Early Childhood Teachers' Approaches to Multicultural Education & Perceived Barriers to Disseminating Anti-Bias Messages

Y

5

Early Childhood Education; Multicultural Education; Barriers; Information Dissemination; Preschool Teachers; Elementary School Teachers; Questionnaires; Online Surveys; Race; Racial Bias; Teacher Attitudes; Attitude Change; Change Strategies; Prevention; Racial Attitudes

1068-3844

Over the past two decades, the United States has become increasingly more diverse. This growth and diversification of society means that schools are becoming more diverse as well. Students of color now make up 48% of the school population and are projected to reach 55% by 2023 (National Center for Education Statistics, 2013). Nonetheless, the majority (84%) of teachers in schools remain predominantly White (National Center for Education Information, 2011). Therefore, it is important for these teachers-and teachers of any racial background-to be educated on various multicultural issues in order to better serve a diverse population of students, as well as for them to be capable of guiding their children in proper interactions with children and adults who are of different racial or ethnic backgrounds. Teachers have a prime opportunity to educate children about diverse issues and help them better understand the complexities of a multicultural society. Literature in the field of multicultural education encourages teacher educators to learn about the populations they serve and become culturally competent (e.g., Howard, 1999). However, the implementation of multicultural education programs has been varied, and evidence of the effectiveness of the programs in terms of turning knowledge into practice is scarce and somewhat inconclusive (Levine, 2006; Lowenstein, 2009). Teachers have a prime opportunity to educate children about diverse issues and help them better understand the complexities of a multicultural society. Although literature in the field of multicultural education encourages teacher educators to learn about the populations they serve and become culturally competent (e.g., Howard, 1999), the implementation of multicultural education programs has been varied, and evidence of the effectiveness of the programs in terms of turning knowledge into practice is scarce and somewhat inconclusive (Levine, 2006; Lowenstein, 2009). The study reported here sought to explore why teachers choose, or choose not, to discuss race, which particular topics related to race they are willing to discuss, whether they perceive the children at their school to harbor any racial biases, and whether the teacher's own race influence these choices. Finally, the teachers were asked what advice they have in regards to teaching children tolerance and anti-bias and whether they perceived any barriers to implementing an anti-bias curriculum.

ERIC

30

2016

EJ1119398