Preservice Science Teachers and Cultural Diversity Awareness

Preservice science teachers hold a number of existing beliefs and expectations for their students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Many teacher education programs (TEPs) provide diversity coursework, multicultural education courses, and field experiences to better prepar...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe electronic journal of science education Vol. 18; no. 3
Main Authors Russell, Melody, Russell, Jared A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Southwestern University and Texas Christian University 2014
Subjects
Classroom Techniques
Cultural Awareness
Cultural Differences
Cultural Pluralism
English (Second Language)
Ethnicity
Intercultural Communication
Knowledge Base for Teaching
Middle Class
Parent Teacher Cooperation
Preservice Teachers
Science Teachers
Second Language Learning
Secondary School Teachers
Student Attitudes
Student Characteristics
Student Diversity
Student Evaluation
Teacher Education Programs
White Students
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Summary:Preservice science teachers hold a number of existing beliefs and expectations for their students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. Many teacher education programs (TEPs) provide diversity coursework, multicultural education courses, and field experiences to better prepare preservice teachers for the CLD classroom. A questionnaire which included the Henry (1991) Cultural Awareness Diversity Inventory (CDAI) was used to examine the preservice science teacher's cultural awareness and sensitivity based on TEP coursework and field experiences. Findings suggested that the majority of participants were from predominantly White, middle class backgrounds and did not perceive their culture as different from their CLD students. However, they did exhibit some awareness of culture, linguistic, and ethnic identification for their students.
ISSN:1087-3430
1087-3430