Urban Teachers’ Beliefs About Diversity: Critical Analysis of Race, Gender, and Class

• In Event: Race and Equity Issues in Teaching, Teacher Prepartion, and Educational Experiences

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to understand the relationship between urban elementary teachers’ beliefs about diversity and analyze their response to items of race, gender, and class. Currently, the teacher population is essentially homogenous, consisting of a majority of middle-class White females, while the student population is growing more diverse. Teachers’ instructional decisions tend to reflect their own cultural background and not the cultural background of the diverse student population. This study examined urban teachers’ personal and professional beliefs about diversity and found that gender was a factor in the teachers’ diversity scores.

Author

• Quinita D. Ogletree, Texas A&M University