Teachers’ Awareness of Multicultural Education and Diversity in School Settings

Year 2016, Volume: 16 Issue: 64, 0 - 0, 15.07.2016

Betul Tonbuloglu , Dolgun Aslan , Hasan Aydın

Abstract

Problem Statement: The concept of multiculturalism was in general perceived in terms of ethnic background or difference in race and so brought forth negative viewpoints and apprehensions with regard to the issue. It is undoubtedly of great importance to provide comprehensive educational systems in which individuals in multicultural societies can live together in peace. Therefore the attempt to determine the perceptions of the teachers towards multiculturalism is essential as they are responsible for the organization of class learning environments. Likewise it is important to analyze the degree to which educational programs actually carry or incorporate these multicultural principles with view to ensuring an education that will include all students and ensure they are raised in a way that embraces peace Nevertheless the number of studies conducted in Turkey on this topic to date remains very small. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to investigate the perceptions of teachers’ with regard to multicultural education and diversity and to highlight the awareness of teachers concerning this issue. Method: A qualitative case research design was employed for this study. Within the study there was an attempt to present the thoughts of teachers with regard to multicultural education and at the same time to examine yearly plans to determine to what degree multicultural education had been incorporated into the teaching process. In order to determine the study group, a purposeful sampling technique was used, with the research group consisting of 6 teachers employed during the 2012-2013 academic year at a primary school situated in the province of Istanbul, Turkey. The data of the study were collected by means of semi-constructed interviews, observations and document analysis, and interview questions and an observation form and yearly plans were used as data collection tools. The data obtained were then evaluated in accordance with the content analysis technique. Findings and Results: On analysis of the results it was found that the actual knowledge of the teachers with regard to multicultural education and diversity was found to be adequate and their opinions towards multicultural education were observed to be largely positive. Nevertheless, there were serious confusion and prejudices with regard to certain concepts connected to multicultural education and on these issues teachers were seen to suffer from certain inadequacies. Furthermore, analysis of the yearly plans revealed that the number of attainment goals and activities as well as types of assessment and evaluation tools included that emphasized multiculturalism and diversification were insufficient. Conclusions and Recommendations: In order for teachers to understand the importance and necessity of multicultural education, and for teachers to be able to transfer this into practice in the educational environment itself, the implementation of educational reforms which recognize equal opportunities of learning is a pressing priority. For this reason it is suggested that teachers need to adopt multicultural educational principles and include these in their teaching programs, while the training opportunities available to teachers and academic studies conducted on this topic need to increase. Keywords: Multiculturalism, Multicultural Education, The opinions of teachers

