Preservice Teachers' Cultural Competencies for Teaching in a Rural Midwestern Community

• In Event: 77.058 - MTCC Roundtable Session 36
  In Roundtable Session: 77.058-4 - Developing Preservice Teachers' Cultural Competence

Abstract

Recently, teacher education programs have been criticized as inadequate to prepare culturally relevant teachers. This multi-year, mixed-methods study explores the cultural competencies of preservice teachers in a mid-western university to address arguments that predominantly white, female preservice teachers are unprepared to be culturally responsive teachers. Surveys were administered to 45 student participants at the start and end of the methods block to assess beliefs related to culturally competent teaching. Results from the CRTOE and CRTSE (Siwatu, 2007) indicate that while beliefs about culturally relevant approaches remained unchanged, self-efficacy beliefs for becoming a culturally relevant teacher increased. Results were correlated with case narratives (20) developed from qualitative sources including observations of teaching, rubrics used to asses lesson plans, and audio-recorded interviews.

Author

• Lisa L Ortmann, University of North Dakota