UNF Digital Commons UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship 1994 A Quasi-Experimental Design To Study The ffecE t Of Multicultural Coursework And Culturally Diverse Field Placements On Preservice Teachers' Attitudes Toward Diversity Patty Moore Adeeb University of North Florida Suggested Citation Adeeb, Patty Moore, "A Quasi-Experimental Design To Study The Effect Of Multicultural Coursework And Culturally Diverse Field Placements On Preservice Teachers' Attitudes Toward Diversity" (1994). UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 175. https://digitalcommons.unf.edu/etd/175 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at UNF Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of UNF Digital Commons. For more information, please contact Digital Projects. © 1994 All Rights Reserved A QUASI-EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN TO STUDY THE EFFECT OF MULTICULTURAL COURSEWORK AND CULTURALLY DIVERSE FIELD PLACEMENTS ON PRESERVICE TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD DIVERSITY by Patty Moore Adeeb A dissertation submitted to the program faculty in Educational Leadership in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA COLLEGE OF EDUCATION AND HUMAN SERVICES April, 1994 Unpublished Work © Patty Moore Adeeb CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL The dissertation of Patty Moore Adeeb is approved: Signature Deleted Dr. Steve Paulson Signature Deleted ..... s Hale Signature Deleted 6er~ ~I lqq~ Date Signature Deleted Accepted for the Division of Educational Research and Services: Signature Deleted Accepted for the College of Education and Human Services: Signature Deleted Accepted for the University of North Florida: Signature Deleted Date This Doctoral Dissertation is Dedicated To my daughter Brittany and my son Cason with the sincere hope that they will continue to value the uniqueness of all individuals through understanding, appreciation, respect, and acceptance of diversity. Their innocence and loving nature are gifts without ribbons to all who know and love them. and To my dearest friends Dr. Barazandeh "Baraz" Samiian and Dr. and Mrs. Ghassan Ghata who give honor and meaning to the word friendship. Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high There's a land that we've heard of once in a lullaby. Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue And the dreams that we dare to dream really could come true. Someday we'll wish upon a star And wake up where the clouds are far behind us. Where troubles melt like lemondrops Away above the chimney tops Is where you'll find us. Somewhere over the rainbow, bluebirds fly Birds fly over the rainbow, why then oh why can't we. (Adapted from "Somewhere Over the Rainbow") ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During this journey of doctoral study and research, I am genuinely indebted to many wonderful people. However, first and foremost I am deeply grateful to my husband, Barry Adeeb, and my children, Cason and Brittany, for the generosity of their compassion, patience, encouragement, and love shared during this journey. There were many days when the roles of wife and mother may have appeared to them to be second to the role of a doctoral student, but they were always first and foremost and my inspiration for completing this monumental course of study. I am deeply indebted to Dr. G. Pritchy Smith, my major professor and dear friend, for sharing his heuristic understanding of the kind of reformed educational leadership needed in teacher education for the twenty-first century. Dr. Smith's reconceptualization of teacher education within a pluralistic society has inspired me to make an even stronger commitment to the moral dimension of teaching. I sincerely thank him for his shared knowledge, guidance, and unselfish gift of time to make expert contextual and editorial commentaries. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Robert Drummond who chaired my doctoral committee. His gentle way and caring manner were always a source of great comfort to me throughout this endeavor. I thank him for his continued patience and encouragement, and for making statistics "user friendly." I am profoundly indebted to Dr. James Hale and Dr. Steven Paulson for caring enough to become members of my doctoral committee at a very late date in the research process. Their dedication to the quality of higher education was evident in their unselfish commitment to help me complete my doctoral journey on schedule. I thank Dr. Hale for his expert contextual and editorial guidance. Furthermore, I am grateful to Dr. Adel EI-Ansary, Eminent Scholar, University of North Florida, College of Business Administration, for his wisdom and insightful advice at the onset of this study. And to Mr. Eric Reinhart, I am thankful for his invaluable assistance in research data processing and analyses. To my colleagues, Dr. Donna Keenan, Mrs. Sarah Colt, and Mrs. Linda Lisella, I am indebted for their kind assistance in gathering the student data. To my EXCEL students, I acknowledge and thank them for sharing their inner-most values and attitudes to help in this endeavor to improve the quality of teacher education and education for all children. Additionally, I am thankful to Dr. Carl A. Grant of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for sharing with me his expertise in multicultural education and the educational research process. Last, but sincerely not least, I am forever indebted to my dear friend Dr. Barazandeh "Baraz" Samiian. Her wealth of generosity and kindness far exceed the space available on this page to reflect the loving appreciation I extend to her from my heart. Dr. Samiian is the epitome of "valuing diversity." ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL DEDICATION ................................................. i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................... " ii TABLE OF CONTENTS ......................................... iii LIST OF TABLES. .. vi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................. xi ABSTRACT .................................................. xii CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY Overview .............................................. 1 Introduction ............................................ 2 Organization of the Study .................................. 5 Background and Rationale ................................. 6 Demographic Shift ..................................... 7 Educational Reform Movement. .......................... 12 Multicultural Education in Teacher Education ................. 17 Statement of the Purpose .................................. 25 Significance of the Study .................................. 30 Theoretical Constructs and Operational Definitions ................ 32 Theoretical Constructs .................................. 32 Multicultural Education ................................. 32 Professional Development. .............................. 34 Operational Definitions ................................. 35 Research Questions. .. ........................ 39 Research Methodology .................................... 40 Population Sample ....................................... 42 Research Instrumentation .................................. 43 Limitations of the Study .................................... 44 iii CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Overview .............................................. 47 Attitudes ............................................... 48 Theoretical Concept of Attitude ........................... 48 Prejudice and Discrimination in the Schools .................. 57 Attitudinal Surveys ..................................... 65 Multicultural Education .................................... 70 Models of Multicultural Education .......................... 70 Stages of Attitudinal, Cognitive, and Cultural Development. ...... 81 Multicultural Education in Teacher Education ................. 89 Field Experience in Teacher Education Programs ................. 96 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Research Design ........................................ 105 Research Questions and Statistical Procedures ................. 110 Population Sample. .................................... 112 Research Instrumentation ................................. 114 Data Analysis ........................................... 117 Limitations of the Study.................. ' ................. 120 Delimitations of the Study................................. 125 CHAPTER 4: DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS Design and Analysis Overview .............................. 128 Study Analyses and Findings ............................... 132 Demographic Profile. .. 132 Research Question 1 .................................. 136 . Research Question 2 .................................. 151 Field Placement. .................................. 151 Instructor........................................ 156 Gender. ......................................... 166 Age............................................ 172 Race ......................................... 182 Educational Major.................................. 190 Association ...................................... 196 Grade Level. .. ............. 203 Research Question 3 .................................. 210 Research Question 4 .................................. 225 iv Summary of Results ...................................... 237 Research Questions 1 and 2............................ 238 Research Question 3 .................................. 242 Research Question 4 .................................. 245 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS