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Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education

Selected Works

Pre-service teachers

Articles 1 - 4 of 4

Full-Text Articles in Education

Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs And Knowledge About Multiculturalism, Emmanuel Acquah, Nancy Commins Oct 2015

Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs And Knowledge About Multiculturalism, Emmanuel Acquah, Nancy Commins

Nancy L. Commins

The present study examined pre-service teachers’ knowledge of issues related to multiculturalism and diversity before and after taking a multicultural education course. Data from 38 degree students in an urban university in the southwest of Finland were analysed using a mixed method approach. The results indicate that pre-service teachers’ knowledge levels increased with respect to diversity and multicultural education after taking the course. In addition, pre-service teachers felt more competent and prepared to teach students with diverse backgrounds after the exposure. The implications of the findings for teacher education programmes and teacher educators are discussed.


Supporting Bilingual Learners And Their Families: Key Understandings For Pre-Service Teachers And The Institutions That Prepare Them, Nancy Commins Oct 2015

Supporting Bilingual Learners And Their Families: Key Understandings For Pre-Service Teachers And The Institutions That Prepare Them, Nancy Commins

Nancy L. Commins

An essential component of successful schooling in linguistically and culturally diverse settings is the active involvement of parents and community members. This is made possible when teachers honor families’ languages and cultural traditions and build upon them. Teacher preparation programs play a critical role in helping preservice teachers reject deficit views and recognize that issues of status, power, and economic circumstances all play a role in shaping outcomes for students. Part of the asset orientation that must be fostered in new teachers is the understanding that primary or home language development contributes to both the academic success of children and …


“When Saying You Care Is Not Really Caring”: Whiteness And The Role Of Disgust, Cheryl E. Matias, M. Zembylas Sep 2015

“When Saying You Care Is Not Really Caring”: Whiteness And The Role Of Disgust, Cheryl E. Matias, M. Zembylas

Cheryl Matias

Drawing on one of the author’s experiences of teaching white teacher candidates in an urban university, this paper argues for the importance of interrogating the ways that benign emotions (e.g., pity and caring) are sometimes hidden expressions of disgust for the Other. Using critical race theory, whiteness studies, and critical emotion studies, it is shown how whiteness ideology erroneously translates disgust for people of color to false professions of pity or caring. This phenomenon is particularly interesting because care, sympathy, and love are emotions that are routinely performed by teacher candidates (who are predominantly white females) and embedded in teacher …


Are Teacher Education Programs Failing The Nation’S Urban Schools? A Closer Look At Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Working With Inner-City Students, Servet Celik Oct 2012

Are Teacher Education Programs Failing The Nation’S Urban Schools? A Closer Look At Pre-Service Teachers’ Beliefs About Working With Inner-City Students, Servet Celik

Servet Celik

To address the issue of pre-service teachers being under-prepared for work in multicultural and impoverished environments in America’s urban schools, teacher education programs have taken steps to improve diversity-oriented curricula and provide relevant fieldwork experience. However, research indicates that a large proportion of teacher candidates still do not have the necessary skills to deal with students from divergent upbringings. This interpretive study investigated the beliefs of pre-service teachers about urban students and how well their teacher education programs are addressing the issues of working in inner-city schools. The results revealed that, although some progress has been made, a significant gap …