| There is growing awareness of the need for more effective teaching practices for all students as the U.S. becomes increasingly diverse and experiences one of the most dramatic shifts in history of its racial and ethnic make-up (Holmes, 1996). Teachers need to incorporate students' cultural resources as well as knowledge about individual differences in cognitive development into their practices, to make teaming more meaningful for all students. In other words, teaching practices should be not only developmentally appropriate but also culturally sensitive and responsive to suit the increasingly diverse American classroom. This study examines current American teachers' teaching practices to discover how well they fulfill these requirements.; Mainly grounded in theoretical perspectives on developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) (Bredekamp, 1987; Bredekamp & Copple, 1997), culturally responsive teaching practice (CRP) (Gay, 2000), and ecological theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1978), this dissertation explored how teachers' varying beliefs and teaching practices influence students' learning within multi-level contexts. The ultimate goals for the study can be expressed in two parts: firstly, as a preliminary purpose, to analyse current American teaching practices by developing teaching profiles, including a developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive practice profile (DACRP), based on the teacher's self-reports. Secondly, based on the profiles, this study examined in what way DACRP influences the early learner's academic performance over time, considering contextual influences. To achieve these purposes, I employed a confirmatory factor analysis (LISREL 8.8) and a hierarchical linear modelling (HLM 6.0).; The results of a two-level HLM analysis of achievement in reading and mathematics at first grade and third grade showed that there were statistically significant variations between classes and in the growth rate between the grades. The effects of the DACRP itself showed no statistically significant effects on young students' learning trajectories. However, when examining the interaction effects with predictors, mediating effects were shown. The study's results suggest that future research should be done to develop effective instruments to examine the effect of DACRP on students' learning; these could include improved research designs and advanced analytic methods. |
