@Trish8827 When I was completing the research for my dissertation, The Efficacy of Multicultural Education in a Teacher-Credentialing Program, I fell upon some disturbing news about the education provided to pre-service teachers. I remember my training in the credentialing program but do not remember learning how to work with culturally diverse students. I knew full well what it meant to work with English Language (EL) learners, but beyond that, they were just students in my class. I had no idea about the importance of meeting the needs of my culturally diverse students and why I needed to create a culturally responsive environment.
The purpose of my study was to explore how multicultural curriculum and instruction in a teacher credentialing program prepared pre-service teachers to work with diverse students. I wanted to determine how pre-service teachers describe their readiness of being culturally competent and culturally responsive at the conclusion of their teacher-credentialing program. The study sample included seven pre-service teachers who completed the final semester of their teacher-credentialing program and 12 pre-service teachers who were in their second semester. Some of their responses were alarming given their year and a half teacher-credentialing program. Four themes emerged from the interviews conducted and were the catalyst for the startling results.
Theme one was how the teacher-credentialing program should focus on bridging the gap between teachers and diverse students. Fourteen interviewees declared they were not sure how they would bridge the gap between themselves and their diverse students. Many of them believed that bridging the gap may make students of a different cultural background from them feel uncomfortable. One interviewee declared that “Bridging that gap would be for them to see me interested in learning more about them.” She asserted that “Once I learn more about where my students come from, then I can incorporate it into the curriculum and pull those ties together.” Pre-service teachers in their final semester also wished they would have learned more about how to bridge the gap between themselves and their students. Three interviewees stated that they would have appreciated how to also bridge the gap between students, academically as well as socially. Participants 13 and 16 acknowledged that they believed it was important to be observant of students and to listen to them.
Theme two was the teacher-credentialing program should focus on the importance of cultural integration. Understanding how important cultural integration is to diverse students emerged as the second theme because many courses only focus on EL students. Participant 1 stated, “During the first semester, we take a specific class about how to work with students from diverse backgrounds, but it focused more on EL learners. This semester, there were no classes regarding culture, which was really weird.” Participant 7 pointed out that, “It is very important to have it infused in our program because you are going to see kids from different cultures.” After I provided the definition of multiculturalism, many of the pre-service teachers changed their responses. One of the last pre-service teachers interviewed stated that “It feels like there is not enough cultural awareness in the program. A lot of our program is based on the Anglo-American point of view.” He went on to say, “You would expect teaching programs not to follow that viewpoint, but to change would require a change of paradigm in the minds of teacher educators.”
When it was time to interview pre-service teachers in their final semester, interviewees asserted that they did not feel they received enough training on how important integration of cultural topics is to the diverse student or how to work with culturally diverse students. All of the interviewees affirmed that they were well versed in how to work with and instruct EL students. Participant 14 stated, “Instructors in the credentialing program tell us to be mindful of culturally diverse students. Well, how and what should we be mindful of?” Thirteen interviewees expressed that they believed they would just figure it out when they entered the classroom. One declared that “Bridging the gap should begin on day one in my classroom. Students need to know that you embrace everyone and are approachable.” All interviewees acknowledged that they would not be as prepared as they would like to be when they exit the credentialing program. They do believe that after some years of hands-on experience in the classroom, their level of preparedness to work with culturally diverse students would improve, but is that fair to our diverse students?
The second theme was directed toward how pre-service teachers felt they needed to be when it came to working with students who are culturally different than they are and to have an understanding of how important cultural integration is to the diverse student. The teacher credentialing program provided instruction and strategies to work with EL students, but not many strategies or characteristics were taught on how to work with diverse students. Teacher credentialing programs could provide more of an understanding of how and why cultural competence is an important skill to have and learn before entering the diverse classroom.
The third theme was the teacher-credentialing program should revamp the components of their courses to include a multicultural curriculum. Interviewees voiced their concerns about not truly understanding what was meant by asking them to give examples of the components of multicultural curriculum and instruction in their credentialing courses. I explained what was being asked and all but four pre-service teachers answered by saying they only touched on it in their first semester, and it was normally covered under the conversation of EL learners. Participant 5 stated, “Our professor wants us to be mindful of not leaving any student behind, especially if he or she is a culturally diverse learner. My question has always been, what does that statement mean?” As the interviews continued, final semester pre-service teachers acknowledged that they did not feel like they were prepared to work with culturally diverse students. Two stated that the only time they felt like the program focused on diverse students was when they had to complete one of their competencies for their final student teaching assignment. Twelve interviewees indicated that the focus throughout their program was on EL students, not on how to become culturally competent.
