Multicultural Education: What Educators Know, What They Need To Know.

Overview & Synopsis

A discussion is presented on a cluster of related research studies conducted on the adequacy of multicultural education in current teacher education programs. The first was designed to determine whether preservice teachers lack relevant background experiences in multicultural settings, perceive a need for multicultural training, and would be willing to participate in such training. This information was obtained by means of a a 14-item questionnaire administered to 125 preservice teacher education students. The second study involved the administration of the Cultural Diversity Awareness Inventory as a pre- and post-test measure to preservice and inservice teachers who had taken three courses on the multicultural society and cross-cultural environments. The third research effort focused on a program, "The Minority Mentorship Project," in which undergraduate elementary education majors were linked as mentors with elementary minority students. An analysis of study results indicated that preservice teachers have limited experience and background in multicultural settings, but that a course devoted to multicultural content can raise sensitivity levels and cultural awareness. The results of the third study highlighted the benefits of early hands-on experience in the field. (JD)