THE CONTEXT OF A CULTURALLY UNRESPONSIVE CURRICULUM - CONSTRUCTING ETHNICITY AND GENDER WITHIN A CONTESTED TERRAIN

The purpose of this research was to examine retrospectively the impact of federal mandates for forced school desegregation and coeducational programs on the curricular and teaching decisions of veteran teachers . A series of three narrative interviews were conducted with 12 middle school physical education teachers who had been teaching in the schoo l district prior to 1970. The data were analyzed using constant compar ison. The themes of curricular ownership, lack of awareness of and sen sitivity to students' gender and ethnic identities, and the resulting need for student control were evident in teachers' decision making. Wh ite girls, African-American students, and other students of color were reluctant or refused to participate in tasks taught within a white, m ale sport curriculum. When viewed together, ownership, insensitivity, and control formed an interlocking system of domination that constrain ed students' constructions of an authentic identity. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.