I have been teaching first grade for four years at Lake Elementary School (all proper names are pseudonyms), located in Northern Virginia.  Lake Elementary opened two years ago.  It houses pre-kindergarten through third grade and has approximately 700 students.  It was built to run on a parallel block schedule.    I teach language arts and math blocks to twenty-five students.  My students are grouped by ability level in these areas according to assessments given in September.   I teach only twelve students for 75% of the school day and all twenty-five students for 25% of the day.  I group my students into math and reading ability groups.  One half of my students stay with me for reading or math while the other half leaves for science or social studies classes. 

The class in which I conducted my cultural inquiry was very culturally diverse.  I had two Vietnamese students, one Indian student, five African American students, seven Hispanic students, and ten Caucasian students.  The majority of the students were all fluent speakers of the English language with the exception of two students who speak Spanish.

The class split four times for 50 minutes each.  The parallel block schedule allowed for direct instruction to small groups all day.  I was able to individualize instruction much more effectively when teaching with the parallel block schedule. However, since our school relies heavily on schedules, I was not able to extend activities, even if needed. I sometimes rushed the children, as well as myself, in order to complete activities before the end of the block.   When it was time for the groups to switch, I stopped the activity even if not finished.  This can present a hardship for students who have difficulty remaining on task, especially for one boy, Joseph, who could not control his behavior.

Joseph is a six-year-old African American boy who had attended Lake Elementary for two years.  His previous report cards show excellent grades in all subject areas.  However, comments from the teachers (all European American) indicated Joseph’s lack of attention and focus on schoolwork.  However, along with the negative comments, his teachers always observed his concern and sincerity for others.  They would state how he was generally concerned about his classmates and their feelings and how he would always be willing to help out a classmate when needed.

When Joseph entered my classroom for orientation, his father introduced himself, and then warned me of the problems I may encounter with Joseph.  He spoke of Joseph’s lack of attention, impulsivity, and “activeness.”  He also told me to notify him when Joseph was not behaving appropriately.  On the first day of school, I immediately noticed Joseph’s inattentiveness and lack of focus.  He had difficulty staying in his seat and concentrating on his work; he also seemed to be bothering other children.

As the weeks continued, his behavior did not improve.  He continued to be easily distracted.  He would walk around the room and call out at inappropriate times, as well as bother his peers.  I contacted Joseph’s father and set up a conference with him.  When I explained the problems Joseph was having, Joseph’s father was in agreement.  He understood Joseph’s difficulty with listening to and following directions as well as his inattentiveness.  He assured me that he would talk with Joseph and the inappropriate behavior would stop.  However, it did not.

When I started this study Joseph continues to excel academically.  He remained above first grade reading level.  However, he still was having severe difficulty remaining on task and following directions. He also continued to bother his peers, although he had friendships with classmates.  I understood that a problem was causing this situation and I needed to investigate thoroughly in order for Joseph to be successful in first grade.

I have tried numerous methods of behavior modification in order to correct the difficulty that Joseph was experiencing.  However, I had been unsuccessful.  This situation led me to my puzzlement: What is contributing to Joseph’s behavior in first grade?  Is it a problem with the interaction between Joseph and myself?  Is it a cultural mismatch? Or is it possibly a combination of both? 

Exploring Cultural Questions

After identifying the problem Joseph seemed to be experiencing, I became aware of the Cultural Inquiry Process (CIP) (Jacob, 1999).  While investigating the CIP, I generated some ideas about cultural influences that could be causing his behavior problems.  John Ogbu (1992) stated, “In school, primary cultural differences may initially cause problems in interpersonal and intergroup relations” (p. 9).  Could there be a cultural mismatch between Joseph and me?  Could there be a power imbalance that I am not aware of?  Could my constant negative attention to Joseph be causing the behavior to increase?  Why did Joseph seem to have the need for constant reassurance?

My initial assumption was that Joseph and I were culturally mismatched.  I began to focus on the CIP step 3.3.1 “How might mismatches between a students’ or groups’ interaction styles and those of the school be contributing to the puzzling situation?” (Jacob, 1999).  I wondered if I was responding to Joseph in the correct manner.  Because Joseph is such a bright boy who is very thoughtful and caring, I wondered why we were having this difficulty.  Was I exceptionally strict with him?  Did he hold different expectations of acceptable behavior in and out of school?  I wondered if his interaction style was consistent in school as well as with his peers. 

