Reframing the Achievement Gap: The Review and Explanation of the Inequitable Educational Practice

Abstract

This paper examines the academic gaps within the frame of educational quality and practice, in terms of teaching beliefs, attitudes, expectations, pedagogy and interactions among students. A wide gap in the academic achievement exists in the United States, especially among ethnic minority students, which provokes the need of re-conceptualization of achievement gap and teacher preparation in a multicultural educational context. This research paper focuses on following major questions: “How can and do teaching beliefs, attitudes, expectations, and pedagogy differ depending on whether the teacher is serving minority students versus White students? What are the major contributing factors to the achievement gap within inequitable educational practice? What extends the “teaching gap” towards ethnic minority students in the United States? What could we do to improve teacher preparation aimed at narrowing the achievement gap?” The purpose of this paper is to explore the nature and history of the academic achievement gap framed by inequitable educational practices, analyze its influences on educational quality and outcomes; as well as illustrate what we can learn from previous studies to improve the current educational quality to meet the needs of minority students.