EXPLORING ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

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Casto, A. (2019). EXPLORING ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY. Unc Charlotte Electronic Theses And Dissertations.
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Abstract

Schools around the world have experienced unprecedented change during the contemporary era of globalization. The student population is becoming more diverse and, consequently, teachers have been tasked with meeting a wider range of needs from multiple backgrounds. While multicultural education has been proposed by scholars as a means for meeting the needs of all learners few studies have provided an in-depth examination of teachers’ understanding of multicultural education and the factors that influence their perceptions. A multiple case study was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of how teachers serving our youngest students perceive multicultural education. Educators at four different elementary school settings in the Southeastern United States were interviewed to explore their thoughts of multicultural education and its three tenets: educational equity, cultural tolerance, and social transformation. School-level factors and teacher-level factors that influence elementary teachers’ perceptions were also analyzed, thus adding more context for our understanding. The participants perceive multicultural education as (1) a means for teaching global awareness and culture, (2) lessons aimed at building cultural tolerance, (3) learning about students’ backgrounds, and (4) using multicultural curriculum or materials. Their comments regarding the three tenets of multicultural education, however, reveal perceptions that are likely more nuanced than these categories suggest. Teacher-level factors, such as family, upbringing, and travel were found to have a greater influence on their perceptions of multicultural education than school-level factors. Yet, a case-by-case analysis revealed that administrators’ beliefs and schoolwide multicultural initiatives also have a significant and unrecognized influence over teachers’ perceptions and practices.

Details
Author

Casto, Amanda

Title

EXPLORING ELEMENTARY TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION: A MULTIPLE CASE STUDY

Physical Description

1 online resource (177 pages) : PDF

Date

2019

Degree Granting Institution

University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Abstract

Schools around the world have experienced unprecedented change during the contemporary era of globalization. The student population is becoming more diverse and, consequently, teachers have been tasked with meeting a wider range of needs from multiple backgrounds. While multicultural education has been proposed by scholars as a means for meeting the needs of all learners few studies have provided an in-depth examination of teachers’ understanding of multicultural education and the factors that influence their perceptions. A multiple case study was conducted to gain a deeper understanding of how teachers serving our youngest students perceive multicultural education. Educators at four different elementary school settings in the Southeastern United States were interviewed to explore their thoughts of multicultural education and its three tenets: educational equity, cultural tolerance, and social transformation. School-level factors and teacher-level factors that influence elementary teachers’ perceptions were also analyzed, thus adding more context for our understanding. The participants perceive multicultural education as (1) a means for teaching global awareness and culture, (2) lessons aimed at building cultural tolerance, (3) learning about students’ backgrounds, and (4) using multicultural curriculum or materials. Their comments regarding the three tenets of multicultural education, however, reveal perceptions that are likely more nuanced than these categories suggest. Teacher-level factors, such as family, upbringing, and travel were found to have a greater influence on their perceptions of multicultural education than school-level factors. Yet, a case-by-case analysis revealed that administrators’ beliefs and schoolwide multicultural initiatives also have a significant and unrecognized influence over teachers’ perceptions and practices.

Genre

doctoral dissertations

Subjects--Topics

Education
Education, Elementary

Degree

Ph.D.

Keywords

Elementary Teachers
Influences
Multicultural Education
Perceptions
School-Level Factors
Teacher-Level Factors

Subject Area

Curriculum & Instruction

Advisor(s)

Good, Amy
Reinke, Luke

Committee Members

Putman, Michael
Rock, Tracy
Wiggan, Greg

Degree Note

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of North Carolina at Charlotte, 2019.

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Rights Holder Information

Copyright is held by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Identifier

Casto_uncc_0694D_12250

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/etd:2083