Preparing Teachers to Work with Culturally Diverse Students: A Teacher Education Model

Abstract

With the increasing population of cultur ally diverse students, particularly in urban areas, and given ourfailureto pro vide successful school experiences for those students, there is a critical need for teacher education programs to equip teachers with knowledge and skill to work with the culturally diverse. Burstein and Cabello describe a teacher education program that is specially designed to prepare teachers to work with the increasingly diverse student population in urban settings. The pro gram is grounded on the assumption that teachers must be able to make com plex decisions, based on their beliefs, knowledge, and understanding of cul tural diversity. The program focuses on four levels of teacher development to facilitate appropriate decisions about teaching culturally diverse students: (a) awareness, (b) knowledge, (c) acqui sition and maintenance of skills, and (d) reflection. The authors describe the implementation of the model in one course, and discuss the initial effects of the program on teachers' beliefs, knowl edge, and teaching practices with cultur ally diverse students.