Abstract
This study reviewed current issues in preparing qualified teachers for increasing diverse student populations in the U.S. and in other multicultural and multiethnic countries. Based on the framework of community-based and multicultural teacher education, this literature review paper analyzed issues and problems existed in the current curriculum, content, and practicum in traditional teacher education programs in addressing cultural knowledge and competence of preparing pre-service teachers in a multicultural society. Drawing from implications from community-based teacher education, this paper proposed several suggested strategies to reform traditional teacher education programs to meet the needs from multicultural and multiracial student populations and instructional context.
Highlights
In recent years, educating preservice teachers for cultural diversity has become an increasingly important part of teacher education programs across the United States
Based on the framework of community-based and multicultural teacher education, this literature review paper analyzed issues and problems existed in the current curriculum, content, and practicum in traditional teacher education programs in addressing cultural knowledge and competence of preparing pre-service teachers in a multicultural society
Drawing from implications from community-based teacher education, this paper proposed several suggested strategies to reform traditional teacher education programs to meet the needs from multicultural and multiracial student populations and instructional context
Summary
In recent years, educating preservice teachers for cultural diversity has become an increasingly important part of teacher education programs across the United States. Mentioned by Mule (2010), the growing popularity among universities and colleges of the community engagement movement has its historical root: “A broader movement in higher education emphasizing deeper relationships with neighborhood communities that gained momentum in the late 1980s” (p.9) This increased attention to teacher education reform, multicultural teacher education, and community engagement, as well as the ways in which these elements interface are well-documented in the literature (Villegas & Davis, 2008; Banks et al, 2009; Irvine, 2003; Murrell, 2001). The scholarship indicated that the call for preparing teachers for diversity is fueled by concerns for quality teacher preparation and a need to respond to challenges facing both prospective teachers and teacher educators. Mule (2010) outlined the major challenges as: educational disparities or achievement gaps in American schools which often reflect demographics along class, race, ethnicity, and language; a nearly racially homogenous population of teachers; and a narrow teacher knowledge base for diversity
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