professional learning for school leaders

15. Implications, IHE
 Improve recruitment, support, retention of students of
color
 Continue becoming more learner-centered
 Broaden conceptions of knowledge and scholarship in
disciplines
 How is knowledge constructed?
 Which topics are legitimate for inquiry?
 Who is recognized as constructor of knowledge?
 Representation in curriculum and course structures
 Recruitment, support, and development of faculty of
color