Effectively Teaching a Single Course in Multicultural Education to Pre-Service Teachers

Abstract

In this practitioner inquiry, instructors in a teacher preparation program at a research-intensive university address their instructional effectiveness and improvement of student learning outcomes in a Single Course in Multicultural Education (SCME). As part of the inquiry, they conducted a comprehensive literature review of SCMEs. They used the literature synthesis to guide the development of a conceptual framework to inform a final course revision that yielded better student learning outcomes. The literature synthesis, conceptual framework, and course revision promoted the instructional focus on developing students’ knowledge and beliefs before addressing their classroom practices.

Keywords

• teacher preparation
• multicultural education
• social justice
• practitioner inquiry
• teaching in higher education