Multicultural Education Course Research Articles

Mapping racial justice to online teacher education

As many teacher education programs have returned to in-person instructional models since the initial interruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, little research examines innovative practices during the pandemic at the intersections of racial justice and online teacher education. This self-study illustrates how one Asian male teacher educator linked technological pedagogical content knowledge with anti-racist education in an online multicultural education course at a predominantly white institution in the Pacific Northwest of the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications include how teacher educators can bridge anti-racist education and technological pedagogical content knowledge in research and practice as an ongoing decolonial project in a post-pandemic world.

Embodied place in disembodied space: The emotional geography of online classrooms

While many institutions in recent years have worked to adapt classes to online settings, little attention has been given to the interplay of affect and emotion in online classrooms. This study uses a microethnographic approach to observe two online multicultural education courses over a 7-week term to explore the normative and socially organized practices of affect and emotion. We emphasize the ways that affect and emotion are deeply connected to physical place and online space. Findings suggest the emotional geography of online, synchronous classrooms are characterized by the duality of space and place. This includes tensions around visualizing affect and understanding emotion without shared references and physical places. This research also suggests that teachers and students are managing complex relationships, roles, and pressures in real time as their physical place may call for individuals to act one way while the online space may call for a different set of emotion work and labor.

Pre-service Teachers’ Perceptions and Their Professional Preparation Levels for Multicultural Education: Implications for Teacher Education Curricula

Purpose: This study examines pre-service teachers’ perceptions and their professional preparation levels for multicultural education.
 Design/Methodology/Approach: In accordance with the research problems, this study was conducted using a mixed method research and a partial mixed sequential and equal status design. In the quantitative part, 381 pre-service teachers were surveyed using the Multicultural Perception Scale (MPC) to assess their perspectives on multicultural education. In the qualitative part, 20 pre-service teachers were interviewed individually to determine their levels of professional preparation for multicultural education.
 Findings: The quantitative findings of the study showed that pre-service teachers have a moderate level of perception their professional preparation levels for multicultural education. Pre-service teachers enrolled in the Primary Education program have a higher perception of multicultural education than pre-service teachers enrolled in other teacher education programs. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between grades. On the other hand, it appears that male pre-service teachers have significantly lower perceptions of multicultural education than female pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers are observed to emphasize the terms "diversity, interaction, and togetherness" when defining multicultural education, according to the qualitative findings of this study. In addition, they emphasized the interactions between pre-service teachers and international students, the program's course content, and extracurricular activities in light of the findings regarding the teacher education program's contribution to and opportunities for enhancing the levels of professional preparation for multicultural education. Examining the recommendations of pre-service teachers for teacher education, it is evident that more opportunities for extracurricular activities, school experience, and observation are recommended. Another recommendation highlighted is the addition of a multicultural education course to the teacher education program.
 Highlights: According to the findings, multicultural education must be more thoroughly integrated into teacher education programs. It is anticipated that the study's findings will contribute to future studies of curriculum development and research on multicultural education conducted by those involved in teacher education at the national and international levels.

Cross-border Community-based Learning as a Strategy in Diversity and Multicultural Teacher Preparation

As students in K-12 classrooms reflect the increasing racial, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the United States as a whole, understanding diverse worldviews and inclusion of diverse students are important skills for classroom teachers. However, the pedagogical practices for training teacher education students with the knowledge and skills to effectively teach their racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse students range greatly. This study explores the potential of one teacher training strategy, cross-border community-based learning, and the impact of this strategy on teacher education students’ understanding of diversity and commitment to future actions in their own classrooms. The research employs a comparative case study of two sections of a diversity and multicultural education course for undergraduate education students: one section participated in community-based learning at an Indigenous school in Guatemala and one section participated in traditional-classroom learning. The mixed-methods analysis of pre/post survey data, student journals, and student presentations suggests that community-based learning which centers Indigenous Knowledges and assets holds potential to motivate teacher education students to include diverse students in their future classrooms and challenge colonial systems of education in their future teaching. This research contributes five main recommendations to inform teacher education and community-based learning curriculum, including important differences between learning for teacher education Students of Color and White students on one particular survey scale.

