A Comparative Study of Multicultural Awareness among In-service School Teachers

Abstract. The paper examines Multicultural Awareness as perceived by in-service school teachers across three different countries. After conducting a review of literature on multicultural awareness, the author realized that 1) literature on multicultural awareness seems to focus almost entirely on pre-service teachers and 2) different circumstances have prompted different countries to catalyze measures to accommodate the changing multicultural contexts. The study aims to provide scholarship for school teachers on the complexity of multicultural education. Using the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory (Henry, 1986, modified) the study highlights various aspects of awareness namely cultural awareness in the classroom, cross-cultural communication, culturally diverse families, multicultural learning environment, and assessment criteria. These are then analyzed using Chi Square statistics. Results indicate disparities in some areas of cultural awareness in the classroom and culturally diverse families. Conclusions and suggestions for future research follow, based on findings