Instructional and Leadership Practices Benefiting Elementary African American Students’ Reading Achievement

Abstract

There was insufficient understanding of the instructional and leadership practices that led to increased reading achievement of African students by fourth grade in a high-performing Title 1 elementary school in a suburban school district in Texas. Despite an achievement gap, the fourth-grade African American students outperformed their European American peers on the 2018, 2019, and 2022 State of Texas Assessment of Academic Readiness reading assessment at the study site. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the instructional practices of K-3 teachers and the leadership practices of elementary school administrators that led to increased reading achievement of African students by fourth grade. Ladson-Billings’ theory of culturally relevant pedagogy and Khalifa’s theory of culturally responsive school leadership served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. Eight K-3 teachers and two elementary school administrators participated in semistructured virtual interviews. Thematic data analysis was used to identify categories, concepts, and themes. Nine themes emerged from the data collected, including relationships, learning environments, strategic planning, instructional practices, educational communities, and the roles and responsibilities of elementary school administrators. Findings may be used to promote academic achievement and positive student outcomes for African American students. Educational leaders, students, families, teachers, and the community may also benefit from the findings in this study.