“I did not realize that my teacher had taken away part of my identity”: bilingual preservice teachers’ virtual libraries project

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate how participating in a multicultural education course impacted bilingual preservice teachers' (BPSTs) conceptions of identity and how they were able to use their experiential knowledge to create a virtual library based on a variety of topics related to multicultural education. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study examines the experiences of three BPST candidates within a multicultural education course during the fall 2020 semester. The authors focused on three preservice teachers’ written reflections, interviews and work samples based on a virtual library project. Findings The authors describe the critical role BPST preparation programs have in developing coursework that provides opportunities for building a positive self-identity that values life experiences. Such opportunities foster BPSTs’ ability to create lessons that are reflective of identity and diversity inclusive of culture, language, immigration and LGBTQ+. Originality/value For some time now, researchers have examined how teacher education programs should include opportunities to interrogate preservice teachers' own experiences in K-12. However, few researchers have directly documented how to connect these experiences to preservice teacher coursework and create classroom resources based on these critical reflections.

Content Learning through Languaging: Translingual Practices in a Graduate-level Teacher Preparation EMI Course in South Korea

A shift in the global teacher education landscape has led to an increase in the number of teacher candidates from all over the world seeking out degree-granting programs in non-Western, Asia-Pacific countries, including South Korea. While teacher education programs in Asia-Pacific countries are accepting more teacher candidates from abroad, few studies have examined teacher education practices and their effectiveness in this context and whether they prepare teachers to deal with the diversifying student population worldwide. While many higher education institutions in Asia-Pacific countries use English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in response to the increasing number of students from abroad, research contends that high-quality learning opportunities for these students are limited. This study explored alternative approaches to facilitating teacher candidates' acquisition of content knowledge and promoting fluid stances in languaging. The purpose of this study was to examine international teacher candidates' content learning and languaging experiences in a graduate-level multicultural education course that employed EMI and translingual practices. Data collection consisted of two questionnaires, and individual in-depth interviews in the 2021 fall semester (September to December). Study results report the impact of EMI and translingual practices on prospective teachers' content and language acquisition, as well as their evolving perceptions of bilingualism and multicultural education. Implications for research and teacher education practice are discussed.

Penyuluhan dan Kampanye Nilai-Nilai Multikulturalisme di Tengah Badai Covid-19

The impact of the new identities of Covid-19 such as confirmed as positively infected, conducted self-isolation, stimulate intolerant attitudes in society. The public's attitudes towards the Covid-19 cases are very substantially contrary to the values in a multicultural society. The panic buying of medical equipment, medicines and vitamins, refusing the Covid-19 burial protocols even for medical personnel. This activity is an integration of multicultural education courses with community service. The purpose of this activity is to promote a campaign for individual identity, empathy, critical thinking, equal interaction, cooperative interaction, openness, and different status elimination. Videos are given directly to the community and through social media as the campaign process. In preparation and implementation, lecturers are assisted by students to create innovative media related to the current situation. There are 10 groups that produce media, in the form of animated videos. Before the media is used, there is a product evaluation by lecturers and classmates. After the revision, the media is used to conduct a multicultural campaign in the society. As a result of this activity, more than 1000 people who were exposed to the campaign, almost all considered it positive because the messages conveyed were delivered to the community.

Developing Cross-Cultural Competency through Multicultural Perspective: An Exploratory Inquiry

For the past decade, schools at all grade levels in United States continue to consist of students who belong to different culture, and hence the need for culturally competent teachers to address the culturally diverse needs of the students is at its highest peak. One of the ways to impart the attributes of cultural competency to preservice teachers, who will become future teachers, to focus on culturally relevant coursework. This study was carried out via an undergraduate multicultural education course which focused on imparting cultural attitude awareness and cultural knowledge attributes of cultural competency to the students. The influence of this course on these attributes of the students was investigated through a Cultural Competence Survey. The results of this study indicate that experiential and practical aspect of multicultural education has a positive impact on increasing the cultural attitude awareness of the students. It is, hence, a focused, experiential, and practical multicultural education coursework to train culturally competent next generation of teachers.

International Graduate Students’ Positionality in a U.S. Critical Multicultural Education Course

This study describes the experience of four international students after taking a class in critical multicultural education at a predominantly white institution in the Midwest, U.S. Utilizing narrative inquiry and narrative coding to analyze students’ positionality papers, the researchers found two overarching themes: (1) Prior Experiences and (2) Perspectives on multicultural identities, with several sub-themes. The first overarching theme, prior experiences, has three sub-themes that reflect students’ identities in relation to their sociocultural backgrounds: (a) origin and national identity (b) family background and exposure (c) education and sociocultural experiences. The second overarching theme, perspectives on multicultural identities has five sub-themes that emerged from students’ personal learning and through socialization: (a) race and ethnicity (b) religion (c) gender and sexuality (d) class and privilege, and (e) culture shock. We conclude with a discussion of the findings and implications for this work.

