Graduation Semester and Year
Spring 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
Department
Educational Leadership and Policy Studies
First Advisor
Yi Zhang
Second Advisor
Casey Brown
Third Advisor
Catherine Robert
Abstract
The nation is becoming increasingly diverse, with the student population mirroring a broad range of ethnicities and cultures. To best serve their diverse classrooms, new teachers need training on multiple teaching styles and cultural backgrounds to understand and meet the individual needs of their students. This qualitative study investigates novice teachers’ preparation experiences with culturally relevant teaching and multicultural teacher education practices, their perceptions of its presence and effectiveness in preparing them to teach diverse student populations, and how novice teachers describe their experiences working with diverse student populations. Data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with eight novice teachers in years one to five of teaching. Aronson and Laughter’s (2016) culturally relevant education, also known as culturally relevant teaching, provides a conceptual framework that informs this study. Dover’s (2013) four constructivist methods exemplify how to incorporate culturally relevant teaching into classrooms and schools. The theoretical framework that serves as a lens through which to comprehensively evaluate various teacher preparation programs through which the participants were certified is Gorski’s (2009) five defining principles for multiculturalism in preservice teacher education. Most of the programs participants described did not align with the principles of multicultural teacher education. Teacher preparation programs need updating and revision so teachers can successfully educate the culturally, linguistically, and minority students they encounter in their P -12 classrooms of today and the future.
Keywords
Multicultural education, Multicultural teacher education, Multicutural teacher preparation, Culturally relevant education, Culturally relevant teaching, Culturally relevant teacher preparation
Disciplines
Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education | Education
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Foster, Kelli J., "New Classroom Teachers' Perceptions of Multicultural Teacher Preparation" (2024). Educational Leadership & Policy Studies Dissertations. 4.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/edleadershippolicy_dissertations/4