ERIC Number: EJ795304
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2005
Pages: 15
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0737-5328
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Preparing for Multicultural Schools: Teacher Candidates Dialogue Online with Teachers from Egypt, Japan, Ghana, and the U.S.
Lacina, Jan Guidry; Sowa, Patience
Teacher Education Quarterly, v32 n1 p61-75 Win 2005
The divergence between a predominately White teacher education population and a diverse public school system poses this question: how do universities best prepare teacher candidates to teach children of racially and linguistically different backgrounds than their own? Teacher education programs have addressed this issue in a variety of ways, such as requiring multicultural coursework and/or requiring placements in urban schools. States, too, vary with respect to their requirements for diversity. In many states, students are tested on their development of a multicultural perspective on a standardized test. A test, immersion placements, and stand-alone multicultural education courses may all forms of teacher preparation and accountability in many states, but what are the ways to develop a critical understanding of diversity in order for students to not only pass a standardized teacher's test, but more importantly, to integrate culturally responsive teaching strategies into their public school classroom? This article describes how online discussions between diverse ethnically and linguistic groups of teachers from Egypt, Japan, Ghana, and the U.S., over a one-year period, allowed teacher candidates and teachers to openly discuss issues of race, culture, and language. The interactions through this online dialogue created a community of learners in which students and teachers felt comfortable in stating their viewpoints, and the students were eager to learn from other teachers. Through this online dialogue, these students became familiar with how important it is for teachers to view the world from multiple lenses.
Descriptors: Urban Schools, Public Schools, Education Courses, Multicultural Education, Teacher Education Programs, Standardized Tests, Student Diversity, Foreign Countries, Teaching Methods, Cultural Pluralism, Whites, Computer Mediated Communication, Preservice Teachers, Race, Cultural Differences, Second Languages, Student Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Egypt; Ghana; Japan; United States
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A