Increasing early childhood preservice teachers’ intercultural sensitivity through the ABCs.
Abstract
While the early childhood student population has become increasingly diverse in the U.S., its teaching force remains primarily European American. The diverse student population demands that early childhood educators possess intercultural sensitivity in order to teach their culturally diverse learners effectively. This study examined the implementation of the ABCs of Cultural Understanding (the ABCs), a multicomponent instructional activity to promote intercultural sensitivity, in a preservice early childhood education course. Twenty-two early childhood preservice teachers participated in the study. The findings suggest the ABCs helped the participants develop intercultural sensitivity and strengthened their awareness and appreciation of other cultures. Despite the positive impact, the findings show most participants were in the early stages of intercultural sensitivity development. It is recommended that consistent exposure to and experiences with assignments like the ABCs are necessary to further promote intercultural sensitivity among preservice teachers.
Reference
Monroe, L., & Ruan, J. (2018). Increasing early childhood preservice teachers’ intercultural sensitivity through the ABCs. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 39(1), 1-15.
Journal
Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
yes
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
- early childhood education
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- undergraduate preservice teachers
Preservice Sample Size
22
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
- Autobiographies
- lesson plans
- Pre/Post survey
Data Analysis Tools
- Constant comparative analysis
- Content analysis
Researcher Positionality
Research Questions
In this paper, we describe and reflect upon the implementation of a modified version of the original ABCs in an undergraduate early childhood course on family and community involvement.
In this course, they learned about various practices and strategies for family and
community involvement. The ABCs was one of the course assignments aimed at improving
their intercultural sensitivity so that they could become more responsive to their
students’ cultures in their future work with children and their families.
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? No