Teacher preparation programmes through cultural immersion field experiences in Schools as Learning Communities have the potential to increase the intercultural sensitivity of future teachers to provide an effective response to the needs of Roma children. This research evaluated the impact of an intercultural training programme for prospective…

In recent years, the United States and Western world experienced rises in nationalism, xenophobia, ethnocentrism, and anti-immigrant racism, with heightened awareness of these issues in the wake of the 2016 United States presidential election. In this article, I explore the impacts of the political climate on preservice music teachers' field…

In recent years there have been significant changes in education across the globe, largely as a result of changing demographics, technological developments, and increased globalization. Relatedly, the changing needs of societies and families, along with new research findings, provide new directions in early childhood education. Consequently, early…

With the intent of informing music teacher education practices and developing more culturally responsive and relevant teachers, the purpose of this research was to explore pre-service music teachers' understandings of culture and diversity, and to examine the impact of a short-term cultural immersion field experience on pre-service music teachers'…

This study provides empirical data regarding multicultural education within teacher preparation programs. Individual course sections of pre-service teachers (PSTs) completing field-based teaching experiences were randomly assigned to one of two treatment groups or a no-treatment control group. Quantitative measures within a…

This article discusses an individualized narrative on a contribution that a White educator can add to the field of teacher education, in particular multicultural teacher education. Through sharing my individual life experiences with a process of moving from an invisible Whiteness (Clark & O'Donnell, 1999; Giroux, 1997; Helms, 1992) toward more…

The overarching goal of multicultural education is "to help all students acquire the knowledge, attitudes, and skills needed to participate in cross-cultural interactions and in personal, social, and civic action that will help make our nation more democratic and just" (Banks, 2006, p. 202). In pursuit of this goal, teacher educators…

Public schools are continually pressed to meet the demands of an increase of a culturally and linguistically diverse population, compounded by the pressures exerted by the No Child Left Behind legislation and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education. Indicated is a need for multicultural understandings in courses and field…

This enlightening handbook offers current, international perspectives on the conditions in communities, contemporary practices in schooling, relevant research on teaching and learning, and implications for the future of education. It contains diverse conceptual frameworks for analyzing existing issues in education, including but not limited to…

Southeast Missouri State University revised its teacher education program to include field-based experiences in each of its four blocks of courses. Student teachers are placed in rural and urban schools with pupils from various socioeconomic, cultural, racial, and disability groups. A survey of 225 cooperating teachers and student teachers…

"I don't know if I could teach in an urban area because I have never been to a school in the city and I don't know how I would react," stated a student in a teacher education program. Other students had similar concerns prior to visiting schools on an American Indian reservation. Two field experiences were organized for the students in…

Several well-established efforts to form closer links between teacher education programs and community understanding are described. Such efforts are usually based on one of two approaches: building awareness of communities and their cultures into conventional college courses; or placing students in nonschool community settings. (PP)

Wichita State University's teacher education program was revised to develop sensitive, nurturing teachers who understand student diversity. Pretests and posttests examining students' professional and personal opinions about diversity found that field experiences created significant differences in attitudes toward diversity and social distance…

The Collaborative Learning Network: Project Genesis, a partnership between California State University, San Bernardino, and the Ontario-Monclair School District (California) and its consortium districts is a multi-faceted program consisting of three levels of training and support. Phase one, Undergraduate Service Learning, recruits potential…

The paper describes facets of the teacher education program at Alverno College (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) that facilitate teacher empowerment, especially the use of multicultural education to empower urban educators. It discusses aspects of urban teacher development, describes the teaching/learning and assessment processes that develop teachers, and…