Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

College

College of Education and International Services

Program

Educational Leadership PhD

First Advisor

Diana Ming

Second Advisor

Shirley Freed

Third Advisor

Anna Adkins

Abstract

The Problem

Across the United States and within faith-based schools recent social and political currents have amplified tensions around culture and belonging in classrooms, particularly for students from racially, ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse communities. Evidence indicates that when schooling practices overlook students’ cultural identities or normalize a single cultural frame, students can experience marginalization and reduced access to equitable opportunities to learn (Gay, 2018; Ladson-Billings, 1995; Milner, 2010). In mathematics, a subject often perceived as culture-neutral these dynamics may surface through curriculum choices, participation norms, and expectations that do not meaningfully connect to students’ lived experiences (Aguirre, Mayfield-Ingram, & Martin, 2013; Martin, 2009). Within the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventist schools, teachers are called to serve increasingly diverse classrooms while upholding mission-driven aims of holistic, equitable education. What remains under-documented is how high school mathematics teachers understand and enact teaching practices that are responsive to culture in this context that is, how their beliefs, planning, discourse moves, and classroom routines affirm students’ identities and structure equitable opportunities to participate in rigorous mathematics. Thus, the gap is addressed by describing teachers’ culturally responsive aligned practices and the contextual factors that support or hinder their implementation. The focus is on teachers’ perspectives and classroom enactments; the study does not test or infer effects on student achievement.

Method

This research was designed as an exploratory qualitative, multiple-case inquiry. It addressed the central question and the kind of data that was gathered to answer it: How do Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventist high school mathematics teachers describe their perspectives and challenges related to identity, belonging, and culture in their classrooms, and how do they articulate the ways they support the academic success of students from marginalized or historically underrepresented backgrounds? The qualitative study used raw non-numerical data from the semi-structured interviews to examine the real instructional experiences of Seventh-day Adventist High School Math Teachers in the Southern Union Conference. Eight individual teachers participated in the interviews. The real life professional context was covered and the in-depth reflective conversations provided flexibility to delve into each case under study. The teachers rich cases identified experiences, perspectives and issues that surfaced in their practices. The participants were selected randomly. Each teacher was a willing participant for this project.

Results

The results of this study indicated that daily mathematics instruction must be relatable to culturally diverse students. The math teachers of the Southern Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists shared reflections of their approaches to math instruction and whether their styles adversely impacted their culturally diverse students. The eight individuals were candid about the need to ensure equal education for all demographics of students. This was the common thread. They believed that they had an obligation to draw on connections that ensure cultural safety and fairness in instruction that is relevant to the students’ daily lives. Their responses determined the following findings that were most crucial to this study: (a) critical consciousness and instructional practices, (b) promoting authentic engagement in various ways, (c) connecting and fostering a safe space, and (d) recognizing and redressing bias in the system.

Conclusion

Public discourse can be heard loudly in United States when attention is directed toward teaching practices that are culturally responsive. The long-standing issue of the browning of America has escalated the importance of inclusion of ethnic groups of students, along with respect for their cultures and language. Moreover, Andy Hargreaves argument of “mounting inequalities lead to low trust and ill being” directly addressed the cultural relevance (2019, p. 15). This is an era in which policy makers are finally demanding accountability at high school levels. Education reforms require teachers to demonstrate competency and prepare students to reach their highest potential regardless of their race, gender, class, cultural or family circumstance. It follows, then that Southern Union Conference teacher participants were able to speak candidly about the difficulties regarding implementing instructional strategies that adapted to culturally diverse learning styles. They spoke about their mathematics practice challenges and how they tweaked the traditional approaches to create relevant student-centered learning in their faith-based work environments. The teachers emphasized raising the level of math content and introduction of rigorous instructional practices for all in different ways.

Subject Area

Multicultural education; Mathematics--Study and teaching (Secondary); Mathematics--Study and teaching (Middle school); Mathematics teachers; General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists. North American Division. Southern Union Conference

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