References

• APA. (2002). Guidelines on multicultural education, training, research, practice, and
• organizational change for psychologists. Retrieved 25 December 2009, from
• http://www.apa.org/pi/multiculturalguidelines/ homepage.html.
• Aydin, H. (2012). Multicultural education curriculum development in Turkey.
• Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 3(3), 277-286.
• Doi:10.5901/mjss.2012.v3n3p277
• Aydin, H. (2013a). A literature-based approaches on multicultural education. The
• Anthropologist, 1(1-2), 31-44.
• Aydin, H. (2013b). Dünyada ve Türkiye’de çokkültürlü eğitim tartışmaları ve uygulamaları.
• [Discussions and practice of multicultural education in Turkey and in the
• world]. Ankara: Nobel Publishing House.
• Aydin, H. & Tonbuloglu, B. (2014). Graduate students perceptions on multicultural
• education: a qualitative case study. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 57,
• -50, doi:10.14689/ejer.2014.57.3
• Banks, J. A., & Banks, C. A., (Eds.) (2002). Multicultural education: Issues and
• perspectives (4th ed.). New York: John Wiley & Sons
• Banks, J. A. (2005). Improving multicultural education: Lessons from the intergroup
• education movement. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Banks, J. A. (2006). Cultural diversity and education: Foundations, curriculum and teaching
• (5th Edition). Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
• Banks, J. A. (2008). An introduction to multicultural education. (4th Edition). Boston,
• MA: Allyn and Bacon.
• Başbay, A. & Kağnıcı, Y. (2011). Çokkültürlü yeterlik algıları ölçeği: Bir ölçek
• geliştirme çalışması. Education and Science, 36(161), 199-212.
• Charmaz, K. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative
• analysis. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Cırık, İ. (2008). Çokkültürlü eğitim ve yansımaları. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Eğitim
• Fakültesi Dergisi, 34, 27- 40.
• Costa, X. B., (1997), Intercultural education: Theories, policies and practices. Brookfield,
• Vermont: Ashgate.
• Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational research; planning, conducting, and evaluating
• quantitative and qualitative research (Fourth Edition). Pearson, Lincoln.
• Faltis, C. (2014). Toward a race radical vision of bilingual education for Kurdish users
• in Turkey: A commentary. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 1(1),
• -5.
• Gaff, J. G. (1992). Beyond politics: The educational issues inherent in multicultural
• education. Change, 24 (1), 30-35.
• Gay, G. (1994). A synthesis of scholarship in multicultural education. Urban Monograph
• Series.
• Gay, G. (2000). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research and practice. New York:
• Teachers College Press.
• Glazer, N. (1997). We are all multiculturalist now. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard
• University Press.
• Gorski, P. (2000). The challenge of defining a single multicultural education. Retrieved on
• February 3, 2016 from
• http://www.issa.nl/members/member_docs/ESJ_files/at_docs/add_pdfs/
• Defining_mul ticultural_education.pdf
• Haines, S., J. (2015). Family partnership with a head start agency: A case study of a
• refugee family. Dialog, 17(4), 22-49.
• Halvorsen, A. L. & Wilson, S. M. (2010). Social studies teacher education. In Peterson,
• P., Baker, E., &McGaw (Eds), International encyclopedia of education (3rd ed.)
• (pp.719-737), Oxford: Elsevier Academic Press.
• Kaya, İ. & Aydin, H. (2014). Çoğulculuk, çokkültürlü ve çokdilli eğitim. [Pluralism,
• multicultural, and multilingual education]. Ankara: Anı Publishing.
• Karatas, K. & Oral, B. (2015). Teachers’ Perceptions on Culturally Responsiveness in
• Education. Journal of Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 2(2), 47-57.
• Kaya, Y. (2015). The opinions of primary school, Turkish language and social science
• teachers regarding education in the mother tongue (Kurdish). Journal of
• Ethnic and Cultural Studies, 2(2), 33-46.
• Lafer, S.(2014). Democratic design for the humanization of education. Journal of Ethnic
• and Cultural Studies, 1(1), 6-12.
• Lenaghan, A.(2000).Reflections of multicultural curriculum. Multicultural Education,
• (3), 33-36.
• Morey, A. & Kitano, M. (Eds.). (1997). Multicultural course transformation in higher
• education: A broader truth. Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
• Nelson, T. (2001). Editor’s Introduction: Advancing educational opportunities in a
• multicultural society. Teacher Education Quarterly, 26(3), 147-156.
• Parekhi B. (1986). The concept of multicultural education. In S. Modgil, G.K. Verna,
• K. Mallick, & C. Modgil (Eds.), Multicultural education: The interminable
• debate (pp. 19-31). Philadelphia: Falmer.
• Pena, R. A. (1997). Cultural differences and the construction of meaning: Implications
• for the leadership and organizational context of schools. Education Policy
• Analysis Archives, 5(10), 1-19.
• Penny, C. M., Forney, A., Harlee, T. M. (2000). Issues challenging education. Preparing
• educators for multicultural classrooms. Retrieved from
• http://www.horizon.unc.edu/projects/issies/papers/Penny.asp
• Piland, W. E., Piland, A., & Hess, S. (1999). Status of multicultural education in the
• curriculum. New Directions for Community Colleges, 1999(108), 81-88.
• Polat, S. (2009). Öğretmen adaylarının çokkültürlü eğitime yönelik kişilik özellikleri.
• International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 1(1), 154-164.
• Schlosser, L. K. (1992). Teacher distance and student disengagement: School lives on
• the margin. Journal of Teacher Education, 43(2), 128-140.
• Sharma, S. (2005). Multicultural Education: Teachers Perceptions and Preparation.
• Journal Of College Teaching And Learning, 2(5), 53- 64.
• Sinagatullin, I. M. (2003). Constructing multicultural education in a diverse society.
• Rowman & Littlefield Education.
• Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. New York, NY: Guildford Press.
• Stradling, R. (2003). 20. Yüzyıl Avrupa tarihi nasıl öğretilmeli?. İstanbul: Türkiye
• Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı Yayınları.
• Tonbuloglu, B., Aslan, D., & Aydin, H. (2014). Türk Eğitim Sisteminin çokkültürlülük
• bağlamında analizi ve öneriler. Eğitim Öğretim ve Bilim Araştırma Dergisi,
• (29), 67-72.
• Wilson, K. (2012). Multicultural education. Retrieved on Martch 01, 2016 from
• http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/apers/keith.html.
• Yazıcı, S., Başol, G., Toprak, G. (2009). Öğretmenlerin çokkültürlü eğitim tutumları:
• Bir güvenirlik ve geçerlik çalışması. H. Ü. Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 230(37), 229-
• Yıldırım, A. & Şimşek, H. (2005). Sosyal bilimlerde nitel araştırma yöntemleri. Ankara:
• Seçkin Yayıncılık.
• Yin, R.K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks,
• CA: Sage.