Coming to terms with "diversity" and "multiculturalism" in teacher education: Learning about our students, changing our practice

Citation
Ks. Cockrell et al., Coming to terms with "diversity" and "multiculturalism" in teacher education: Learning about our students, changing our practice, TEACH TEACH, 15(4), 1999, pp. 351-366
Citations number
55
Categorie Soggetti
Education
Journal title
TEACHING AND TEACHER EDUCATION
ISSN journal
0742051X → ACNP
Volume
15
Issue
4
Year of publication
1999
Pages
351 - 366
Database
ISI
SICI code
0742-051X(199905)15:4<351:CTTW"A>2.0.ZU;2-#
Abstract
A teacher educator team addressed negative student responses to a multicult ural foundations course by designing an action research study to learn more about their student's identities, experiences and beliefs. Through qualita tive analysis of written assignments, they identified three categories of s tudent beliefs about the purposes of schools in relation to cultural divers ity in American society. These categories were reinforced through triangula tion with data from focus group dialogues. The findings suggest relationshi ps between previous cross-cultural experiences, gender, and beliefs. Focus group data also revealed unrecognized sources of student resistance to mult icultural teacher education, even among students who took a transformative position. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.