Program
K-12 Administration Ed.D.
Number of Pages
180
Year Approved
2026
First Advisor
Joel Frederickson
Second Reader
Scott Winter
Third Reader
Teresa Taylor
Abstract
Teachers who are culturally responsive use classroom materials that reflect their students' ethnicities, traditions, and values. Western teachers have access to diverse books and classroom tools. They have the agency to choose materials that support the curriculum. However, when Western educators work abroad, they must adapt their teaching methods and tools to local norms. Working abroad may require censoring or omitting information and content they believe in and support. As a result, teachers may feel dissonance or conflict when censoring. Censoring may impact their ability to teach comprehensively. Little research examines the relationship between culturally responsive teaching (CRT), perceptions of censorship, and educational materials outside the United States. Through a survey, this quantitative study explores the relationship between these elements. It also explores if non-Western teachers feel the same type of censorship as Western teachers. Results show that teachers who received CRT training used more books that mirrored the ethnicities of their students. Teachers believed that censorship negatively impacts teaching a foreign language. Western and non-Western teachers experienced similar stressors of censorship. Teachers who received formal CRT training reported higher levels of teacher self-efficacy. There are many ways a teacher becomes culturally responsive. Culturally responsive individuals utilize more reflective materials and strongly believe in their ability to teach and have a positive impact on students. Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) helps teachers understand the local laws in the context of their reactions to them and mandates that they consider the perspectives of students. It also makes teachers feel efficacious about their work when they are far from home.
Degree Name
Education Doctorate
Document Type
Doctoral dissertation
Recommended Citation
Sciarra, N. G. (2026). The Relationship Between Culturally Responsive Teaching (CRT) Training, Teachers’ Children’s Book Choices, and Perceptions of Censorship in Kuwait [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/1252
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