Preparing Culturally Competent Teachers: An Empirical Investigation of Multicultural Education Strategies

• In Event: Poster Session 5
  In Poster Session: The English Learners in the Mainstream (ELM) Project: A Comprehensive Teacher Training Model

Abstract

This study provides empirical data regarding multicultural education within teacher preparation programs. Individual course sections of pre-service teachers (PSTs) completing field-based teaching experiences were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups or a no-treatment control group. Quantitative measures within a pretest-intervention-posttest research design were used to assess the effectiveness of variation in pedagogical approach of multicultural teacher education and to examine how differences in field placement sites might affect PSTs’ cultural competence.

Sample (n = 86) results indicated treatment group participants experienced significant (p = .001) and meaningful (n2 = .303) change in attitudes and beliefs regarding multiculturalism and diversity. Findings highlight the importance of intentionally designed curriculum and differences between didactic and experiential approaches to multicultural teacher education.

Author

• Mark Steven Barajas, Saint Mary's College of California