PROMOTING TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCES FOR TEACHING IN THE DIVERSE CLASSROOM

Abstract

"Culturally inclusive education continues to be a challenge in many countries: while teachers attempt to create responsive learning environments and teaching strategies, students from migrant backgrounds still face disadvantages in education. Only 35% of teachers in OECD countries feel prepared for teaching in a multicultural setting. Teachers may lack the necessary sensitivity, knowledge and/or skills, feeling insecure about how to respond to cultural diversity in the classroom. Even if there are theoretical courses in pre-service teacher training programmes, practical training opportunities in actual diverse classrooms are lacking. Also, schools are lacking experienced mentor teachers competent in culturally responsive teaching, as in many countries the demographic situation has undergone major changes in the last decades and continues to evolve. These issues need to be better addressed. The overall aim of our study is improved intercultural preparedness of teachers, through rich and authentic learning experiences. Based on in-depth analysis of current best practices, we will create an evidence-based teacher training program. This will feature video clips of the most common challenging pedagogical situations that may arise in a culturally diverse classroom. We expect the teachers who pass this program to have better intercultural competences so that they can practice culturally responsive and inclusive teaching. In order to assess the impact of the program, we have developed an instrument to measure the teachers’ self-reported intercultural competences (knowledge, attitudes and skills) prior to and after the completion of the program. The structure of the questionnaire and differences in the domains of teachers’ intercultural competence according to their teaching experience is introduced in the paper."