I continued to discipline Joseph for the same behaviors all day and they continually occurred.  I asked him to constantly sit down, pay attention, stop playing in his desk, and to stop bothering others around him.  Joseph would always say he was sorry and he promised not to do it again, but soon he would be out of his seat and not listening to the lesson.  Upon completion of work, he would always ask me if I liked it.  Of course I always responded with a positive remark, but I wondered why he needed this reassurance from me.  Is it a need for positive reinforcement?  Was I not providing the reinforcement he needs?  I tended to pick others when I wanted a job completed correctly.  Joseph rarely won awards for behavior or academics.  I tried to remain as positive as I could and gave him praise as soon as I saw a good behavior.  However, I felt that I was failing Joseph as a teacher.  I felt that I was always talking “at” him and not “with” him.  Hofstede describes different types of avoidance; I wondered if maybe Joseph has low uncertainty avoidance and I have high uncertainty avoidance.  I wondered if this could this be our cultural mismatch.  Joseph has a low stress level, “conflict and competition are seen as fair play”, and he believes that there should be few rules.  I, on the other hand, have a belief that all students should be working hard.  I also believe that conflict is threatening and that rules are a necessity.  I avoid failure at all costs and I have a high level of anxiety and stress.  Could this be our mismatch?  Or, maybe it is in Joseph’s culture to be active.  Cobales-Vega (1992) stated that “researchers have focused on the miscues which occur between teachers and students based on misinterpretations and generalizations made about cultural background” (p. 93).  Maybe I was making false generalizations and assumptions about Joseph.

I thought through many other CIP steps, however I chose 3.3.1.  This step focuses on cultural mismatches in interaction between Joseph and myself.  I have learned that in order have cultural diversity in the classroom, I must look first at my own cultural background to “understand how biases affect interactions with students”  (Hawley, 1996).  I focused on this step because I felt it could be the most influential for myself as well as my relationship with Joseph.  The interaction between Joseph and I seemed to be the easiest way I could affect our relationship as well as improve the behavioral issues.  Many other teachers have had similar problems with Joseph in the past.  I hoped that through this research and intervention I would be able to increase the knowledge base of the faculty working with Joseph.

Data Collection

Two primary forms of data collection have informed this study: interviews and observations.  I conducted a phone interview with Mr. Smith, Joseph’s father.  I interviewed Joseph’s previous teacher.  I conducted an in-depth interview with Joseph as well as made a multitude of observations of Joseph on a daily basis.  In addition, I wrote  notes and memos, which have served to inform the analysis and interpretation of the data.

The interviews were conducted in two ways: by telephone and in person.  First, I set up a conference with Mr. Smith.  This conference was later broken by his inability to leave work.  He mentioned that a phone conference would be easier for him to complete.  I did finally speak with Mr. Smith and discussed with him about the Cultural Inquiry Process and how I chose his son in order to better our relationship.  Mr. Smith was very receptive to this idea and was willing to help in any way.  I was very honest with Mr. Smith about the behaviors I was witnessing.  He agreed that Joseph is a “hyper child,” but he also said “boys will be boys.”  When I asked Mr. Smith about consequences for broken rules, he told me that toys and T.V. are taken away.  Mr. Smith also expressed the importance of Joseph having good friends and a good education.  He repeatedly asked me about Joseph’s social behavior and if he was making and maintaining friends.  I told Mr. Smith that he does have friends, however he often gets into trouble by talking to them at inappropriate times, and the other students do not want to get into trouble.  They often stay away from Joseph so that they won’t be reprimanded for breaking the rules.  Joseph’s father agreed that Joseph makes some poor decisions and he told me that he would speak to Joseph about following the rules and paying attention in class.  After the phone conversation, I hypothesized that Joseph did not have many rules at home and that he often was not reprimanded when rules were broken. 

I interviewed Joseph’s previous teacher.  Ms. Jane is a Caucasian female in her mid thirties.  Her observations and comments were very similar to what I have seen in Joseph.  She commented on his lack of attention, time off task, and inability to sit in his chair.  She did say that he was a very smart boy who “kept her on her toes.”  She repeatedly stated that she enjoyed having Joseph in her class.