The final theme was the teacher-credentialing program should focus on developing an awareness of each student’s differences. Thirteen interviewees stated that it was imperative to develop an awareness of each student’s differences and be willing to learn new things. Participant 3 stated, “Teachers need to have a willingness to feel uncomfortable and get out there and learn about their students and background.” Again, interviewees declared that their first semester was the only time it was somewhat discussed, but cultural diversity had not been discussed since then. Participant 6 indicated that “I feel what we learn is just from books and papers.” The pre-service teacher’s perception of their preparedness to work with diverse students’ needs to be addressed more often in the courses they must take in their teacher-credentialing program. Pre-service teachers in their final semester answered with the same response as pre-service teachers in their second semester: teachers need to be willing to put in the time to get to know the different cultures in their classroom and embrace each one. Participant 17 offered a thoughtful response to the question; “I think that you have to be able to separate yourself from your beliefs in some regard. You have to be able to see the other side of things and be open to listening.”
The teacher-credentialing program I researched did not provide enough multicultural curriculum and instruction to prepare pre-service teachers to work with diverse students in a classroom setting. It also did not assist pre-service teachers in learning how to create a culturally competent and responsive classroom pedagogy that could be used in their future classroom. Teacher-credentialing programs, for all intents and purposes, work tirelessly to prepare pre-service teachers, and I want to make that clear. But, are they doing enough for our students who are culturally diverse? Are they even considering the importance of their teachers creating that culturally diverse environment? I believe they want to train future teachers to teach reading, math, and science but I am unsure if anything else is as important as the basics. I discovered through the course of seven interviews that pre-service teachers in their final semester were worried about entering a diverse classroom. Six out of seven interviewees that were graduating from the credentialing program stated that this sense of worry was brought upon them because they did not believe their teacher-credentialing program prepared them enough to work effectively within K12 culturally diverse classrooms.
Every pre-service teacher interviewed did not feel prepared to enter a diverse classroom and successfully reach all of his or her students. I found it somewhat troubling that these pre-service teachers were not being educated in diversity and cultural issues. With the innate possibility that a teacher’s classroom will have culturally diverse students, it is imperative that all teachers, especially new teachers coming out of a teacher-credentialing program, understand how to become culturally responsive and culturally competent to reach all students.
Bio
Tricia D. Delk, Ed.D. is a culturally responsive educator in the Clovis Unified School District in Clovis, California.
The purpose of my study was to explore how multicultural curriculum and instruction in a teacher credentialing program prepared pre-service teachers to work with diverse students. I wanted to determine how pre-service teachers describe their readiness of being culturally competent and culturally responsive at the conclusion of their teacher-credentialing program. The study sample included seven pre-service teachers who completed the final semester of their teacher-credentialing program and 12 pre-service teachers who were in their second semester. Some of their responses were alarming given their year and a half teacher-credentialing program. Four themes emerged from the interviews conducted and were the catalyst for the startling results.
Theme one was how the teacher-credentialing program should focus on bridging the gap between teachers and diverse students. Fourteen interviewees declared they were not sure how they would bridge the gap between themselves and their diverse students. Many of them believed that bridging the gap may make students of a different cultural background from them feel uncomfortable. One interviewee declared that “Bridging that gap would be for them to see me interested in learning more about them.” She asserted that “Once I learn more about where my students come from, then I can incorporate it into the curriculum and pull those ties together.” Pre-service teachers in their final semester also wished they would have learned more about how to bridge the gap between themselves and their students. Three interviewees stated that they would have appreciated how to also bridge the gap between students, academically as well as socially. Participants 13 and 16 acknowledged that they believed it was important to be observant of students and to listen to them.
Theme two was the teacher-credentialing program should focus on the importance of cultural integration. Understanding how important cultural integration is to diverse students emerged as the second theme because many courses only focus on EL students. Participant 1 stated, “During the first semester, we take a specific class about how to work with students from diverse backgrounds, but it focused more on EL learners. This semester, there were no classes regarding culture, which was really weird.” Participant 7 pointed out that, “It is very important to have it infused in our program because you are going to see kids from different cultures.” After I provided the definition of multiculturalism, many of the pre-service teachers changed their responses. One of the last pre-service teachers interviewed stated that “It feels like there is not enough cultural awareness in the program. A lot of our program is based on the Anglo-American point of view.” He went on to say, “You would expect teaching programs not to follow that viewpoint, but to change would require a change of paradigm in the minds of teacher educators.”
