The effect of multicultural training on preservice teachers' attitudes toward multiculturalism and cultural diversity

Abstract

The schools in the United States are becoming increasingly diverse. This diversity makes it necessary for teachers to recognize the importance of students' heritage and the influence this heritage has on participation in school. A preservice class on multiculturalism can give future teachers knowledge about different cultures. This knowledge, combined with the use of multicultural techniques in the classroom, and positive attitudes may make them more effective teachers. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the effect a multiculturalism class has on preservice teachers’ attitudes toward multiculturalism. The purpose of this study was to examine the preservice teachers’ attitudes toward multiculturalism and the change that occurred in these attitudes after completion of multicultural training. It was hypothesized that the preservice teachers would have a more positive attitude toward multiculturalism and cultural diversity at the end of the multiculturalism class than at the beginning of the class. In order to examine preservice teachers attitudes toward multiculturalism the Multicultural Attitude Questionnaire asked the following six key questions: 1) Are preservice teachers aware of multicultural issues in education? 2) Do preservice teachers believe that their professional courses are preparing them to deal with multicultural approaches to education? 3) Do preservice teachers express interest in receiving additional training in multicultural approaches to education? 4) Are preservice teachers’ views of appropriate classroom practices for multicultural education consistent with current research and practice? 5) Do preservice teachers anticipate addressing multicultural issues in their own classrooms? 6) Do preservice teachers have personal attitudes that may prevent them from making effective use of multicultural approaches? The instrument was administered in two sections of Multiculturalism: Issues and Perspectives course at the University of Wisconsin – Stout in spring 2001. A total of 76 students, most of who were education majors, participated in the study. Results indicate that multicultural training does impact preservice teachers’ attitudes towards multiculturalism. Participants began the class with fairly positive attitudes toward multiculturalism. Comparison of the pretest and posttest data indicate that the course helped preservice teachers become more aware of multicultural issues and also increased their belief that their courses helped them deal with multicultural issues in education. Overall, it appears that a multiculturalism course has a positive effect on preservice teachers’ attitudes toward multiculturalism.