Fostering culturally responsive teaching with the Identity Project intervention: A qualitative quasi-experiment with pre-service teachers

The framework of culturally responsive teaching (CRT) provides a promising pathway for preparing teachers for culturally diverse schools. Important elements of culturally responsive teaching are critical reflection, valuing cultural diversity, and efficacy in teaching in a diverse classroom. The present study explores whether the Identity Project (Umaña-Taylor & Douglass, 2017), an eight-week classroom-based intervention, changes pre-service teachers’ (1) critical reflection, (2) diversity beliefs, and CRT efficacy. Using a qualitative, quasi-experimental design, we conducted semi-structured interviews (M_t = 75 min.) with eight pre-service teachers (three identified as female, five identified as male), in Eastern Germany at two time points: before and after an eight-week teaching experience at school. During the teaching experience, four participants in the intervention group (M_age = 22.3) facilitated the Identity Project, while the remaining four participants (control group, M_age = 25.5) taught regular lessons as part of the compulsory internship in their teacher-training degree at university. One out of eight participants is of immigrant descent. Using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006), findings suggest that implementing the Identity Project intervention promotes pre-service teachers’ quality of critical reflection, contributes to valuing cultural diversity beliefs, and promotes CRT efficacy. The findings help to identify approaches for reflexive critical education in a migration-diverse society.