My Students Need Encouragement: Two Black Female Preservice Teachers’ Beliefs About Culturally Responsive Teaching for Black Students

Despite ubiquitous calls in existing literature, there are limited research studies on preparing culturally responsive African American female teachers for urban schools serving predominantly African American students. This article reports findings from a case study of two African American female preservice mathematics teachers who were part of a mathematics methods course and practicum field placements within a yearlong initial teacher certification Master of Arts of Teaching program at an urban university in the Southeast region of the United States. Data reveal that after conceptualizing culturally responsive mathematics teaching practices, the participants identified and challenged the devaluing of African American culture as a perennial characteristic of the United States education system. Implications and recommendations for research and practice are explored.