Preparing Teachers for Diversity: An Analysis of the Accreditation Diversity Standard

• In Event: 49.088 - Roundtable Session 17
  In Roundtable Session: 49.088-7 - Issues of Diversity in the Context of National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education/Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation Accreditation

Abstract

Preparing preservice teachers for the realities of diverse classrooms remains a challenge for most schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs). The purpose of this study is to understand how SCDEs interpreted and implemented National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education’s (NCATE) diversity standard by using Cochran-Smith’s (2003) conceptual framework of multicultural teacher education. Using qualitative content analysis, the researcher examined 10 SCDEs rated as “target” by NCATE in the preparation of preservice teachers for diverse learners. These findings can improve teacher educators’ understanding of the diversity standard, the impact of the diversity standard on SCDEs’ curricula, and encourage conversations within the field on how to develop standards and accreditation processes to advance the education for diverse P-12 learners.

Author

• Paula Cristina Azevedo, George Mason University