Graduate Program
School Psychology
Degree Name
Specialist in School Psychology
Semester of Degree Completion
2008
Thesis Director
Assege HaileMariam
Thesis Committee Member
Unknown
Thesis Committee Member
Unknown
Abstract
The current study investigated teachers' perceptions of multicultural education. Teachers' perception of the importance of culture in the learning and teaching process is expected to impact students' learning and social development. For the culturally competent teacher, the child's culture is central to the teaching and learning process. However, even though the student population of ethnic minorities is increasing at a rapid rate, schools may not be fully prepared to provide meaningful education to these students. Based on the exposure theory, the current study attempted to answer the following question: Does a teacher's present and past teaching experience (urban, suburban, or rural setting), and the amount of multicultural coursework during teacher preparation and continuing education predict support for multicultural education? Ninety five teachers, Kindergarten to 12 grades, completed the Professional Belief About Diversity Scale (ProBADs) that was designed to assess teachers' attitudes about the importance of culture in education. Results indicated that beliefs about multicultural education did not vary across setting (urban, suburban, or rural). There was a moderate significant relationship among preservice college level multicultural coursework post-degree college level multicultural coursework and support for multicultural education. Teachers who received post-degree college multicultural coursework scored slightly higher on the ProBADs, r(95) = .24, p
Recommended Citation
Goodman, Brandie M., "Teachers' Perceptions Of Multicultural Education" (2008). Masters Theses. 598.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/598
