"This well crafted, highly informative, and easy-to-read book is a must for teachers who are trying to find constructive and nonthreatening ways to engage with ethnic, racial, and cultural diversity. The author's approach to the topic is encouraging and enlightening."
-Geneva Gay, Professor of Education
University of Washington
"Gallavan effectively guides teachers through learning each child's story, providing meaningful connections, and collectively sharing the responsibility for all students' learning."
-Linda D. Jungwirth, President, Convening Conversations, Inc.
Pepperdine University, CA
Chart your course with the Gallavan cultural competence compass
All children have one important thing in common-the need to be treated with dignity, respect, and care. Navigating Cultural Competence in Grades 6-12 shows teachers and administrators how to ensure that the cultures of all peoples are considered and valued. The author provides an eight-point cultural compass to guide you in crafting a respectful and inclusive curriculum. Each chapter includes frequently asked questions, specific strategies, and activities that help you:
Broaden your knowledge about cultural diversity
Become comfortable discussing culture
Increase confidence in your teaching
Create a welcoming school environment
It is vital for you to infuse cultural competence into your instruction, build bridges between students in the classroom, and strive to connect students' home and school lives. This book provides valuable tools for ensuring that all students feel accepted and engaged.
Author Biography:
Nancy P. Gallavan, Ph.D., is Professor of Teacher Education at the University of Central Arkansas where she specializes in classroom assessments and cultural competence in the Department of Teaching and Learning MAT Program, which she helped to start in 2006. The UCA MAT Program was recognized as the Distinguished Program in Teacher Education by the Association of Teacher Educators in 2010. Dr. Gallavan also serves as the UCA Academic Liaison to Institutional Diversity.
Receiving university and college awards for her teaching, scholarship, and service, Dr. Gallavan has expertise in K-12 education, classroom assessments, curriculum development, cultural competence, social studies education, and teacher self-efficacy. With more than 120 peer-reviewed publications in journals, as chapters in books, and as books, Dr. Gallavan authored two versions of Developing Performance-Based Assessments, one for Grades K-5 and one for Grades 6-12 with Corwin Press in 2009. She also authored two versions of Navigating Cultural Competence: A Compass for Teachers, one for Grades K-5 and one for Grades 6-12 with Corwin Press in 2011. With Ellen Kottler, she co-authored Secrets to Success for Beginning Elementary School Teachers with Corwin Press in 2007 and Secrets to Success for Social Studies Teachers with Corwin Press in 2008. Most of these books have been republished in multiple languages.
Her research agenda focuses on classroom assessments and teacher self-efficacy. Her chapter, “If you want your students to change, then you need to change: Mediating the sources and benefits of teacher self-efficacy with teacher candidates,” will be published in the Handbook of Research on Professional Development for Quality Teaching and Learning in 2016. Dr. Gallavan serves as the editor of the Arkansas Association of Teacher Educators Electronic Journal (ArATE EJ) and co-editor of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE) Annual Yearbook of Research.
An active member of American Educational Research Association (AERA), Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME), and National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), she is involved with the AERA Classroom Assessment Special Interest Group and serves as Chair of the ATE Commission of Online Teaching, Learning, and Schooling. Dr. Gallavan is a Past President and a Distinguished Member of the Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), a Kappa Delta Pi (KDP) Eleanor Roosevelt Legacy Chapter inaugural member, and a member of Phi Delta Phi (education honor society).
Prior to joining the University of Central Arkansas, Dr. Gallavan was an Assistant/Associate Professor with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, specializing in social studies education and cultural competence. She began her career in education as an elementary school and middle level classroom teacher primarily in the Cherry Creek School District in Colorado. She earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in Literacy from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University); her master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in Gifted and Talented Education from the University of Colorado, Boulder; her school administrator license from the University of Colorado, Denver; and her doctoral degree in Curriculum Leadership with a cognate in Cultural Competence from the University of Denver. At the University of Denver, she received the Phi Delta Kappa Outstanding Dissertation Award.
