Telling Stories of Teacher-To-Teacher Trust in Culturally Relevant Teaching Professional Development

Abstract

This study examined White female teachers’ storied experiences of teacher-to-teacher trust as they navigated culturally relevant teaching practices presented through professional learning, using the qualitative research methods of narrative inquiry and heuristic research. The study was conducted in an urban public high school within a Midwestern state. Purposeful sampling with maximum variation were used for participant selection. The participants for this study included seven, self-identified White, female, high-school teachers employed at the specific high school, who participated in culturally relevant teaching professional learning. Qualitative data collection generated from the participants’ responses during semi-structured interviews, documents and artifacts gathered. Data collection took place alongside the six phases of heuristic inquiry. Co- researchers' narratives inspired six themes including (a) “Inequity;” (b) “Application;” (c) “Barriers to Trust;” (d) “Silence;” (e) “Trusted Teachers;” and (f) “Trusted Teachers Talk.” The stories of trust may have implications for educators who are working to build trust relationships in their schools, those who wish to revive positive school culture or reform initiatives, or those who wish to identify best practices for helping teachers use culturally relevant teaching to address student equity.