Abstract
Current research on teacher attrition is high, especially in urban schools. High attrition rates can affect the overall cohesiveness of the school community (McKinney, Campbell-Whately, & Kea, 2005). Classroom management is one of the variables for teachers leaving the profession (Shernoff, Marinez-Lora, Frazier, Jakobsons, & Atkins, 2011). Urban schools tend to be more diverse culturally, linguistically, and economically (Bergeron, 2008). Culturally relevant teaching is the teacher’s awareness of diverse students in classrooms and how instruction is planned to educate students from all backgrounds (Brown, 2004). The study was conducted to explore how experienced sixth-grade teachers in urban schools use culturally relevant practices to facilitate classroom management. For this study, four sixth-grade teachers and six sixth-grade students in urban schools were interviewed to investigate their experience with culturally relevant practices. The researcher generated questions based on the themes found in the literature: creating a caring environment, validating culture, using a variety of strategies, and nurturing parent and student relationships. The data for the study came from the responses to the interview questions from students and teachers. The results of the study indicated that experienced teachers in urban schools are implementing many practices that are consistent with culturally relevant teaching, as related to the themes. The themes consisted of: setting high expectations and caring, validating culture and culture matters, cooperative learning and group-based projects, and building relationships with students and parents. This study illuminates the need for further course offerings and professional development in the area of culturally relevant practices for future beginning teachers.