Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate the perceptions of pre-service teachers majoring in English at the department of English Language Teaching (ELT)—Tishk International University Education Faculty in Iraq at the level of knowledge and attitude. Studies related to the concept of multiculturalism are significant as being discussed recently in our globalized world and Mesopotamia in Iraq. The present study was planned in 2018–2019 academic year by using case study design within the framework of qualitative research method. The study was carried out with 90 final year students (48 females and 42 males). The subject participated in the study on a voluntary basis. The data of the study were obtained by using semi-structured interview technique. The data obtained from the study was collected under certain codes and themes by content analysis. As a result of the analysis of the data, it was determined that pre-service teachers had both right and wrong learning about the concepts of multiculturalism and multicultural education, and their attitude levels were both positive and negative. In this regard, it is thought that it may be beneficial for prospective teachers to receive a training in the vocational education process related to multiculturalism and multicultural education. Conducting the studies to be planned for multicultural education applications by revealing different variables will enable the subject to be evaluated from different perspectives and will be beneficial for the enrichment of the literature on the subject.
Highlights
Culture is a very difficult term to define
The present study aims at investigating the perceptions of the prospective foreign language pre-service teachers towards multiculturalism and multicultural education concepts, as those teachers will be the identifier of a new language and a new culture, especially to teach and guide the new generations of Iraq
The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions of the pre-service teachers in the department of English Language Teaching (ELT) on the concept of multicultural education at the level of knowledge and attitude
Summary
Culture is a very difficult term to define. American anthropologists Kroeber and Kluckhohn (1952) critically examined the concepts and definitions of culture and compiled a list of 164 different definitions. Today, according to many researchers, the meaning of culture varies, the definition of famous anthropologists Spencer and Oatey (2008) are as follows: “Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumptions and values, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavioral conventions that are shared by a group of people, and that influence (but do not determine) each member’s behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior.”. It is a generally accepted definition by many researchers and linguists. The increasing communication speed between people has made culturally homogenous understanding of the nation-state fade away and countries have become multicultural (Wise & Velayutham, 2009; Meer & Modood, 2012; Cantle, 2012)
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