Kenecha S. Brooks |
SCHOOL: Tougaloo College
MAJOR: Elementary Education MENTOR: Dr. Fannye Love EXPECTED GRADUATION DATE: May, 1999 ORGANIZATIONS & HONORS:
|
ABSTRACT
Preparing Preservice Teacher for Cultural Diversity
One in four Americans has African, Asian, Hispanic, or Native American
ancestry. Research has shown that by the year 2050, the number will
be one in three. More and more people of color are making the United
States their home. This increasing diversity is most apparent in
the schools. Most preservice teachers come from monocultural backgrounds;
95% of them are White middle-class females with limited or no experiences
with minorities (Zimpher & Ashburn, 1989). Their socialization
has been culturally isolated; many teacher education students have acquired
stereotypical, prejudicial, and racist attitudes toward people of color.
Consequently, teacher educators face challenging responsibilities.
They must confront the entry attitudes and beliefs of prospective teachers,
determine program strategies that can reshape their attitudes and beliefs,
and seek better understanding of what preservice teachers must know to
become effective teachers of culturally diverse student populations (Jordan,
1995). The purpose of this study is to examine how teacher preparation
programs are preparing preservice teachers to work in a diverse environment.
Teacher education programs must do much more to raise teachers’ cultural
sensitivity and help them be more comfortable working with minority students
and parents (Deering & Stanutz, 1995). Opportunities must be
offered for preservice teachers to become more aware of their own backgrounds
and the influence of gender, race, class, and culture; explain their conceptions
of and interest in multicultural education; and articulate their concerns
(McCall, 1995).