2026 Theses Doctoral

Bridging the Gap: Science Teachers Sensemaking of Culturally Responsive-sustaining Education in Curriculum Design

Julien, Jude R.

This qualitative study investigates how science teachers in New York City experience and make sense of culturally responsive-sustaining education (CR-SE) within the context of curriculum development. Rooted in a phenomenological research design, this study centers the lived experiences of 18 teachers participating in a professional learning team (PLT) through Math for America (MfA), titled Beyond Heroes and Holidays: CR-SE in the Science Classroom. The purpose of this study is to explore how teachers engage with CR-SE principles, identify implementation challenges, and redesign curriculum to reflect their students’ diverse identities and lived experiences. While CR-SE has gained momentum as a framework for educational equity, its application in science education remains limited. Science is often perceived as objective and apolitical, a perception that can marginalize students whose cultural knowledge systems and lived realities are excluded from dominant science narratives. Using Moustakas’ (1994) transcendental phenomenology and NVivo-assisted coding, the study analyzes data collected from semi-structured interviews, open-ended surveys, participant-created artifacts (including lesson plans, Jamboard and Padlet reflections), and researcher field notes. This methodological approach allows for an in-depth exploration of teachers’ reflections, mindset shifts, and instructional strategies.

Three central themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Teachers identified a persistent gap between their theoretical understanding of CR-SE and their ability to implement it in practice, underscoring the need for subject-specific professional learning and concrete instructional tools. (2) Participants described science curricula, particularly those aligned to Regents and AP standards as exclusionary and misaligned with the lived experiences of their students. Many expressed a desire to reimagine science as an affirming and empowering space for historically marginalized learners. (3) Teachers began to reconceptualize curriculum itself as a political artifact and a site for resistance, leveraging the PLT structure to collaboratively design lessons that center equity, identity, and justice. The findings suggest that sustained, collaborative professional learning communities like PLTs can serve as transformative spaces where science educators move from conceptual alignment with CR-SE to actionable curriculum change. Participants used the PLT not only to share strategies and resources but to engage in critical self-reflection, challenge dominant narratives, and design lessons that affirm students’ cultural, linguistic, and racial identities. These findings extend the work of scholars such as Gloria Ladson-Billings, Geneva Gay, Zaretta Hammond, and Paul Gorski, highlighting the need for science-specific CR-SE models that bridge the gap between theory and practice.

This study contributes to the growing body of literature on equity in STEM education by providing teacher-centered insight into how CR-SE principles can be enacted through curriculum transformation. The research also addresses key gaps in the literature, including the lack of empirical studies on science teachers’ CR-SE implementation and the need for models of sustained professional learning. Through participant vignettes, coding diagrams, and artifact analysis, the study paints a rich, multifaceted portrait of teachers’ struggles and successes in enacting culturally responsive science instruction. Implications for practice include the development of ongoing, discipline-specific professional development for science educators; the integration of CR-SE principles into science teacher preparation programs; and the redesign of assessment and curricular policies that constrain equity-focused pedagogy. Ultimately, this study affirms the transformative potential of science education when grounded in culturally responsive frameworks and driven by teachers’ collective efforts to honor and empower their students.

Keywords: culturally responsive-sustaining education, professional learning communities, equity-focused pedagogy, science education, curriculum design