Impact of Antiracism/Multicultural Education Training on Elementary Teachers' Attitudes and Classroom Behavior

Abstract

The Elementary School Journal Volume 81, Number 3 ? 1981 by The University of Chicago. 0013-5984/81/8103-0004$01.00 Educators and their professional organizations have, over the past 5 years, consistently called for the integration of multicultural, nonsexist education into preservice and inservice teacher-education programs (see National Council for Social Studies 1976; National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education 1977; American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education 1978). Despite social and educational trends (e.g., desegregation and special-education legislation) which promote interaction among students from varied social, racial, economic, and religious backgrounds, many teachers have not been prepared for the reality of cultural diversity. Indeed, teacher trainers have attempted to minimize differences among children of diverse cultural backgrounds, as was consistent with the melting pot theory. An emerging contrast to that tradition is multicultural education, with emphasis on the recognition and respect for differing cultures as reflected in instructional content and curricula. Multicultural education is based on the assertion that the multicultural composition of our society-and of public school classroomsincreasingly requires teachers to explore human values and traditions (see Washington and Woolever 1979). As a service of a culturally diverse society, educational systems need teachers who are trained to provide professional tasks in a wide variety of settings; teacher education must build a hierarchy of knowledge and experiences which extend the trainees' cultural background. Yet, despite increasing attention to the problems of welcoming diversity in formal educational processes, and links