Author: Rylie Ford | Major: Social Studies Education and History | Semester: Spring 2024

My name is Rylie Ford I completed my honors thesis research for the College of

Education and Health Professions My majors are Social Studies Education and History and I am

about to graduate THIS WEEK, with a Bachelor in the Art of Teaching Social Studies Education

and a Bachelors in the Art of History. My wonderful mentor is Dr. Peggy Ward from the

Education and Curriculum and Instruction department. I worked on my research from fall 2023

to spring 2024 and I recently passed my defense! This coming fall I will begin the History

masters program at the U of A full time. Following the completion of the program, I plan to

begin looking for a teaching job.

 

I chose to research culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP) after learning about it in my

Classroom Learning Theory course with my mentor Dr. Ward. My research surveyed Northwest

Arkansas Secondary Teachers and their perceptions to the beliefs, values, and attitudes relevant

to culturally responsive pedagogy.

 

It has been so rewarding to have finally finished this project! In the fall semester, I

completed my data collection and analysis, so the spring just left me to finish my paper and

create my poster to present. I spent a LOT of time revising and editing my paper. I probably have

4 draft copies before my final one, if not more. My mentor was a huge help for this as she read,

edited, and provided feedback every step of the way. I have written many in depth research

papers for my history courses, but this kind of writing required a whole new skill set, which I am

now thankful to have!

 

Aside from research experience and skills, one of the biggest things I am taking away

from my research is what I actually learned about the topic. In my education course we have

been asked to describe our “teaching philosophies,” and mine always centers on creating a safe,

equitable, and fair environment for all students, while also making the content impactful to them.

In short, that is what culturally responsive pedagogy is! Not only has analyzing the scholarship

and literature around this topic enhanced my knowledge, understanding, and practice of it, but I

have learned a lot from the written responses teachers provided in the survey. It is easy to read all

of the theoretical or even case-study based papers and think “why doesn’t everyone use this,” but

after reading the real, lived experiences and struggles of some teachers, I was humbled by the

responses. Many teachers wish to base their classrooms on these ideologies, but they worry about

their job security, don’t know where to begin, or really do not have the time or emotional

bandwidth to do anymore in their classroom than they already do. That perspective showed me

not only what I value in a school and educational community, but also how much districts and

policies can make or break not only the teachers’ experience, but also the equitable education of

all students.

 

Having the opportunity to put into words everything I have been learning and researching

over the past two years has felt very fulfilling. I was even able to present my research at the

National Undergraduate Research Symposium and the COEHP Honors Symposium. This project

is something I will always be proud of and I am so thankful I stuck it out through the hard times

to now have this knowledge and this work.