Project Activities
To begin, the research team developed and finalized items for the instrument based on a systematic review of the literature related to culturally relevant classroom practice and grounded in a model of cultural responsiveness applied to an MTSS framework. Next, they solicited qualitative feedback from individuals with relevant expertise, conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, established internal reliability of data produced by the instrument, and created the first draft of the test manual and scoring guide. The research team then conducted a field test of the ACCReS with 20 teachers. After that, the research team conducted focus groups with teachers and finalized the ACCRes training materials. Next the research team completed a single-case design study to field test the instrument. In the final stages of the project, the research team completed a factor analysis procedure with a Spanish translation of the instrument and analyzed data from a study looking at the relationship between teacher scores on the ACCReS and youth academic outcomes.
Research plan
The PI will further develop and validate the ACCReS over the course of the 4-year project. In Year 1, the PI will establish the instrument's internal reliability and finalize the instrument, test manual, and scoring guide. Specifically, the PI will solicit qualitative feedback on the instrument from a stakeholder panel consisting of elementary, middle, and high school teachers of CLD students with or at risk for disabilities. Feedback will be focused on the instrument's directions, construct definitions, readability, item wording, and missing items. The PI will revise the instrument based on feedback from the panel and a follow-up pilot test will be conducted with a large representative sample of teachers. A confirmatory factor analysis will be conducted using data from the pilot test to establish the measure's construct validity. Lastly, the PI will finalize the instrument, along with the scoring guide (to aid teachers in providing numerical ratings of their own practices) and the test manual (to describe the instrument's technical adequacy and provide actionable steps to improve means or overall scores on each area of the instrument). In Year 2, the PI will establish the instrument's criterion-related validity by examining the extent to which ratings on the ACCReS are correlated with observations of teacher practices and student outcomes (i.e., observations of on-task and disruptive behavior and reading fluency). In Years 3 and 4, the PI will conduct two single-case experimental studies to determine response process validity (i.e., whether teachers understand the ACCReS in the way the researchers intended). The first study will take place in Year 3 and will test whether the completion of the ACCReS by teachers with substantial researcher coaching support leads to significant increases in culturally and contextually relevant teacher practice, improvements in student academic engagement, and decreases in students' disruptive behavior in classes where over 50% of students are CLD. The PI will conduct the second single-case study in Year 4 to extend findings from the Year 3 study and determine whether the same results occur when teachers complete the ACCReS independently, without researcher coaching support.
Career plan
Through a career development plan, the PI developed skills related to (1) rigorous instrument development and validation, (2) data analysis in the context of instrument validation, and (3) efficient coordination and execution of a multi-year research project. To accomplish these goals, the PI engaged in monthly meetings with mentors, consultation with experts, workshops on measure development and data analysis, and professional conferences.
Key outcomes
The main findings of this project, as reported by the PI, are as follows:
- Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses resulted in a 35-item instrument assessing teachers’ perceptions of their (a) use of equitable classroom practices, (b) consideration of culture and context in the classroom, and (c) access to information and support.
- There were significant correlations between teachers’ responses on the ACCReS and their responses on the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy Scale and Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy Scale, providing initial evidence for the content validity of ACCReS scores.
- Studies assessing the use of ACCReS in classroom settings indicated an association between higher scores on the ACCReS, lower classroom disruption, and lower social risk for students.
People and institutions involved
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