Approaches to Multicultural Education in Preservice Teacher Education Philosophical Frameworks and Models for Teaching

Personal Perspective

Earl Bradford Smith

Introduction a society with no distinct majority—one cally, linguistically, and socioeconomically characterized by multicultural enclaves, diverse students (Banks, 2000). Today’s startling classroom diversity enormously mixed, encompassing an array Few cases have come before the reflects a major United States demographic of races, cultures, and languages never nation’s Supreme Court that so directly af- shift. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, before seen in schools. fected the minds, hearts, and daily lives of by the year 2040, White non-Hispanics will Teachers face multiple and complex so many Americans as the 1954 landmark make up less than half of the school-aged issues that challenge many of their tradi- Civil Rights case of Brown v. Board of population. By the year 2010, Hispanics tional educational practices and assump- Education of Topeka (Ethridge, 1979). The are projected to account for 43% of United tions. For example, majority-minority cases’s outcome barred the segregation of States population growth. The Hispanic relations, long a focus of concern in urban students by race in public schools. This deci- school-aged population is predicted to in- classrooms, are at the very least reconfig- sion continues to be important to the educa- crease by 64% over the next 20 years. The ured and may, in fact, be moot. In many tion reform movement for two reasons: (a) proportion of school-aged population that schools, there is no longer a majority group; Constitutionally sanctioned racially diverse is Asian non-Hispanic was estimated at 4% in others, the traditional White dominant, classes exist as a result of integration, and in 2000 and is projected to rise to 6.6% by Black minority nature of the racial com- (b) The preparation of teachers to effectively 2025. On the other hand, the percentage of position may instead be Latino-Black or and respectfully teach all students is an the school-aged population that is African- Chinese-Latino. absolute necessity. American or Native American is predicted We are still searching for what works to remain stable (2000). Focusing on Teachers in school classrooms and for effective pro- Nieto (2004) wrote that this increase grams to prepare teachers for working with in ethnic diversity has caused many educa- Teachers must understand students’ diverse learners. Over the years our school tors to recognize the need to expand their home lives, too. The hardships faced by systems have struggled to be successful at knowledge of multicultural education in youngsters in urban housing projects, for educating the large numbers of students the public schools. The success or failure example, or the struggles between gen- who are not from the dominant culture. of multicultural education depends upon erations in otherwise strong immigrant As the percentage of diverse students the effective preparation of teachers and families profoundly influence a student’s grows, it becomes increasingly important administrators. These teachers must be motivation and ability to succeed in school. to sensitize teachers to the importance of competent in the courses they teach if their Moreover, the cultural norms students culture and how it impacts the teaching students are to be academically successful bring from home add new subtleties to and learning process. (Ogbu, 1992). Further, teachers must be such issues as those stemming from socioeconomic class and gender. Regardless non-biased and have an understanding A Cautionary Note and sensitivity toward the various cultures of the reform initiatives invoked to focus reflected in the student population. Admin- the country’s attention on how poorly However, I must add a precautionary istrators should recognize and reinforce some of our nation’s schools are educating note: Even though we are talking about throughout the curriculum the increasing our children, teacher preparedness has culture, it is important to remember that diversity in society as it relates to race and consistently emerged as a central issue in children are individuals and cannot be ethnicity (Razik & Swanson, 2001). educational reform initiatives that began made to fit into any preconceived mold of The greatest wave of immigration ostensibly with A Nation at Risk (National how they are “supposed” to act. The ques- since the turn of the century, combined Commission on Excellence in Education, tion is not necessarily how to create the with escalating birth rates, is creating 1983) and continues with No Child Left perfect “culturally matched” learning situ- Behind (United States Committee on ation for each ethnic group, but rather how Education and the Workforce, 2002). to recognize when there is a problem for a Earl Bradford Smith is an administrator The preparation of America’s teach- particular child and how to seek its cause with the West Allegheny School District, ers has remained the driving force behind in the most broadly conceived fashion. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the most recent educational reforms that Knowledge about culture is but one and an adjunct professor began in the early 1980s. These changes tool that educators may make use of when with Robert Morris University, have emphasized the need for all teachers devising solutions for a school’s difficulty University of Phoenix, to have the attitudes, knowledge, and skills in educating diverse children. Effective and Point Park University. to work effectively with racially, ethni- teachers in a diverse world need an edu-

