Teacher Educators' Understanding, Attitude and Pra("tice of Multicultural Education: The Case of Bonga College of Teacher Education
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Date
2007-07
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Addis Ababauniversity
Abstract
I~'thi()pia is a COL/lltry olhighly diversified ethnic and cultural groups. To reach all its ethnic and cultural
groups with quality educatiol/, the countly needs to have an education .~ystem that considers
IIIlIlticulturalism. To this effect, al1 educational policy in favor of multicultural education has been
forlllulated and been implemented; its effective implementation is the question of this paper.
For the effective implementation of an educotional policy, particularly multicultural-based education,
teacher education colleges play significant role. In a teacher education program, teacher educators playa
pivotal role in determining the quality of opportunities, experiences, and out comes that the would be
teachers receil,le in colleges .. , To be role models in practicing instruction with multicultural perspectives,
tellcher eduwtors need to have kl/owledge of it and hold positive a"ilude towards it first.
Ac:cordingly, this study has aillled at investigating teacher educators ' awareness, attitude and practice of
illstruction with multicultural perspectives. All teacher educators (numbered to 78) at Bonga College of
Teacher Education have been the subjects of this study. Data were collected and analyzed using
quantitative and qualitative research methods. Questionnaire, that comprises of 33 relevant items was
designed and distributed amollg teacher educators found in the college. Furthermore, 6 interview
guidelines and II itw1s ofobservalion checklist were and utilized to gather data from 20-sample teacher
educators.
71,e results revealed that the teacher educators (under question) were aware of multicultural education.
Ukewise, they lriggered positive attitude towards teaching with multicultural perspectives. Nevertheless,
the quantitative and qualitotil'e data cll7(/~ysis results depict that the teacher educators were unclear about
holl' to olfe I' instruction l1'ith tIIulticultural spirit. As a result, they were poorly practicing teachirlgfrom
multicultural penpectil·es.
The findings imply that teacher educators need to be provided with an intensive and sustainable training
that equip them with skills and strategies to instruct with lIIullicultural consideration. In connection, the
dota suggest thot teocher educators need discussion on diversity, education and national integration
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Keywords
Multicultural Education