Multicultural Education Integration in Teacher Training Programs: Towards Affirming Diversity in Morocco

In a diverse Moroccan environment where groups, ethnicities, languages, religions, people of color, migrants, refugees, and different identities like LGBTQs coexist, multicultural education as a framework and as a pedagogical approach to diversity has become mandatory. The present study reports about an experience at Mohammed V University in Rabat where a multicultural education course was introduced into the curriculum of the teacher training MA Program. The study investigates the feedback of three cohorts of teachers who benefited from the program. Their responses focus on the influence of multicultural education on their teaching practices in diverse contexts. Three research questions have been used, namely (i) what are the teachers’ attitudes towards the course of multicultural education? (ii) to what extent has the course content influenced their teaching practices in dealing with students from different groups? And (iii) what are their opinions about their pedagogics after taking the course? The study adopts a qualitative approach making use of semi-structured interviews with 18 respondents. The content analysis and data coding process have also classified the themes in relation to the research questions. The findings have disclosed that the course content has to a large extent impacted the teachers’ attitudes and practices towards the different identities of their students. They have also yielded very positive views about multicultural education course. The results have stressed the fact that the program should engage students more in diverse experiences and multicultural activities.

A Study on the In-service English Teachers’ Perceptions on Multicultural Education and Implications for Multicultural Teacher Education

With the increase and diversification of immigrants in Korea, multicultural policies have been expanded to meet diverse demands and needs. Accordingly, multicultural education has become an essential issue for Korean society. However, Korea s government-led change has been criticized for its ambiguous direction while failing to keep up with the pace of change in society. The study explores Korea s multicultural education by analyzing how Korean high school English teachers perceive multicultural education and what implication the perception has on the current system and operation of multicultural education. More specifically, the study explores the limitations and possibilities of multicultural education in the Korean educational scene by interviewing ten in-service English teachers working at high schools in Seoul metropolitan region. Ultimately, the study aims to provide direction to future multicultural teacher education for all teachers. The English teachers showed a poor understanding of multicultural education and even misunderstood the purpose and goal of the education, which consequently affected their implementation and delivery of the education. Second, the teachers limited the subject of multicultural education to multicultural members, mainly the students from multicultural families, showing assimilative tendencies. Although teachers did recognize the need for education on diversity and discrimination, they perceived it as a matter of the future. Thirdly, teachers recognized multicultural education and subject education course as separate education. Teachers saw multicultural education as apart from the subject education. They thought multicultural education does not fit the current education system, where grades and evaluations are taken very sensitively. Lastly, although teachers were not particularly against multicultural education, they were skeptical about implementing multicultural education. They argued that theory-based education does not appeal to teachers who usually prefer hands-on pedagogies. Also, the teachers regarded multicultural education as another task on top of the already heavy workload. Moreover, teachers once again confirmed their belief on the unnecessariness and unprofessionalism of multicultural education through a school s unilateral work distribution without providing proper education for the teacher in charge or verification of qualification of the teachers in charge. The findings imply that teachers vague understanding of multicultural education and absence of systematic and practical multicultural teacher education under biased education policies and guidelines led to confusion and indifference toward multicultural education, unconsciously reinforcing misunderstanding, stereotypes, and institutional discrimination at schools. Overall, teachers’ perception indicates that the current teacher education system and operation failed to fully convey the need and importance of multicultural education.

Internalization of Conservation Values in Multicultural Education Courses through Traditional Games

The Indonesian state is very prone to triggering conflicts and divisions because Indonesia is actually a pluralistic and heterogeneous country. The discourse on multicultural education is predicted to be able to anticipate ethnic, social and cultural conflicts that often arise in the midst of a plural-faced society, especially the implementation of multicultural education in tertiary institutions. The understanding created from multicultural education is not just a theory that is used as mere memorization, but can be developed into application in a multicultural-based learning process. One example of its application is through traditional games which require cultural values. Traditional games have even become a symbol of the region where each region uses traditional games as regional identities so that traditional games are a form of conservation value, namely preserving the cultural heritage of the local area. The research objectives: 1) Describe traditional games that contain conservation values in the multicultural education course for PGSD UNNES students; 2) Analyzing the conservation value contained in traditional games in multicultural education for PGSD UNNES students; 3) Analyze the achievement of internalization of conservation values in multicultural education courses for PGSD UNNES students. This study uses a qualitative research method which will be analyzed descriptively. Each traditional game imparts different conservation values depending on the play pattern. Traditional games that have been born for thousands of years are the result of ancient human cultural processes that are still thick with local wisdom values. In essence, conservation means maintaining and protecting something regularly to prevent damage and destruction by means of preservation. So that playing traditional games is a form of conservation value, namely preserving the cultural heritage of the local area.