SPRING 2009 45 Personal Perspective cation that enables them to attain new to create better classroom activities for Rights Movement had a significant influ- knowledge, paradigms, and perspectives particular students and tailor instruction ence on educational institutions, as ethnic on the United States and the world, and to their needs. The relationship between groups—first African Americans and then to deal effectively with both the challenges teacher and student involves not just other groups—demanded that the schools and opportunities of diversity. There is instruction, but interaction. When inter- and other educational institutions reform increasing diversity as well as increasing action fails because of teacher mispercep- curricula to reflect their experiences, his- recognition of diversity in nation-states tions of student behavior, instructional tories, cultures, and perspectives. throughout the world. Racial, cultural, failure will often follow. Ethnic groups also demanded that ethnic, language, and religious diversity is The increasing diversity within the the schools hire more minority teachers increasing in schools in the United States nation’s schools provides both opportuni- and administrators, so that their children as well as in other nations. This diversity ties and challenges. Diverse classrooms would have more successful role models. provides an excellent context for students and schools make it possible to teach Ethnic groups pushed for community to acquire the multicultural understand- students from many different cultures and control of schools in their neighborhood ings and skills needed to function ef- groups how to live together cooperatively and for the revision of textbooks to make fectively in their local communities, the and productively. However, racial preju- them reflect the diversity of all peoples in nation, and the world. dice and discrimination are challenges the United States. that arise when people from diverse groups Constructing a Curriculum come together. The School as a Social System It is significant to construct a curricu- It is necessary to conceptualize the lum that supports student teachers with Maximize and Minimize school as a social system in order to imple- full acknowledgement of differences in race, Teachers need to acquire knowledge ment multicultural education successfully. culture, and gender to interrogate their and skills that maximize the opportunities Each major variable in the school, such as experiences, understand schools as sites diversity offers and minimize its challenges. its culture, its power relationships, the cur- for struggles over power, and become better Teacher education programs should help riculum and materials, and the attitudes prepared to teach in an increasingly mul- teachers attain the knowledge and behaviors and beliefs of the staff, must be changed in tiracial and multicultural society (Wein- needed to work effectively with students ways that will allow the school to promote stein, Tomlinson, & Curran, 2004). These from diverse groups, as well as help students educational equality for students from opportunities must always be connected to from mainstream groups develop cross-cul- diverse groups. To approach school reform larger understandings of the histories of op- tural knowledge, values, and competence with a multicultural perspective, we need pression and privilege, and must always be (Moule, 2004; Merryfield, 2000). to begin with an understanding of multi- couched in understandings of institutional Multicultural education supports cultural education within its sociopolitical and organizational racism. teachers to understand and appreciate context (Nieto, 2004). The purpose of this analysis is to dem- cultural differences and similarities, and to Such a sociopolitical context under- onstrate how implementing a multicultural recognize the accomplishments of diverse scores that education is part of larger soci- education philosophy supported by immer- ethnic, racial, and socioeconomic groups. etal and political forces, such as inequality sion experience models can help classroom Teachers’ classroom materials should based on stratification due to race, social teachers promote educational equity and portray these diverse groups realistically class, gender, and other differences. Given social justice while helping all students and from a variety of perspectives. this perspective, decisions concerning such reach their academic and social potential. Educators tend to take one of two practices as ability tracking, testing, native- However, for this article, I focused on pub- approaches to multicultural education. language instruction, retention, curriculum lished data-based research studies that Teachers using the “multicultural festival” reform, and pedagogy are all influenced by examine the preparation of teachers for approach have students celebrate ethnic di- broader social policies. As Banks (2007) schools that serve historically underserved, versity through “foods, fun, and festivals,” states, “every educational decision, whether multicultural student populations. conveying the notion that “diversity issues made at the classroom, city, state, or na- come into play only during celebratory mo- tional level, is imbedded within a particular The Need for Multicultural Education ments.” In contrast, teachers applying the ideological framework.” “transformative” approach weave a range Such decisions can be as simple Multicultural education is an idea, of cultural perspectives throughout the as whether a classroom should be ar- an educational reform movement, and a curriculum (Moule, 2004; Gay, 2000). ranged in rows with all students facing process whose major goal is to change the the teacher, or in tables with groups of structure of educational institutions so Growing out of Social Ferment students to encourage cooperative work, that male and female students, exceptional or in other ways depending on the task at students, and students who are members Multicultural education grew out hand. Alternatively, these decisions can of diverse racial, ethnic, language, and