Preparing Culturally Responsive Pre-service Teachers for Culturally Diverse Classrooms RESEARCH

Higher education is currently faced with three realities: (1) students of color comprise almost half of the public school population; (2) the number of teachers of color has not risen in proportion with students of color; (3) the demographic makeup of the teaching force is predominantly White. In response, the author used a phenomenology, qualitative research design to answer the following questions: What personal factors influence pre-service teachers ’ cultural diversity knowledge base? What cultural diversity learning experiences are in place to prepare pre-service teachers to effectively teach culturally and linguistically diverse students? How do pre-service teachers perceive their professional preparedness to implement culturally responsive teaching practices in a diverse classroom? The first phase of the study involved the collection of demographic background characteristics to examine personal factors that may influence pre-service (N=82) teachers ’ cultural diversity knowledge base. In Phase 2, the author conducted a follow-up focus group interview with a sub-sample selected from Phase 1. Analyzing the interview revealed disparities among pre-service teachers regarding the aspects of culturally responsive teaching knowledge and implementation. The articl