A scoping study of in-service teacher professional development for inter/multicultural education and teaching culturally and linguistically diverse students

Abstract

ABSTRACT Every year, significant resources are devoted to the professional development of educators, warranting a closer evaluation of whether professional development is effective and where it can be improved. Focussing on professional development in intercultural and multicultural education, this article presents a scoping study of relevant literature to identify factors that have been highlighted as helpful and hindering for educators. Peer-reviewed journals from the last two decades were scoped for articles about professional development aimed at Pre-K–12 educators. A literature search of four academic databases identified 159 relevant articles which were then qualitatively coded with NVivo. A numerical analysis identified areas of research concentration and those needing research attention, while a thematic analysis yielded four broad areas of results: teacher capacities and dispositions, features of professional development, professional development activities and professional development topics. Discussion is concentrated on the overall state of the field, particularly on features specific to inter/multicultural professional development such as educator resistance and reluctance, content organisation, the under-utilisation of technology, and safe opportunities for discussion, criticality and meta-cognitive reflection. The article presents results that may inform the design of inter/multicultural professional development in education along with suggested areas for future research.