Date of Award

6-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

First Advisor

Tonya Thompson

Second Advisor

Sherrie Wisdom

Abstract

Despite comprehensive efforts over the years, literacy rates in the United States continued to decline, particularly among students from disadvantaged populations. The literacy achievement gap was driven by socioeconomic disparities, inadequate teacher preparation, and a lack of access to evidence-based, culturally relevant materials. In the Main School District (MSD), the scholar practitioner identified while interventions existed, inconsistencies in literacy instruction and a lack of teacher confidence in delivering culturally responsive instruction hindered student progress. The dissertation in practice focused on addressing issues in literacy instruction and achievement while highlighting ways to meet teachers’ needs and provide means to engage all students.

The study used a mixed-methods approach, employing the design thinking framework to address challenges in literacy instruction. The scholar-practitioner gathered qualitative data from teachers and specialists to better understand barriers, such as large class sizes, limited resources, and the need for ongoing professional development. Based on these insights, a prototype consisting of five ready-to-use, culturally relevant literacy lesson plans was developed to better support teachers. The plans included Missouri Learning Standards, differentiation strategies, and texts reflecting students’ cultural identities.

The intervention proved providing structured, classroom-ready resources was a powerful tool for increasing teacher confidence and efficiency. Quantitative results showed a statistically significant increase in teachers’ perceived confidence in instructional readiness and in beliefs about the impact on student engagement involving culturally relevant material. Qualitative interviews confirmed the ready-to-use prototype reduced the burden of lesson creation, allowing teachers to focus more on implementation and student interaction. While students’ literacy growth was not directly measured, teachers reported a perceived increase in student participation and interest when materials reflected students' lived experiences. Additionally, the study found the ready-to-use materials increased instructional fidelity and consistency, ensuring diverse learners received high-quality support.

The dissertation in practice determined traditional one-time professional development sessions were insufficient to support long-term change. Instead, districts should shift toward providing ongoing support and tangible instructional resources for teachers. Curricular equity must also be considered by including culturally diverse texts to create connections and motivation among diverse students. Finally, reducing teacher workload through pre-created, standards-aligned materials is essential in ensuring sustainable, long-term implementation of culturally responsive practices.

Research Highlights

The Problem: Inconsistent literacy instruction, inadequate teacher preparation in culturally responsive pedagogy, and a lack of classroom-ready resources contribute to persistent literacy achievement gaps among disadvantaged and diverse student populations.

The Method: The scholar-practitioner utilized a mixed-methods design thinking framework—encompassing empathy, define, ideate, prototype, and testing phases—to develop and evaluate a prototype of five standards-aligned, culturally relevant literacy lesson plans across a four-week intervention with middle and high school teachers.

Quantitative Finding: The intervention yielded a statistically significant increase in teachers' perceived instructional effectiveness when using culturally relevant texts (p = .038); non-significant positive mean increases were observed across all other measured domains of teacher confidence and instructional readiness.

Qualitative Finding: Participating educators reported that ready-to-use, structured lesson plans alleviated lesson preparation burdens, facilitated effective instructional differentiation, enhanced teacher confidence in conducting discussions about identity and culture, and heightened perceived student engagement and participation during literacy tasks.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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