cul- of the social ferment of the Civil Rights be as far-reaching as eliminating tracking tural groups will all have an equal chance Movement of the 1960s. During that in an entire school system, or teaching to achieve academically in school. The decade, African Americans embarked on language-minority students by using both challenge is to help new teachers become a quest for their rights that was unprec- their native language and English, or by more aware of and understand the ethnic, edented in the United States. A major using English only. racial, and cultural expressions of diverse goal of the Civil Rights Movement was to eliminate discrimination in public ac- students in their classrooms. Challenging Assumptions Teachers need to think about different commodations, housing, employment, and ways of teaching that might enable them education. The consequences of the Civil Within each educational decision are

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 46 Personal Perspective assumptions about the nature of learning, knowledge from teacher education courses developing beliefs about teaching that will about what particular students are capable to complex teaching practices (Black & maximize learning for all students. of achieving, about whose language is val- Halliwell, 2000; Xu, 2000). Despite a re- Teacher preparation programs must ued, and about who should be at the center peated emphasis seeking more inclusion, begin to ensure that students not only have of the educational process. Even seem- teacher candidates are still leaving their content-specific pedagogical skills, but also ingly innocent decisions carry an enormous preparation programs without the skills, culture-specific pedogogical skills (Hogan- amount of ideological and philosophical knowledge, or attitudes needed to work Garcia, 2003). Preservice programs tend to baggage, which is in turn communicated with all of their future students (Jones & take two rather different lines of action to to students either directly or indirectly. Fuller, 2003). address the cultural gap between teachers For our purposes here, let us borrow Some teacher candidates have a heart and children in schools: (a) bringing into from Nieto (2004) to define multicultural for diversity instruction, but lack the the teaching profession more teachers who education within a sociopolitical context: knowledge and skills of how to go beyond are from culturally diverse communities, scratching the surface with students. The and (b) trying to develop the attitudes A process of comprehensive school reform and basic education for all students. It primarily White and middle class teachers and multicultural knowledge base of pre- challenges and rejects racism and other in our nation’s schools are ill prepared in dominantly White cohorts of preservice forms of discrimination in schools and knowledge, skills, and attitudes to teach for students (Swartz, 2003; Sleeter, 2001). society and accepts and affirms the plu- equity and excellence in multicultural class- Meanwhile, the ethnic and cultural ralism (ethnic, racial, linguistic, religious, rooms. They cannot teach for cross-cultural composition of the teaching force remains economic, and gender, among others) that competency when they lack it themselves. relatively unchanged. It is important to students, their communities, and teachers Teacher education programs intent on convey to student teachers that the beliefs reflect. Multicultural education permeates changing this situation must recognize the of the person who performs the role of the schools’ curriculum and instructional strategies, as well as the interactions necessity of providing learning experiences teacher, and understanding the cultural among teachers, students, and families, that increase the likelihood that pre-ser- contexts in which they teach, are as crucial and the very way that schools conceptual- vice teachers will undergo transformative to instructional effectiveness with diverse ize the nature of teaching and learning. learning regarding multicultural education students as the mastery of content knowl- Because it uses critical pedagogy as its (Moule, 2004). Such learning can stimulate edge and pedagogical techniques. underlying philosophy and focuses on critical reflection regarding one’s own philo- knowledge, reflection, and action (praxis) sophical position, moral commitment, and Cultural Competence and Context as the basis for social change, multicul- readiness to teach for equity and excellence. tural education promotes democratic Artiles (1998) locates competence principles of social justice. (p. 346) For it is only through study and self-reflec- within one’s culture and emphasizes that tion when confronted with perspectives that we must deepen our understanding about This definition of multicultural edu- challenge preconceived assumptions that how teachers deal with student diversity cation assumes a comprehensive school significant changes in beliefs, attitudes, and in the classroom. The message of contem- reform effort rather than superficial addi- knowledge can occur. porary work on multicultural education tions to the curriculum or one-shot treat- Multicultural preservice teacher edu- is not primarily fixed on remediation of ments about diversity, such as workshops cation aims to prepare teachers to work racial discrimination and adoption of for teachers or assembly programs for with culturally diverse students. Teacher unbiased educational practices in schools students. As such, I propose this definition educators draw heavily from the multi- and classrooms, although this is a part as a lens to view conditions for systematic cultural education literature to organize of what needs to be done whenever such school reform that can improve the learn- the curricula and other elements in their discrimination and bias exist. ing of all students. programs (Merryfield, 