Culturally Responsive Learning Environments and Academic Persistence Among Black Female Students

Overview: All students are entitles to an equal education; however, policies, practices, and educational norms intentionally reproduce and uphold social hierarchies that exclude and oppress students of color. This research aims to explore the impact that learning in a culturally responsive environment has on the academic outcomes of Black girls.Proposal text: Background and

Purpose: It is a civil right that all students are provided an equal education; however, the historical and contemporary policies, practices, and educational norms within the United States educational system intentionally reproduce and uphold social hierarchies that exclude and oppress students of color. Among those most impacted are Black female students. Research maintains that these gendered racial incidents deter academic success, necessitating a change to mitigate this oppression's negative impact on Black girls. Research supports an educational shift to the use of culturally responsive teaching practices in academic environments, having reversed disengagement and unlocked the potential of our nation's students. Originating from Gloria Ladson-Billings' (1995) works, culturally responsive teaching provides students with educational settings to make meaningful connections between their own lives and what they learn at school. Most research that focuses on culturally responsive learning environments highlights the components of the said environment but fails to explore how the learning environment impacts' students' academic outcomes. This research aims to highlight the effect that learning in a culturally responsive environment has on the academic outcomes of Black female students.


Methods: Utilizing a qualitative retrospective constructivist grounded theory approach based on Black Feminist Thought and Social Work Empowerment Theory, we examined the impact of culturally responsive learning environments on the process of academic persistence among Black female students. Nine women were engaged in 2-hour interviews conducted over three months; three additional participants were interviewed for theoretical sampling. Interviews elicited participants' experiences with culturally responsive learning environments and the relationship with their academic persistence. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Researchers used Dedoose software to conduct three levels of coding (initial, focused, theoretical).


Results: Qualitative efforts identified six themes that describe the relationship between culturally responsive learning environments and academic persistence among Black female students. Participants described culturally responsive learning environments as those environments where they felt their unique cultural and learning differences were accepted. Classroom practices were tailored to fit their unique learning and social needs. Learning in responsive environments made participants feel understood, validated, and affirmed. In unresponsive environments, they felt they had limited access to more challenging academic opportunities, were marginalized in the classroom, and were academically inadequate.

Conclusion and Implications: All students have the civil right to equal educational opportunities. Black female students will not receive equitable education unless they learn in culturally responsive environments. Black female students must learn in settings inclusive of their lived experiences and provide the necessary support to thrive academically and socially. Findings explain how Black female students understand their experiences with learning in a culturally responsive environment and how their learning settings impacted their academic experience. Results offer school social workers direction when developing supportive programming that positively impacts Black women's academic persistence. Finally, this knowledge contributes to Black feminist epistemology and social science education research and practices, as it presents novel data on the academic experiences and success of Black female students.