When good intentions are not enough: A response to increasing diversity in an early childhood setting

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe the process of adaptation to a recent increase in cultural and linguistic diversity in a school for grades K-2. Data were collected for eight weeks through interviews, observations, and documents. The informants were the principal, 18 classroom teachers, five specialist teachers, and one paraprofessional. All participants were Euro-American with the exception of the one paraprofessional. Eisner\u27s five dimensions of educational settings were used as a framework for exploring and discussing the findings. The school has made some efforts to address cultural diversity; despite the good intentions of the teachers, however, the findings indicate that stated school goals and practices do not match. Implications for educational settings serving culturally and linguistically students are shared