“You Gotta here these Stories”: An Ecocritical Analysis of mother!

Abstract By sharing the experiences of two teacher educators, this article interrogates a tendency in ecojustice education to position humans-as-saviors in climate crisis narratives. The authors postulate the use of film—specifically, Darren Aronofsky’s (2017) mother!—to facilitate the complex process of a critical ontology that decenters humans in stories of ecological relationality. The authors ask: How might we use film to disrupt the ways future teachers are commonly positioned as protagonists in the human-as-savior narrative? How might teachers be positioned to promote Holland, Lachiocotte, Skinner, and Cain’s (2001) pillars of ecological democracy: intelligent communication, recognized identity, and critical agency between multiple species? The authors share how they work with/in teacher education to address these tensions in a Social Foundations or Multicultural Education course. They conclude with pedagogical examples of how the authors envision film as part of a teacher education curriculum.

“I Think I’m the Bridge”: Exploring Mentored Undergraduate Research Experiences in Critical Multicultural Education

Although mentored undergraduate research has been shown to deepen student engagement across various disciplines, this type of extended learning opportunity is not a prominent feature of research and practice in teacher education. Our article addresses this gap by analyzing the experiences and growth of a group of five preservice teachers engaged in a mentored undergraduate research experience in several sections of an introductory critical multicultural education course. Specifically, we examined how pre-service teachers’ personal, academic, and professional engagement with critical multicultural education is impacted when they are positioned as researchers and receive additional training outside the traditional class format. Our findings indicate that their involvement as student co-researchers fostered a new awareness, sensitivity, and emotional investment in issues of social justice beyond what they gained in their introductory multicultural education course. Pre-service teachers described navigating personal relationships with new awareness and sensitivity and adjusting future plans in accordance with their deeper understanding and commitment to educational equity. We argue that mentored research opportunities are an innovative way to address professor/student power differentials in teacher education research and offer a unique model of critical multicultural teacher education that promotes deep engagement with issues beyond the classroom setting.

Building Tolerance Attitudes Of PPKN Students Through Multicultural Education Courses

Abstract. Lately ethnocentric attitudes or understand the area in the college environment are increasing. Discrimination against Sara is still occurring. If this is continued, it will further create division between the nation's children. This research aims to build tolerance among students to create unity and unity through the provision of Multicultural Education courses. This research uses qualitative methods with technical data collection through observation, interviews, documentation, and literacy studies. The results of this study show that multicultural education courses have managed to form a tolerance attitude among students of Pancasila Education and Citizenship of PGRI University Yogyakarta. Student tolerance is reflected in the implementation of lectures in the classroom, during the work of both individuals and groups, and during the implementation of the Final Semester Exam.Keywords: Tolerance; Student; Multicultural EducationAbstrak. Akhir-akhir ini sikap etnosentris atau faham kedaerahan di lingkungan perguruan tinggi semakin meningkat. Diskriminasi atas sara masih terjadi. Jika hal ini terus menerus dibiarkan akan semakin menimbulkan perpecahan antar anak bangsa. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk membangun sikap toleransi dikalangan mahasiswa agar terciptanya persatuan dan kesatuan melalui pemberian mata kuliah Pendidikan Multikultural. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode kualitatif dengan tekniik pengumpulan data melalui observasi, wawancara, dokumentasi, dan studi literasi. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa mata kuliah Pendidikan Multikultural telah berhasil membentuk sikap toleransi dikalangan mahasiswa Pendidikan Pancasila dan Kewarganegaraan Universitas PGRI Yogyakarta. Sikap toleransi mahasiswa tercermin saat pelaksanaan perkuliahan di kelas, saat pengerjaan tugas baik individu maupun kelompok, dan pada saat pelaksanaan Ujian Akhir Semester.Kata Kunci: Toleransi; Mahasiswa; Pendidikan Multikultural

Internalization of Multicultural Values through the Education Process in Manado State University

This study aims to describe the internalization of multicultural valuesfor students at Manado State University. The diversity of Indonesian society is a rich gift of God. Therefore, this diversity must be managed properly in order to have a positive impact on the people of Indonesia. Differences should not be a reason for conflict in the community. One effort that can be done is to internalize multicultural valuesthrough the education process.This research uses a descriptive qualitative approach related to the process of internalizing multicultural valuesin Manado State University students, especially in the Faculty of Social Sciences as the object of research. Data obtained through observation, interviews and documentation, while data analysis is done by the process of presenting data, data reduction, and drawing conclusions. The results of this study indicate that the internalization of multicultural valuesis developed through learning activities in the classroom through Multicultural Education, Religious Education, and Valuesand Moral Education courses. In addition, the internalization of valuesis also carried out through student activities and interactions within the faculty and university environment.

