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African American Vernacular English and the Achievement Gap: How Teacher Perception Impacts Instruction and Student Motivation

Salih, Suweeyah S.
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9653-5779
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1564758333725021

Abstract Details

2019, Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), University of Findlay, Education.
The achievement gap between African American students and their White peers in language arts has prompted researchers to identify teachers’ perceptions of the language of African American Vernacular English-speaking students as a contributing factor. The persistence of the achievement gap has created a social justice issue that is addressed with the transformative mixed methods paradigm by including the historically disenfranchised, their historical truths, and the issues of power that impact their current conditions. This study uses data from a Language Attitude survey on a 4-point Likert scale administered to ten teachers of African American Vernacular English-speaking students in grades K-5 and 14 African American Vernacular English-speaking students in grades 4-5 to examine how language bias impacts student achievement and motivation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and coded to identify prominent themes. The study found participants have negative perceptions of African American Vernacular English and prefer Standard English in all communication. These findings suggest that students and teachers can benefit from culturally responsive teaching.
Christine Denecker (Committee Chair)
Allison Baer (Committee Member)
Erin Laverick (Committee Member)
224 p.
African Americans; Black History; Education; Education History; Educational Tests and Measurements; Language Arts; Literacy; Multicultural Education; Multilingual Education; Teacher Education; Teaching
achievement gap; transformative mixed methods; African American Vernacular English; culturally responsive teaching; language bias; social justice; language attitude studies; NCLB

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Salih, S. S. (2019). African American Vernacular English and the Achievement Gap: How Teacher Perception Impacts Instruction and Student Motivation [Doctoral dissertation, University of Findlay]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1564758333725021

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Salih, Suweeyah. African American Vernacular English and the Achievement Gap: How Teacher Perception Impacts Instruction and Student Motivation. 2019. University of Findlay, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1564758333725021.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Salih, Suweeyah. "African American Vernacular English and the Achievement Gap: How Teacher Perception Impacts Instruction and Student Motivation." Doctoral dissertation, University of Findlay, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1564758333725021

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

findlay1564758333725021
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This open access ETD is published by University of Findlay and OhioLINK.