Graduation Term

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

School of Teaching and Learning

Committee Chair

Erin Quast

Committee Member

Susan Hildebrandt

Committee Member

Terry Husband

Abstract

This research study explored the relationship between an understanding of interculturality and culturally based pedagogies among world language teachers. The study examined the relationship between language teachers’ upbringing, their development of intercultural competence, and their self-efficacy in culturally responsive teaching practices. It addressed a practical knowledge gap concerning the intersection of interculturality and culturally based practices, specifically among secondary education teachers of Spanish and Mandarin Chinese in the United States.

The data sources focused on the qualitative aspects of interculturality, culturally based teaching practices, and world language pedagogy, with quantitative results to enhance qualitative data. The qualitative data collection included three semi-structured interviews and three reflection journals. The quantitative data collection included the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), the Culturally Responsive Teaching Self-Efficacy (CRTSE) scale, and the Culturally Responsive Classroom Management Self-Efficacy (CRCMSE) scale. There were seven participants in the study.

The results of the study demonstrated that some participants did not have a profound understanding of what it means to teach interculturality, especially the reflection piece of interculturality, whereas some participants did. The study also established that teachers had a variety of experiences that influenced the way they approached teaching interculturality in the classroom and the way they approached culturally based pedagogies, including personal philosophies and mandates from the districts where they teach.

Future implications include what is taught in world language methodology courses at the university level concerning the intersection of the two concepts and professional development opportunities for world language teachers. Future research in this area needs to be conducted since there is a dearth concerning the intersection of interculturality and culturally based pedagogies in the secondary world language classroom in the United States.

Access Type

Dissertation-Open Access

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