Overview
This assignment requires you to function as a practitioner-researcher. You will identify a specific diversity-related challenge within an educational setting (e.g., a classroom, a school, or a community program), and then propose a plan for an action research project to address it. Your proposal should be a clear, well-structured document that outlines your rationale, a literature-based intervention, and a plan for assessing the impact of that intervention. This is not about conducting the research, but about demonstrating the ability to design a rigorous and thoughtful research project.
Your paper should be formatted in APA as if you were going to submit it for publication. If you are unclear on what that entails, I encourage you to review the Purdue OWL website.
Proposal Components
Your proposal should be a single document, approximately 5-7 pages in length (excluding title page and references), and include the following sections:
- Context and Problem Statement
- Context: Describe the specific educational setting (e.g., a high school history class, a community after-school program) and the population of students or participants. Include relevant demographic information to illustrate the diversity within the context.
- Problem Statement: Clearly and concisely articulate a specific diversity-related challenge or issue you have observed in this context. The problem should be focused and actionable, and it should be framed as a question that your action research project would seek to answer. For example: "How does the implementation of culturally responsive teaching strategies impact the academic engagement of English Language Learners in a 9th-grade science classroom?"
- Literature Review
- Review of Research: Synthesize at least five scholarly articles or reputable practitioner resources (e.g., from Edutopia, Learning for Justice, The Education Trust) that are directly relevant to your identified problem.
- Theoretical Framework: Connect your chosen problem to at least two of the theoretical frameworks or concepts we have discussed in Modules 1 and 2 (e.g., Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, Intersectionality, Funds of Knowledge, etc.). Explain how these theories inform your understanding of the problem and your proposed intervention.
- Proposed Intervention
- Description: Based on your literature review, describe a specific, evidence-based intervention you would implement to address the problem. Be specific about what the intervention entails. For example, if you are focusing on culturally responsive teaching, what specific strategies will you use? What will it look like in the classroom?
- Justification: Explain why this particular intervention is a good fit for your context and how it is likely to be effective. Justify your choice with evidence from your literature review.
- Data Collection and Impact Assessment
- Methodology: Describe the data you would collect to assess the impact of your intervention. This should include both qualitative and quantitative data. For example, you might propose collecting quantitative data like attendance records or test scores, and qualitative data like student interviews, teacher observation notes, or student work samples.
- Timeline: Propose a realistic timeline for your project, from the initial problem identification to the final analysis of the data (e.g., a 6-8 week period).
- Ethical Considerations: Briefly describe any ethical considerations you would need to address to conduct this research, such as obtaining consent from students, parents, or administrators.