I then interviewed Joseph.  He seemed very excited to talk with me.  He stated that he enjoyed school very much and wouldn’t change anything about school if given the chance.  I asked Joseph who he thought was the best student in the class.  He named his best friend, Justin, because he is a good friend to him.  I asked Joseph if he enjoyed group work.  He stated that group work was his favorite time to day because “even if kids are not my friends, I get to know them easily”.    From these answers, I hypothesized that Joseph puts a very high importance on friends and family.  I asked Joseph if he thought that I was too strict with him.  He told me that I have to tell him to “stop doing things” too much and that we have too many rules to follow in school.  He stated that it is hard for him to remember all of the rules and he gets “tired” trying to remember all of them.  I questioned him about his home environment.  He told me that he did not have as many rules to follow and that he would only lose one toy if he broke the rules.  He went on to say that his parents do not have to reprimand him as much as I do.  He can do almost anything he desires, except hurt his brother.  Apparently, that was a very big rule in his house.  He also mentioned how important his family was to him.  He stated how when his dad was not home, he was expected to take care of his mom and baby brother.  Also, every Tuesday and Thursday night was family night.  Each member of the family took turns choosing the activity.

Throughout the interview, Joseph was playing with his hands, rocking in his chair, and became easily distracted by events occurring around him.  I had to ask him eight times to focus on my question.  He did not become defiant, just off task and watching his friends.

My Ahá

From my interview with Joseph I discovered many realizations.  First, Joseph’s home culture and school culture are mismatched.  At school, rules are a priority in order to succeed.  The teachers expect undivided attention and on task behavior at all times.  At home, friends and family are a priority.  More attention is given to the importance of family and getting along with others, rather than following or breaking rules. 

Also, I have come to the conclusion that Joseph and I are mismatched.  I am a strict teacher with a very structured and organized classroom.  I expect rules to be followed or consequences will occur.  Joseph is accustomed to very few rules and consequences.  This, in turn, provides a mismatch between Joseph and me. 

Joseph is not accustomed to many rules in his home.  Coballes-Vega (1992) stated that, “many African American students speak out loudly and interrupt as a way of showing their interest, or even argue to press their point; their intention is to participate, not misbehave, although some teachers may consider them disrespectful”  (p. 100).   My intention as a teacher is not to discourage participation; however, it seems that I may be mistaking Joseph’s participation as rule breaking behavior.

Through my observations of Joseph, I concluded that Joseph responds best to lessons that require group interaction and movement.  He has a strongly developed Bodily Kinesthetic and Interpersonal Intelligence.  He enjoys learning by touch, movement, and cooperative group work.  He excels in hands-on demonstrations, role-playing, and team games (Silver, Strong & Perini  2000).  I needed to provide Joseph with more opportunities to express his powerful intelligences.  “For some African American, Native American, and Hispanic students, cooperative grouping instructional activities may be better because they parallel the context for learning found in their cultures”  (Coballes-Vega, 1992, p.101). 

Interventions

I came to the conclusion that Joseph’s home culture does not revolve around structure and rules.  That presented a problem in a classroom where the day is surrounded by rules.  Joseph’s home culture is care-free and relaxed, whereas school consists of pressure and demands to pay attention and follow many rules.  I tried four interventions to remedy the situation:  1) require fewer, but more specific rules; 2) develop parent-teacher notebook dialogue; 3) limit Joseph’s distractions; and 4) have more positive interactions with Joseph.

First, I came to the conclusion that I need to require fewer rules from Joseph.  I need to “recognize that all minority children face problems of social adjustment and academic performance in school because to cultural/language differences”  (Ogbu 1992 pg. 10).  Therefore, I developed three rules that Joseph must follow without exception for his safety as well as the student’s safety.  First, he would have to keep his hands off of other students.  Next, he would not run in school.  Last, he would be respectful to teachers and peers.  We discussed and role-played what these rules meant and the consequences which would result if these rules ere broken.  He would be given three chances during the day and then he would sit out from computer time or recess time.  When he broke a rule, he would draw a picture of the rule he broke and write down what he would do better next time.  We also talked about rewards.  For every day that he didn’t break any rules, he would be allowed to pick a prize from the prize box.  Joseph was very happy with this reward and promised to try very hard!

Next, I started a notebook with Joseph’s father where I would write down the behaviors I saw during the day.  Joseph’s father was to sign the notebook and Joseph was to bring it back the next day.  I am hoping that this notebook will show Joseph’s father what behaviors are expected in school and maybe he will begin to enforce them at home as well.  Wendy Schwartz (2001) stated that, “schools need to keep parents apprised of their children’s behavior, both good and bad, so they can wok together when improvement is needed”  (p. 117).  Also, I was hoping to create cultural fluency between Mr. Smith and me.  I hoped that Mr. Smith would realize the expectations of Joseph in a school setting and understand why Joseph is “misbehaving” in school.  Together, we should be able to solve this dilemma.

