Ed.D. Doctor of Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary purpose of disaggregating student achievement data by demographic subgroups in educational equity work?
- To rank schools against each other by overall aggregate performance
- To identify specific disparities in educational outcomes among different student populations and target interventions accordingly (Correct answer)
- To determine teacher compensation levels based on student demographic composition
- To group students by ability for tracking and differentiated course placement
Correct answer: To identify specific disparities in educational outcomes among different student populations and target interventions accordingly
Disaggregating data by demographic subgroups reveals disparities that aggregate averages can mask, enabling educators and administrators to identify which specific student populations are underserved and design targeted interventions.
Question 2: Claude Steele and Joshua Aronson's research on 'stereotype threat' in academic settings found that it refers to which phenomenon?
- The tendency of teachers to form negative stereotypes about students based on physical appearance
- The risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group, which generates anxiety that impairs academic performance (Correct answer)
- Physical threats made against students because of group-based stereotypes
- The inclusion of stereotyped portrayals of groups in textbooks and curriculum materials
Correct answer: The risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one's social group, which generates anxiety that impairs academic performance
Steele and Aronson found that when individuals are aware of negative stereotypes about their group's academic ability, concern about confirming those stereotypes creates performance-impairing anxiety, independent of actual ability.
Question 3: James Banks' framework for multicultural curriculum transformation at the highest level — the 'Social Action Approach' — calls for which of the following?
- Adding ethnic content and heroes to the existing curriculum without changing its structure
- Restructuring the curriculum from a dominant-group perspective to include multiple cultural viewpoints
- Having students identify social issues, make decisions, and take action to help solve those problems (Correct answer)
- Integrating units and lessons about different cultures into the existing curriculum
Correct answer: Having students identify social issues, make decisions, and take action to help solve those problems
Banks' Social Action Approach, the highest level of multicultural integration, engages students in analyzing social issues and taking deliberate action to address injustice, going beyond content addition or perspective transformation.
Question 4: Universal Design for Learning (UDL), developed by CAST, is best described as which of the following?
- A federal building code requiring accessible physical facilities in all schools
- A standardized curriculum framework mandated across all US public school districts
- A proactive framework for designing flexible learning experiences and environments that accommodate all learners from the outset (Correct answer)
- A federal special education mandate for individualized accommodation plans
Correct answer: A proactive framework for designing flexible learning experiences and environments that accommodate all learners from the outset
UDL is a research-based framework that guides educators to proactively design instructional materials with flexibility — multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression — to make learning accessible to all learners by design rather than through retrofitted accommodations.
Question 5: Derald Wing Sue's research on microaggressions in educational settings identifies them as which of the following?
- Major, overt incidents of racial discrimination that occur within school buildings
- Brief, commonplace verbal or behavioral exchanges that communicate denigrating messages to members of marginalized groups, often unintentionally (Correct answer)
- Formal disciplinary actions that are disproportionately applied to minority students
- Curriculum materials that contain culturally insensitive or stereotyped content
Correct answer: Brief, commonplace verbal or behavioral exchanges that communicate denigrating messages to members of marginalized groups, often unintentionally
Sue defines microaggressions as brief, everyday exchanges — often well-intentioned — that communicate subtle denigrating messages to individuals from marginalized groups, with cumulative effects on academic belonging and performance.
Question 6: Django Paris' concept of 'culturally sustaining pedagogy' extends Gloria Ladson-Billings' culturally responsive teaching by arguing that education should do which of the following?
- Preserve traditional Western instructional methods across educational generations
- Actively perpetuate and foster students' linguistic and cultural pluralism rather than merely using culture as a bridge to dominant norms (Correct answer)
- Sustain student attention through the use of culturally familiar entertainment media
- Maintain the dominant cultural narrative in schools while acknowledging diverse student backgrounds
Correct answer: Actively perpetuate and foster students' linguistic and cultural pluralism rather than merely using culture as a bridge to dominant norms
Paris argued that 'relevant' pedagogy was insufficient because it could still use culture instrumentally to achieve dominant-culture outcomes; 'sustaining' pedagogy actively preserves students' cultural and linguistic identities as ends in themselves.
Question 7: Janet Helms' White Racial Identity Development Model describes a developmental process in which white individuals move through stages toward which outcome?
- Increased pride in white cultural heritage and traditions
- Complete colorblindness and the elimination of racial awareness
- A nonracist, positive white identity that acknowledges systemic racism and takes responsibility for dismantling it (Correct answer)
- Adoption of the cultural practices and perspectives of people of color
Correct answer: A nonracist, positive white identity that acknowledges systemic racism and takes responsibility for dismantling it
Helms' model describes white individuals progressing from obliviousness about race, through disintegration and reintegration, toward autonomy — a nonracist white identity that actively works against racism rather than denying its existence.
Ed.D. Doctor of Education Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education 2
What is the primary purpose of disaggregating student achievement data by demographic subgroups in educational equity work?