An Exploratory Study on the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
Abstract
Culturally responsive teaching boasts a robust scholarship and has demonstrated links to student achievement. Although previous research has identified various principles for culturally responsive teaching, few studies have explored emotional factors that may predispose a teacher to be culturally responsive. In the last decade, the study of mindfulness in schools has grown tremendously. However, little research has situated mindfulness in the context of pedagogy, specifically that of culturally responsive pedagogy. Since the dispositions for culturally responsive pedagogy and mindfulness both necessitate a degree of introspection, as well as attunement to outward behavior for their efficacy, the overarching purpose of this research study was to better understand the relationship between these two constructs. Additionally, this study also explored if the relationship between mindfulness and culturally responsive pedagogy varied according to racial-ethnic identity. The sample consisted of approximately 104 public school teachers across the United States. Results revealed a statistically significant relationship between the culturally responsive pedagogy disposition of praxis and the mindfulness dispositions of observe and describe, as well as a significant relationship between the culturally responsive pedagogy disposition of community and the mindfulness dispositions of describe, awareness, and nonreactivity to inner experience. Contrary to expectations, there was not a statistically significant effect of the mindfulness dispositions on culturally responsive curriculum preparedness. Finally, the results also indicated that there were not meaningful differences in the relationship between mindfulness and culturally responsive pedagogy according to racial-ethnic identity and self-reported racial-ethnic background. Implications for education and important limitations are described.
Subject Area
Pedagogy|Educational psychology|Psychology
Recommended Citation
Ross, Lauren Elizabeth, "An Exploratory Study on the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Culturally Responsive Pedagogy" (2023). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI29397768.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI29397768
