Teacher culture and children's voices in an urban kindergarten center
Abstract Educational theorists commonly agree that differences between children's and teachers' communication styles contribute to poor academic performance among minority children. Yet school policies and pedagogical practices based on a cultural deficiency explanation for school failure continue to persist. This article, explores why and how interactional misunderstandings are interpreted by teachers and administrators as student deficiencies. This discussion is based on an ethnographic case study of the ways that particular attitudes and pedagogical practices were played out in a kindergarten center serving predominately African American children. The study suggests that adoption of pedagogy responsive to children's cultural styles encompasses a complex array of social, cultural, and political factors that are inevitably reflected in teachers' and district officials' attitudes, values, beliefs, and practices regarding minority children.