Perceptions of preservice elementary teachers on multicultural issues
Abstract
This paper reports an exploratory study of preservice teachers' knowledge of multicultural education and preparedness for literacy instruction with diverse populations. We conducted the study across a variety of college and university contexts. Results showed that preservice teachers did not feel well prepared to teach children of diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. We also found evidence that these preservice teachers had not developed a strong knowledge base about multicultural education, despite the fact that they had all been introduced to multicultural topics in their teacher education coursework. This study demonstrates that there is a need for examination of current methods of preparing teachers for providing literacy instruction that addresses diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
Reference
Barksdale, M., Richards, J., Fisher, P., Wuthrick, M., Hammons, J., Grisham, D., & Richmond, H. (2002). Perceptions of preservice elementary teachers on multicultural issues. Reading Horizons, 43(1), 27-42.
Journal
Reading Horizons
Analysis
Is this article part of a larger project or series of studies?
no
Does this study draw on a large, preexisting data set?
no
Research Approach
- Exploratory study
- mixed methods
Geographic Setting
Institutional Context
Certification Level
Programatic Focus
Research Location Context
Preservice Participants
- Masters of Arts in Teaching
- Undergraduates (university based program)
Preservice Sample Size
223
Duration of Data Collection
Data Sources
Data Analysis Tools
- coding (emergent categories)
- Qualitative Analysis
- Quantitative Content Analysis
Researcher Positionality
- Outside (not directly invested in the program or operations)
Research Questions
We performed this study to:
• investigate preservice teachers' perceptions of their preparedness
to work with multicultural populations
• examine preservice teachers' general knowledge of multicultural
education topics
Is this research question explicit from the manuscript? Yes