Cultural Differences Explored in Dyke’s Recent Publication

May 8, 2020

Oklahoma State University Librarian Kevin Dyke’s new study, “‘Counterstory Mapping Our City’: Teachers Reckoning with Latinx Students’ Knowledges, Cultures and Communities,” has been published in the International Journal of Multicultural Education, an open-access publication. Dyke and his coauthors conducted a two-week study at STEM City Charter School, a heavily Latino-serving school located in the southern region of the midwest. 

This study used counterstory mapping, a way for students to show geographically where they felt they belonged. Only a small percentage of students marked their school as one of these locations. Using this data, Dyke and his team conducted a week-long professional development for the faculty and staff of STEM City. The professional development covered Critical Race Theory and its relation to student-teacher interactions and the school’s code of conduct. 

The authors believe the findings go beyond the hallways of STEM City Charter School. Using the data found at STEM City, they go on to suggest that a large swathe of academia has placed orderliness and discipline over cultural understanding and mutual discernment. Although they believe it will take much change for these principles to take root, they believe their implementation will “[explode] the safety zone” for both students and teachers alike.

Story by Nathan May, Communications Intern

URL: https://library-dep.okstate.edu/news/archived-news/spring-2020/cultural-differences-explored-in-dyke’s-recent-publication

Last Updated: 16 September 2020