When it was time to interview pre-service teachers in their final semester, interviewees asserted that they did not feel they received enough training on how important integration of cultural topics is to the diverse student or how to work with culturally diverse students. All of the interviewees affirmed that they were well versed in how to work with and instruct EL students. Participant 14 stated, “Instructors in the credentialing program tell us to be mindful of culturally diverse students. Well, how and what should we be mindful of?” Thirteen interviewees expressed that they believed they would just figure it out when they entered the classroom. One declared that “Bridging the gap should begin on day one in my classroom. Students need to know that you embrace everyone and are approachable.” All interviewees acknowledged that they would not be as prepared as they would like to be when they exit the credentialing program. They do believe that after some years of hands-on experience in the classroom, their level of preparedness to work with culturally diverse students would improve, but is that fair to our diverse students?
The second theme was directed toward how pre-service teachers felt they needed to be when it came to working with students who are culturally different than they are and to have an understanding of how important cultural integration is to the diverse student. The teacher credentialing program provided instruction and strategies to work with EL students, but not many strategies or characteristics were taught on how to work with diverse students. Teacher credentialing programs could provide more of an understanding of how and why cultural competence is an important skill to have and learn before entering the diverse classroom.
The third theme was the teacher-credentialing program should revamp the components of their courses to include a multicultural curriculum. Interviewees voiced their concerns about not truly understanding what was meant by asking them to give examples of the components of multicultural curriculum and instruction in their credentialing courses. I explained what was being asked and all but four pre-service teachers answered by saying they only touched on it in their first semester, and it was normally covered under the conversation of EL learners. Participant 5 stated, “Our professor wants us to be mindful of not leaving any student behind, especially if he or she is a culturally diverse learner. My question has always been, what does that statement mean?” As the interviews continued, final semester pre-service teachers acknowledged that they did not feel like they were prepared to work with culturally diverse students. Two stated that the only time they felt like the program focused on diverse students was when they had to complete one of their competencies for their final student teaching assignment. Twelve interviewees indicated that the focus throughout their program was on EL students, not on how to become culturally competent.
The final theme was the teacher-credentialing program should focus on developing an awareness of each student’s differences. Thirteen interviewees stated that it was imperative to develop an awareness of each student’s differences and be willing to learn new things. Participant 3 stated, “Teachers need to have a willingness to feel uncomfortable and get out there and learn about their students and background.” Again, interviewees declared that their first semester was the only time it was somewhat discussed, but cultural diversity had not been discussed since then. Participant 6 indicated that “I feel what we learn is just from books and papers.” The pre-service teacher’s perception of their preparedness to work with diverse students’ needs to be addressed more often in the courses they must take in their teacher-credentialing program. Pre-service teachers in their final semester answered with the same response as pre-service teachers in their second semester: teachers need to be willing to put in the time to get to know the different cultures in their classroom and embrace each one. Participant 17 offered a thoughtful response to the question; “I think that you have to be able to separate yourself from your beliefs in some regard. You have to be able to see the other side of things and be open to listening.”
The teacher-credentialing program I researched did not provide enough multicultural curriculum and instruction to prepare pre-service teachers to work with diverse students in a classroom setting. It also did not assist pre-service teachers in learning how to create a culturally competent and responsive classroom pedagogy that could be used in their future classroom. Teacher-credentialing programs, for all intents and purposes, work tirelessly to prepare pre-service teachers, and I want to make that clear. But, are they doing enough for our students who are culturally diverse? Are they even considering the importance of their teachers creating that culturally diverse environment? I believe they want to train future teachers to teach reading, math, and science but I am unsure if anything else is as important as the basics. I discovered through the course of seven interviews that pre-service teachers in their final semester were worried about entering a diverse classroom. Six out of seven interviewees that were graduating from the credentialing program stated that this sense of worry was brought upon them because they did not believe their teacher-credentialing program prepared them enough to work effectively within K12 culturally diverse classrooms.
Every pre-service teacher interviewed did not feel prepared to enter a diverse classroom and successfully reach all of his or her students. I found it somewhat troubling that these pre-service teachers were not being educated in diversity and cultural issues. With the innate possibility that a teacher’s classroom will have culturally diverse students, it is imperative that all teachers, especially new teachers coming out of a teacher-credentialing program, understand how to become culturally responsive and culturally competent to reach all students.
Bio
Tricia D. Delk, Ed.D. is a culturally responsive educator in the Clovis Unified School District in Clovis, California.