Date of Award

5-7-2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Education Sciences

College

College of Education and Social Sciences

First Advisor

Jonathan Coker

Second Advisor

Kristal Curry

Third Advisor

Suzanne Horn

Abstract

This pedagogical ethnography examines how teachers in a private school context understand and enact Culturally Relevant Education (CRE). While CRE emphasizes cultural competence and critical consciousness, less is known about how it is interpreted within private school settings, where institutional culture and community expectations shape pedagogy. This study explores how teachers engage culturally relevant commitments and how institutional context influences those practices.

A qualitative ethnographic design was used to examine classroom practice in a South Carolina private school. Data was collected through observations, semi-structured interviews, and teacher reflections from four Upper School teachers selected through purposive sampling. Analysis combined deductive coding aligned with CRE and inductive thematic analysis.

Findings indicate that teachers emphasized relationships, belonging, and attentiveness as central to their practice. However, explicit engagement with cultural identity and sociopolitical issues was not consistently taken up, even when opportunities emerged. Instead, teaching was shaped by an institutional culture emphasizing relational stability, professionalism, and community trust, influencing how teachers navigated sensitive topics.

These findings suggest that CRE cannot be fully understood without attention to institutional context. The concept of Institutional Cultural Anchoring explains how pedagogy is shaped by responsiveness to students and institutional norms. This study contributes to CRE scholarship by highlighting the role of institutional culture and offers implications for leadership in supporting more explicit engagement with equity-oriented pedagogy.

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