Elementary teachers’ beliefs about multicultural education practices

Abstract

As the diversity of American schools is increasing, teachers should understand the role culture plays in the classroom and employ teaching practices that accommodate students from diverse cultural backgrounds. However, while more is known about pre-service teachers’ beliefs about multicultural education, less is known about what practices in-service teachers endorse and what factors influence those beliefs about practices. Specifically, the aims of the study were to determine (a) how teachers define culture, (b) what multicultural practices they endorse, and (c) what school-level factors (i.e. racial/ethnic demographics of the school) and teacher-level factors (i.e. multicultural professional development/coursework, grade level taught, comfort level facilitating multicultural discussions, and definitions of culture) are associated with teachers’ endorsement of multicultural practices. A sample of 45 elementary teachers (grades kindergarten to fifth) in three elementary schools completed a custom-developed survey. Findings indicated that teachers defined culture broadly with infrequent mention of specific identities and did not show strong endorsement of recommended multicultural practices. Teachers’ definitions of culture and their school of employment were associated with teachers’ beliefs about practices. Directions for future and implications for targeted professional development will be discussed.

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