Given the increasing diversity of our classrooms, a lack of multicultural competence can exacerbate the difficulties that novice teachers have with classroom management. Definitions and expectations of appropriate behavior are culturally influenced, and conflicts are likely to occur when teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds. The purpose of this article is to stimulate discussion of culturally responsive classroom management (CRCM). We propose a conception of CRCM that includes five essential components: (a) recognition of one’s own ethnocentrism; (b) knowledge of students’ cultural backgrounds; (c) understanding of the broader social, economic, and political context; (d) ability and willingness to use culturally appropriate management strategies; and (e) commitment to building caring classrooms. In the final section of the article, we suggest questions and issues for future research.

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Weinstein examines teacher education students' expectations about future teaching performance, their explanations for their predictions, and their descriptions of good teaching. Students tend to engage in "unrealistic optimism" and to demonstrate self-serving biases, perceiving as important for teaching those attributes that they themselves possess. When describing "a really good teacher," students emphasize interpersonal/affec tive variables and downplay academic dimensions ofteaching. These descriptions are compared with those of inservice teach ers. Results indicate that inservice teachers also tend to em phasize interpersonal/affective variables.

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