The light in their eyes: creating a multicultural education course for doctoral-level students

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of graduate students about the need for a multicultural education course at doctoral level in a mid-sized higher education public institution in Southwest Florida.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study method was applied with multiple sources of data collected, including semi-structured interviews, observations and students’ written papers, online discussions and assignments that aimed to prepare educators to teach culturally diverse students and challenge their own perceptions about culture, race and other multicultural education-related topics.FindingsThe findings indicate that, even though the multicultural education course promoted an eye-opening transformational experience for students through their interactions and learning from each other, the students still need further training in multicultural education because of their limited culturally responsive teaching skills.Research limitations/implicationsLimitations of the study are that both the researchers were deeply involved with the material and the class, as the class professor and one of the students, which might have affected the authors’ perception about the students’ journey in learning about multicultural education. The researchers’ dual-role (as researchers and course professor and graduate assistant) might have influenced the participants’ responses, as they knew they were part of a research project. Thus, the participants’ spontaneity in sharing their opinions and beliefs about multicultural education may have been hampered, perhaps responding what the researchers expected rather than with their authentic perspectives on the topics.Practical implicationsThe implications of this study to teachers, educators and practitioners are that it invites the readers to reflect on their academic preparedness to work with culturally diverse students. For policymakers, the study indicates the need for creating standards that aim to examine in-service graduate student teachers about their self-efficacy, readiness and dispositions to work with culturally diverse students.Originality/valueBecause of the limited publications on doctoral students learning multicultural education, the authors’ study offers an important insight into the transformational experience of doctoral students learning multicultural education and the implications for improving graduate courses in multicultural education.

Evaluating Multicultural Education Courses: Promise and Possibilities for Portfolio Assessment

As multicultural education continues to evolve, better assessments are necessary to provide a holistic measure of the effectiveness of multicultural education in the academy. Unfortunately, as multicultural scholars champion the cause for social justice, equity, and access for school children they remain vulnerable to negative promotion and tenure determinations due to misaligned measures of teaching effectiveness in the academy. In this article, a Black female teacher educator at a Predominately White Institution describes how she utilized a Multicultural Education Teaching Portfolio (METP) as a means to inform the measurement of her instructional quality and effectiveness. This discussion provides an overview of current challenges to assessing quality within Multicultural Education courses and provides an outline of possible components of the METP for further consideration.

Online learning for social justice and inclusion

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the online pedagogical practices and technological tools that influenced the attainment of skills and knowledge associated with professional multicultural competence in a graduate student online course focused on social justice and inclusion. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative case study includes a total of ten student participants. Two theoretical orientations guide the study. Mishra and Koehler’s (2006) model of technological pedagogical content knowledge is provided to understand the reciprocal relationship between content, pedagogy, knowledge and technology in online learning environments. Critical digital pedagogy (Morris and Stommel, 2018) provides insights into challenging the neutrality of technological tools and focuses on relational capacities of online learning environments. Initial coding by each researcher was reduced to thematic codes focused on technological tools, course content delivery, asynchronous and synchronous pedagogical strategies. Findings Data analysis revealed technological tools such as discussion boards, video, video conferencing and synchronous opportunities influence student engagement and learning. Further, findings reveal that the nature of online education itself – specifically asynchronocity – functions as both a distraction and possibility for online learning in multicultural education courses. Students in this study revealed the value of opportunities to engage synchronously in online learning environments. Instruction without such opportunities was disadvantageous to the learning of skills and knowledge associated with multicultural competence. Research limitations/implications The study is not generalizable to the experiences of all online students and only provides a small cross-section of online graduate students enrolled in a required diversity course at one institution. Originality/value There is a dearth of research focused on teaching courses in diversity, equity, social justice and inclusion in fully online environments, a gap this study begins to fill. The study also enhances the authors’ understanding of graduate student education.

Instructional Design and Strategies for Multicultural Education: A Qualitative Case Study

With more people moving abroad for education and work, many countries are becoming multicultural in population. Hence, developing multicultural attitudes is becoming imperative to prevent negative thoughts and feelings toward minorities that may translate into discriminatory behaviors toward them. One way to ensure this is through multicultural education. The aim of multicultural education is to ensure that students from diverse racial, ethnic, and social-class groups will experience educational equality. This qualitative case study analyzes the course design and instructional strategies implemented by a professor in a multicultural education course offered in a U.S. university. We have examined how the professor taught about multicultural education, ensured educational equality in her class, and also successfully produced multicultural attitudes among her students.