2000). One course Rather, current multicultural educa- Multicultural education is seeing, cannot do it all. Multicultural teacher edu- tion theory and practice highlight peda- thinking, reading, writing, listening, and cation courses can, however, build on both gogy in cultural context and prescribe a discussing in ways that critically confront pedagogical and psychological theories future classroom and school in which and bridge social, cultural, and personal in ways that will better prepare teacher culturally diverse learners will find edu- differences. It goes beyond a “tourist” view candidates who can engage and learn with cational practices that value and develop of cultures and encourages engagement students from diverse backgrounds. their individual behavioral styles and with cultural issues in all content areas culture-specific knowledge base (Banks and in all classrooms. Most importantly, Teacher Perceptions and Beliefs & Banks, 2007). Furthermore, research multicultural teacher education is an af- about Culturally, Racially by Cronin (1998), Townsend (1998), and firming of what this country stands for: and Linguistically Diverse Students Webb-Johnson (1999) that examines the opportunity, equality, and the realization clash in cultural repertoire between teach- of students’ dreams (Pederson, 2000). Much of the research on preservice teachers’ attitudes and beliefs about teacher and child represents an important step in resolving the place of African American Creating Caring Professionals ing suggests that altering those beliefs is a difficult, if not impossible, task (Moule and other culturally diverse students in The purpose of teacher education is to & Waldschmidt, 2003; Merryfield, 2000). today’s classrooms (Irvine, 2002). create caring, reflective professionals who On the other hand, we know that beliefs However, even more fundamental are committed to building a democratic, influence teacher behavior and expecta- reform at the preservice teacher education multicultural society that enhances eco- tions (Cooper, Baron, & Lowe, 1975), and level will be required if the result is to be nomic equity and cultural pluralism. It is that an important goal of teacher educa- an educational system that no longer con- well documented that preservice teachers tion is to lead prospective teachers toward tinues to discriminate by institutionalizing have difficulty transferring their formal

SPRING 2009 47 Personal Perspective

“dominant” Western cultural structures, understanding and appreciation of these I believe that the inclusion of video values, and practices. Research by Artiles diverse communities. cases used to model both strategies and and Trent and their colleagues examines teachers’ thinking that is required to mod- the process of learning to teach in cultur- Stressing Critical Reflection ify approaches in response to students may ally diverse schools (Artiles & Mc Clafferty, To achieve this goal, teacher educators bolster teacher candidates’ understandings 1998; Artiles & Trent, 1994, 1997; Trent, must contextualize teacher candidates’ of teachers’ specific strategies for cultur- Artiles, & Englert, 1998). Their approach increased knowledge of content and ally responsive teaching. Perhaps a more is data based, whereby strategies are pedagogy and engage teachers in critical thorough knowledge base, which includes ultimately informed by evidence regard- reflection. This idea is firmly supported a working knowledge of local history and ing outcomes rather than by professional by scholars such as Swartz, (2003), Gay, culture, may enable the translation of that opinion about what teachers need to know (2000), and Ladson-Billings (2001). Gay knowledge base into planned activities. and do, an approach I strongly support. and Kirkland (2003) stress this call by In addition, teacher candidates may be asserting that such instruction must in- better able to personally consider culturally Recent Reports clude the fundamental element of critical responsive approaches to instruction if they There have been recent reports on cultural self-reflection that takes place in are provided with simulated cultural expe- undergraduate education that have ad- a context of guided practice in realistic riences and community experiences during dressed the challenges of meeting the situations and with authentic examples. methods courses, which would build both needs of an increasingly diverse student Some teacher educators are focusing their general community knowledge base population (Furman, 2007; Gay, 2000). on service learning as a means for provid- and provide a scaffold for building future Hooks (1994) has also suggested that in ing teacher candidates with opportuni- relationships. Given the current time limi- order for teachers to meet the needs of a ties for authentic learning experiences in tations of the teacher education methods diverse range of children in public schools, diverse settings. Also, teacher education experience, however, it is unlikely that they must understand the concept of multi- programs can include field experiences in these modifications will quickly or easily cultural education, show sensitivity toward urban settings in which students directly be incorporated into existing coursework. cultural diversity, capitalize on strengths, observe the need for multicultural educa- and avoid accentuating weaknesses of tion and pedagogy in schools with diverse Types of Multicultural Programs culturally diverse groups. student populations (Moule, 2004). This experience has reminded us that The multicultural classroom, which is Prospective teachers should also be- teacher candidates must know that the relatively new to the educational system, come knowledgeable regarding curriculum process of becoming a culturally responsive creates a demand for teachers who are publications that can assist them in teach- teacher is nurtured by