I continued to limit Joseph’s distractions.  I placed all of Joseph’s belongings in a crate.  When he needs a pencil or a book, he can go to the crate and get it.  I hoped this would diminish Joseph’s habit of playing with objects in his desk. 

Finally, I made a point of being more positive and not so concerned with the rules of the classroom.  This was hard for me because first grade is a very structured environment with strict routines to follow.  As I continue with this intervention, I will try to compliment Joseph’s good on task behavior and limit my criticisms for calling out, being out of his seat, and talking while I am talking.  Through research, I found that, “student behaviors such as attention-getting strategies, ways of responding to questions, and way of interaction are examples of actions which are influenced by cultural background”  (Coballes-Vega, 1992, p.104).  Maybe if I ignore this behavior, it might go away.

Preliminary Results

The results of the interventions are positive to date.  Due to the compressed nature of this project, the results of the interventions are preliminary, none-the-less promising, as seen below.

Joseph enjoys having very few rules.  At first, he continued to break the three rules that we have discussed and role-played.  He would run in the classroom and touch other students.  When he realized that he would have to draw a picture and write what he would do better, he began to realize that breaking the rules had consistent consequences.  During this time, I greatly limited my reprimanding Joseph by only enforcing the rules previously discussed.  It is extremely difficult for me to control my discipline of Joseph when he calls out inappropriately or gets out of his seat while I am teaching.  However, Joseph is beginning to realize and learn these important rules.  He is starting to follow them consistently and I am realizing that there is potential for Joseph to behaviorally succeed in my classroom.

I began sending a notebook home to Joseph’s father daily, which would include both positive and negative occurrences of that specific day.  Joseph has responded extremely well to this notebook.  The first night I sent it home, I had written about how Joseph had hit another child on the playground.  When Joseph came in the next day, he had two apology letters; one for the student he hit and one for me.  He told me that he was grounded from his video games and that his dad was very upset with him.  Since then, as soon as I start writing in the book, Joseph immediately displays appropriate behavior.  Joseph’s father often will write a note in the book thanking me for my efforts and tell me how he is enforcing the rules in the home as well.  Because this is preliminary, I hope that this notebook continues to be successful.  

Next, I put all of Joseph’s belongings in a crate so as to limit distractions.  This tactic has proven successful.  Joseph loves to walk around and be out of his seat, so getting up to get his things is almost a reward.  He is able to use his energy by moving around while limiting his distractions at his desk.  In fact, it is so successful that I am planning to use this intervention with other students with similar problems.  

Finally, I have learned to be more positive with Joseph.  I must admit that it is not easy.  I have tried to “catch Joseph being good.”  Anytime I see him on task, I give him a reward.  He seems to greatly enjoy being a helper, so I have tried to provide him with a multitude to classroom duties while he is displaying appropriate classroom behavior.  Currently, he is doing very well with this type of positive reinforcement.  When he sees me look his direction, he now makes more of an effort to be on task.  I find it quite tiring, but I am willing to put in the effort as long as I continue to see such great results!

Conclusion and Next Steps

I will continue to closely monitor Joseph’s progress.  He will keep his belongings separate from his desk in order to minimize distractions.  I will continue to dialogue with Mr. Smith everyday.  I believe that this communication is extremely important.  It will not only benefit Joseph, but also me and also me.  Mr. Smith will observe what the expectations are in school and hopefully become more culturally fluent in the school’s culture.   I will do my best at limiting my negative attention to Joseph, and try to focus only on his positive behavior. I will continue to only enforce the rules that were previously discussed.  Hopefully, with the continuation of these interventions, our cultural mismatch can disappear.  I can’t wait to see long-term results.

References

Coballes-Vega, C.  (1992).  Considerations in teaching culturally diverse  children.  ERIC Clearinghouse.  92-105.

Hawley, C.  (1996).  Teacher Talk:  cultural diversity in the classroom.  http://education.indiana.edu/cas/tt/v2i2/cultural.html Retrieved January 2003.

Jacob, E.  (1999)  http://classweb.gmu.edu/cip.

Ogbu, J.  (1992).  Understanding cultural diversity and learning.  Educational Researcher.  8-12. 

Perini, M., Silver, H., Strong, R.  (2000).  So each may learn:  integrated learning styles and multiple intelligences.  Alexandria, VA:  ASCD.

Schwartz, W.  (2001).  School practices for equitable discipline of African American students.  ERIC Clearinghouse, 116-131.