living, experiment- aware of the cultural differences within ing multicultural issues. Gay (2000) notes ing, traveling, and reading. Teacher candi- the student population, “differences that that teachers often focus on what their dates who graduate from our institutions affect learning styles, behaviors, manner- students “don’t have and can’t do” while must acknowledge that they are works in isms, and relationships with school and claiming cultural neutrality, believing progress so that they may continue to de- home” (Furman, 2007; Banks, 2001). The that their own more provincial personal velop in their awareness of and ability to identification of such problems can lead experiences are normal. enact cultural responsive pedagogy (Moule, to viable solutions. If teachers are to work 2004; Boyle-Baise & Sleeter, 2000). What effectively in diverse classrooms, their at- Developing Questions we have learned is that we must continue to titudes and beliefs must be understood. In developing projects for teacher do what we passionately believe is planting According to Banks (2007), multi- education methods courses that stress the seeds of possibility into the habits and cultural education no longer consists of the service learning structures of action minds of our students. Our scholarship does lessons about Martin Luther King Jr. or and reflection, it is important to ask the not reside so much in the pursuit of doing separate lessons about ethnic minorities following questions: things differently, but perhaps rather in the within the classroom. Yet, according to restructuring of our programs to include the Irvin (2002), despite the evidence regard- 1. What developmental stages could be critical elements we know have an impact ing the increasing amount of diversity identified in our teacher candidates’ process of learning to teach in culturally on the future of our profession. in our schools, the idea of implementing responsive ways? Diversity calls up the most deeply felt multicultural education in our schools still passions about who we are as individuals generates clashes of opinions. 2. What impact, if any, could be identified and as members of multiple groups, and However, researching the perceptions that experiential education might have on the kind of society we aspire to shape. of pre-service teachers concerning their teacher education candidates’ process of adopting culturally responsive teaching Therefore, to meet the challenges of diver- views of multicultural education may add strategies? sity in classrooms, multicultural teacher new insight to the existing subject mat- education programs committed to prepar- ter. Also added to the teacher preparation 3. What issues could we, the teacher ing preservice teachers need to continue to equation is the notion of preparing teach- educators, discover in our process of at- be imbued with the objective of changing ers who can function effectively in schools tempting to model and promote culturally responsive pedagogy? and beliefs, attitudes, knowledge base, and that are diverse in terms of race, ethnicity, pedagogical skills. Zollers, Albert, and gender, ability, language, socioeconomics, 4. Given the nature of teacher education Cochran-Smith (2000) state that if the family configurations, etc. Many times, programs, what can teacher educators do multicultural education field is to move the teachers who are being prepared to to lead candidates toward specific strate- forward there is a need to develop assess- teach in these settings are limited in their gies for culturally relevant teaching? ments that provide more opportunities

MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION 48 Personal Perspective for reflection, attitude change, and orga- (b) teacher education programs ordinarily and culture in teacher education courses is nization of new knowledge on the part of did little to sensitize teachers to their own another way. School-based teacher educa- preservice teachers. prejudices and values; and, (c) teachers tors should participate in all aspects of the lacked preparation in the skills needed to teacher education program, including ad- A New Mission perform effectively in the classroom. missions decisions, program development The new mission for education requires Smith concluded that most teacher and evaluation work, and instruction in substantially more knowledge and radically education programs prepared students campus courses (Diller & Moule, 2005). different skills for teachers. If all children to teach children much like themselves, In conclusion, multicultural education are to be effectively taught, teachers must and he called for a major overhaul of is an instrument of educational equity and be prepared to address the substantial teacher education programs with respect excellence. Over the past four decades, the diversity in experiences children bring to diversity and equity issues. Despite the multicultural movement has emerged as a with them to school—the wide range of passage of time, little has changed. Most powerful force in the fields of education and languages, cultures, exceptionalities, learn- teacher education programs acknowledge counseling. In an increasingly diverse so- ing styles, talents, and intelligences that in in principle the importance of pluralistic ciety, a multicultural approach to training turn require an equally rich and varied rep- preparation, but in practice most are char- educators and practitioners is essential. ertoire of teaching strategies. In addition, acterized by what Swartz (2003) has called Professionals, from all fields, should be teaching for universal learning demands a a monocultural approach. able to respond effectively to people from highly developed ability to discover what Such programs perpetuate the kinds diverse backgrounds. children know and can do, as well as how of teaching practices that have historically they think and how they learn, and to match benefited middle-class, White students The Debate Continues learning and performance opportunities to but have largely failed to provide quality As the interminable debate continues the needs of individual children. instruction for poor, ethnic, and linguistic to focus on the issue of race, multicultural- It is the responsibility of teacher minority students. Teacher candidates ists must rethink their cause and revise educators to help all teachers, novice in the teacher education programs are their agenda and strategies. It may be and experienced, acquire the knowledge, encouraged through program content, that multicultural education must return skills, attitudes, and dispositions needed instructional strategies, and group discus- to its original thrust of ensuring that to work effectively with a diverse student sion to make connections between teaching “diverse groups experience educational population. Demographic projections sug- practice and the principles of multicultural equality” (King & Howard, 2000). Those gest that, in the coming years, students education and critical pedagogy. in the multicultural education movement in U.S. schools will be ever increasingly I believe the components that have may have to throw the weight of their different in background from their teach- proven successful can be adapted or rec- support toward reinforcing the work of ers, making the task of teacher education reated in a variety of contexts. It is sug- ethnic and gender studies programs in one of educating largely “typical” teacher gested that effective programs for teachers higher education. The task ahead would candidates—Caucasian, monolingual, planning to work in diverse communities thus be to initiate and sustain scholarly middle class—to teach an increasingly must include the following elements: (1) A efforts challenging present and historical diverse student body composed of many clear philosophical framework, discussed, notions of race and racism, and expanding poor students of color. understood, and affirmed by all candidates; the parameters of discussion. Overall, the immersion of preservice (2) A program structure that embodies the Multicultural education involves teachers into an urban setting has many philosophical principles and presents clear teaching and learning about the equal benefits. The most important one, however, models for their implementation; and, human worth of all individuals and groups is learning the culture and pedagogy of the (3) A practical fieldwork component that of people acting in customary spheres students whom one will teach. By work- provides teacher candidates with the op- of social life. Equal human worth is the ing hand in hand with urban students, portunity to apply and recreate what they core of civil rights concerns. So, too is it of the preservice teachers learn lessons that are learning (Sleeter, 2001). multicultural education. Mere plurality cannot be learned in a lecture hall. The of cultures is not the heart of the matter. immersion experience provides student Becoming Change Agents Diversity without equality is oppression. teachers the opportunity to learn about The goal of a multicultural teacher Visionary leadership is needed in the children in urban settings and to become education program is to help prospective education of preservice teachers. Most more empowered in reaching and teaching teachers become change agents who can importantly, recognizing that a crucial them on a daily basis (Moule, 2004). impact and alter power relationships factor in the ultimate success or failure of through curriculum, instructional prac- multicultural education in our schools is the Future Challenges tices, and individual and collective action teacher, it becomes important to determine: toward more personal and structural (a) what preservice teachers regard as the The concern for preparing all teachers relationships in schools, districts, and most desirable goal for multicultural edu- for diversity has not emerged as a result of communities (Gollnick & Chinn, 2006). cation, and (b) what colleges of education the current interest in education reform. Hiring community members and/or school should do regarding the multicultural edu- Nearly 30 years ago, Smith’s Teachers staff as adjunct teacher education faculty cation curriculum of preservice teachers. for the Real World (1969) identified three is one example of how teacher education Within the multicultural literature, problems in preparing teachers to teach programs have accessed practitioner Banks defines the goal of multicultural poor students: (a) teachers were unfamil- knowledge. Using the writings of teachers education as that of helping students “de- iar with the backgrounds of poor students and community members about schooling velop cross-cultural competency within the and the communities where they lived;

SPRING 2009 49 Personal Perspective

American national culture, with their own Reflections of preservice teachers. Interna- teachers’ diversity beliefs and commitment. subculture and within and across different tional Journal of Learning, 10, 1521-1536. The Urban Review, 34, 343-361. subsocieties and cultures” (Banks, 1994, Melbourne, Australia: Common Ground Moule, J. (2004). Safe and growing out of the p. 9). The development of such compe- Publishing. box: Immersion for social change. In J.J. Causey, V. E., Thomas, C. D., & Armento, B. J. Romo, P. Bradford, & R. Serrano (Eds.), tency involves: knowledge of cultural and (2000). Cultural diversity is basically a for- Reclaiming democracy: Multicultural educa- racial differences and issues; the critical eign term to me: The challenges of diversity tors’ journeys toward transformative teach- examination of one’s beliefs and values for preservice teacher education. Teaching ing (pp. 147-171). 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